Horticulture Department Records, 1908-1994

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon State University. Dept. of Horticulture.
Title
Horticulture Department Records
Dates
1908-1994 (inclusive)
1950-1985 (bulk)
Quantity
30 cubic feet, (31 boxes, including 1 oversize box)
5 microfilm reels
Collection Number
RG 187
Summary
The Horticulture Department Records document the teaching, research, and extension activities in horticulture at Oregon State University and consist primarily of correspondence, reports, and administrative records. Various horticultural topics are addressed including fruits and nuts; vegetable crops; nurseries and ornamental plants; greenhouses; Christmas trees; and weed control. The Horticulture Department was established in 1909.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Additional Reference Guides

Preliminary container list available online.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Classes in horticulture were taught at Oregon State University as early as 1874 by B.J. Hawthorne. The Department of Horticulture and Botany was established in 1888. By 1909, the Horticulture Department had been formalized as part of the School of Agriculture.

The Oregon State Horticultural Society was formed in 1885 and incorporated in 1909 as an educational organization working for the advancement of horticulture. The staff of the Horticulture Department at OSU were closely associated with the society from its beginnings. The society's secretary was traditionally the extension horticulturalist.

Claude Isaac Lewis was a Professor of Horticulture at Oregon Agricultural College from 1905 until 1920. Henry Hartman joined the horticulture faculty in 1919 as a pomologist; he served as a Professor of Horticulture until his retirement in 1960.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Horticulture Department Records document the teaching, research, and extension activities in horticulture at Oregon State University and consist primarily of correspondence, reports, and administrative records. The Departmental Records (Subgroup 1), specifically the General File (Series I) comprises the bulk of the collection. The General File consists of microfilmed and paper records which are primarily arranged by year and includes correspondence, reports, research agreements, minutes, and related materials. In addition to curriculum and instruction, the records document research and extension programs pertaining to fruits and nuts, vegetable crops, nurseries and ornamental plants, Christmas trees, and weed control. Interactions between the Horticulture Department and Oregon commodity commissions for strawberries, caneberries, sweet cherries, filberts, and other products are documented. Of particular note are records of the Table Wine Research Advisory Board. Cooperative extension and research activities between Oregon, Washington, and Idaho are reflected in records of Tri-State programs and task forces. Materials pertaining to the landscape architecture academic program and curriculum are included as well as campus greenhouses and campus planning and grounds maintenance. Preliminary sketches submitted by John Bennes in 1917 for the Horticultural Products Building are also included in the collection.

The records include extensive correspondence files from the 1950s-1960s for several horticulture faculty, including S.B. Apple, Jim R. Baggett, A.G.B. Bouquet, O.C. Compton, Garvin Crabtree, Harry Lagerstedt, W.A. (Tex) Frazier, and M.N. Westwood.

Subgroup 1 also includes minutes, correspondence, and newsletters of the Oregon State Horticultural Society for the 1950s-1960s; reports by horticulture faculty, a 1975 comprehensive department review, and horticultural weed control reports; and reports of grower leaf analyses conducted by the Plant Analysis Laboratory. The grower leaf analysis reports are for the time period 1964-1975. They consist of plant analysis information sheets submitted by the grower and reports of the tissue analysis done by the Plant Analysis Laboratory. The primary use of the records was to determine and document nutrient levels in leaf samples submitted by growers and provide suggestions for improvement; the secondary use was to trace nutrient levels in different geographical areas and by growers. Most of the samples are for fruit and nut trees. The records are arranged alphabetically by county and thereunder by grower. Samples from several Washington counties (Klickitat, Skamania, and Walla Walla) are also included.

Subgroup 2 consists primarily of microfilmed records of materials generated by Henry Hartman. Of particular note are recommendations regarding land and water conservation and use prepared in the late 1940s and early 1950s; courses and lectures on camouflage given by Hartman during World War II; and several reports by Hartman on Oregon pears.

Subgroup 3 consists of microfilmed reports and correspondence from the Horticulture Department to Oregon Agricultural College President, W.J. Kerr, submitted in 1908-1914. These pertain to horticultural research and extension activities; experiment station research and the establishment of branch stations; horticulture facilities, including the campus greenhouses; faculty and staffing; instruction; and campus planning, improvements, and landscaping. Most of the reports were prepared by department chair, C.I. Lewis.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Horticulture Department Records (RG 187), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The Horticulture Department Records consist of 3 subgroups: 1. Departmental Records, 1917-1994; 2. Henry Hartman's Files, 1930-1966; and 3. Reports and Correspondence to President W.J. Kerr, 1908-1914.

Subgroup 1 (Departmental Records) is arranged in 4 series: I. General File, 1917-1985; II. Oregon State Horticultural Society, 1952-1967; III. Reports, 1922-1994; and IV. Plant Analysis Laboratory Grower Leaf Analysis Reports, 1964-1975.

Subgroup 2 (Henry Hartman's Files) consists of 4 series: I. Camouflage Short Course, 1942-1943; II. Northwest Perishable Loss Prevention Short Course, 1950-1959; III. Post-War Committee Reports, 1934-1952; and IV. Reports by Henry Hartman, 1930-1966.

Processing Note

This collection is not fully processed; this guide is preliminary.

Acquisition Information

The records were transferred to the Archives in several accessions from 1971 through 2004.

Future Additions

Additions to the collection are expected.

Related Materials

The Horticulture Department Photographs (P 090) consist of images taken and assembled by horticulture faculty for teaching and research and depict a variety of horticultural topics as well as the Oregon Agricultural College campus. The Oregon State Horticultural Society Records (RG 151) and Photographs (P 054) document the Society's programs and activities. The Archives holdings also include the Walter S. Brown Photograph Album (P 274) and the papers of several horticulture faculty: James R. Baggett, Arthur G.B. Bouquet, William A. "Tex" Frazier, and Melvin N. Westwood.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Agricultural experiment stations--Oregon.
  • Agricultural extension work--Oregon.
  • Campus planning--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Crops--Oregon.
  • Fruit--Research--Oregon.
  • Fruit-culture--Oregon.
  • Greenhouses--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Horticulture--Oregon.
  • Horticulture--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon.
  • Horticulturists--Oregon.
  • Landscape architecture--Study and teaching--Oregon.
  • Nuts--Oregon.
  • Orchards--Oregon.
  • Vegetables--Breeding.
  • Vegetables--Research--Oregon.
  • Weeds-- Control--Oregon.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Apple, Spencer Butler, 1912- (creator)
    • Baggett, James R. (creator)
    • Bennes, John V. (creator)
    • Bouquet, A. G. B. (Arthur George Bristow), b. 1885. (creator)
    • Compton, O. C. (Oliver Cecil), 1903- (creator)
    • Crabtree, Garvin Dudley. (creator)
    • Frazier, W. A. (William Allen), 1908- (creator)
    • Hartman, Henry, 1889- (creator)
    • Lagerstedt, H. B. (creator)
    • Lewis, C. I. (Claude Isaac), 1880-1924. (creator)
    • Westwood, Melvin N. (Melvin Neil), 1923- (creator)
    Corporate Names
    • Oregon Agricultural College. Dept. of Horticulture. (creator)
    • Oregon State College. Agricultural Experiment Station. (creator)
    • Oregon State College. Dept. of Horticulture. (creator)
    • Oregon State College. Federal Cooperative Extension Service. (creator)
    • Oregon State Horticultural Society. (creator)
    • Oregon State University. Agricultural Experiment Station. (creator)
    • Oregon State University. Extension Service. (creator)