University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1299
URL: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/index.html



Guide to the Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth Papers, 1936-1956


Ax 033





Finding aid prepared by Mary Beth Hepp-Elam

Finding aid encoded by Mary Beth Hepp-Elam,
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.


Overview of the Collection

 
Repository Name:
 

University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives

1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1299
URL: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/index.html

 
Collection Number:
 

Ax 033

 
Creator:
 

Ellsworth, Harris, 1899-1986

 
Title:
 

Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth Papers

 
Dates:
 

1936-1956 (inclusive)

 
Quantity:
 

23.5 linear feet
17 containers

 
Languages:
 

Collection materials are in English. 

 
Summary:
 

The collection comprises the congressional files of Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth, U.S. Representative of the Oregon Fourth District.

 

Biographical Note

Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth was born in Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County, Washington on September 17, 1899. He moved from Hoquiam to Eugene and later to Wendling, Oregon with his parents. Ellsworth attended public schools and served in the Student Army Training Corps during the World War I. He graduated in journalism from the University of Oregon in 1922. In 1923 he was advertising manager of the Eugene newspaper. He worked in the lumber business from 1923-1925 as manager of a lumber-industry publication from 1926-1928. In 1928 and 1929 he was an associate professor in journalism at the University of Oregon. Since 1929 he was publisher and co-owner of the Roseburg, Oregon News-Review. He was appointed to the State senate in 1941 and was subsequently elected as a Republican to the 78th Congress in 1943. He served in Congress through 1957. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1956 to the 85th Congress. In 1957 he was appointed by President Eisenhower as chairman of the Civil Service Commission for a two-year term and served to February 28, 1959. He returned to Oregon and resumed his newspaper business profession and became a real estate broker. In 1975 he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and lived there until his death on February 7, 1986. He was interned at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Albuquerque.

Content Description

Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth served as the first representative from the Oregon Fourth District, 78th to 84th Congresses. The files include correspondence, reports, investigations, studies, and political records.

Of special interest are the files dealing with flood control, river development, forestry, lumbering, mining, and the hydro-electric partnership principle. The political files are primarily concerned with district rather than state or national issues.

Correspondence of importance exists between Mr. Ellsworth and his professional associates in the Oregon newspaper field: Merle Chessman, Editor of the Astorian Budget; Ralph R. Cronise, Publisher and Editor of the Albany Democrat Herald; Louis Felsheim of the Bandon Western World; Herb Grey of the Medford Mail Tribune; Palmer E. Hoyt Publisher, Denver Post; Frank Jenkins of the Klamath Falls Herald; Robert W. Sawyer Publisher, Bend Bulletin; Charles Stanton Editor, Roseburg News-Review; and William M. Tugman Managing Editor, Eugene Register-Guard.

The collection includes 4,000 letters.

Arrangement

Collection is organized into the following series:

  • Series I. Congressional Files
  • Series II. Legislative Files
  • Series III. Political Files
  • Series IV. Trips
  • Series V. General Correspondence

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information 

Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth presented the University of Oregon Libraries with his Congressional files in the fall of 1967.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access 

Collection is open to the public.

Collection must be used in Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room.

Restrictions on Use 

Property rights reside with Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the Manuscripts Librarian in Special Collections & University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation 

[Identification of item], Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth Papers, Ax 033, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

 
Ellsworth, Harris, 1899-1986--Archives
United State Civil Service Commission--Officials and employees
United States. Congress. House
Oregon--Politics and government--1859-1950
Oregon--Politics and government--1951-
United States--Politics and government--1933-1945
United States--Politics and government--1945-1989
Flood control--Oregon
Forests and forestry--Oregon
Legislators--United States
Mines and mineral resources--Oregon
Water resources development--Oregon
Speeches

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.


 

Series I:  Congressional Files, ca. 1936-1956

 
Container(s)
Description
Dates
 
box
1
folder
1

Agriculture
  1956
 
2
Auchincloss Committee (Republican congressional members)
  1949
   
Columbia Valley Authority
  1945-1949
 
3
General
  1945-1948
 
4
General
  1949-1950
 
5
Correspondence
  1945-1947
 
6-8
Correspondence
  1949
 
9
Defense Department
  1956
 
10
Federal Housing
  1956
   
Flood Control
  1936-1956
 
11
General
  1943-1944
 
12
General
  1945
 
13-14
General
  1946
 
15-16
General
  1947
 
17
General
  1949
 
18
General
  1950-1952
 
19
General
  1955-1956
 
20
Amazon Creek
  1945-1950
 
21
Amazon Creek
  1951-1952
 
22
Coquille River
  1936-1956
 
2 1
Report on Coquille River Bar and Entrance
  1926 1934
 
2
Hearing on Coquille River Bar and Channel
  1936
 
3
Hearing on Coquille River/Port of Bandon
  1936
 
4
Report on Port of Bandon-Tonnage Analysis
  1936
 
Includes topographic map and 22 b/w photos of the port and Bandon Cheese and Produce Co. cargo being loaded.
 
5-6
Rogue River
  1943-1956
 
7
Umpqua River
  1950-1956
   
Willamette Basin
  1948-1956
 
8
General
  1948-1949
 
9
General
  1949-1950
 
10
General
  1950-1956
 
11-12
General
  1953
 
13
Dorena Dam
  1944-1949
 
14
Hills Creek
  1955-1956
 
15
Holley
  1956
 
16
Presentation of Appropriation Figures
  1948
   
Food Study Committee
  1943-1947
 
17-18
General
  1943
 
19
Hearings
  1943
 
20
Minutes
  1943
 
21-22
1945
  1945
 
23
Correspondence
  1945-1947
 
24
Releases
  1945-1947
 
25
Resource Files
  undated
 
26
Resource Files-Meat
  undated
   
Forest Service
  1950-1956
 
3 1
Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI
  1950-1954
 
2
Sustained Yield
  1951-1952
 
3
Forest Conservation Committee
  1952-1954
 
4
Forest Conservation Committee
  1955
 
5
Forest Conservation Committee
  1956
 
6
Sustained Yield-Oakridge
  October 1951
 
7
Sustained Yield-Oakridge
  October 9, 1951
 
8
Comments on Oakridge Sustained Yield
  December, 1951
 
9
Brief of Proposed Lakeview Federal Unit
  undated
 
10
The Simpson Lookout, Washington
  March, 1952
 
Includes b/w "photo album" of approximately 62 photographs of Shelton, Washington.
   
Department of the Interior
  1946-1956
 
11
1946-1947
  1946-1947 1954-1956
 
12
Al Serena Mines
  1953-1955
 
13-14
Al Serena Mines-Hearings
  1956
 
15
Bonneville
  1947-1956
 
16
Hells Canyon
  1952-1956
 
17
Indians
  undated
   
Bureau of Land Management
  1951-1956
 
18
Bureau of Land Management
  1951-1952
 
19
Bureau of Land Management
  1954-1955
 
20
Bureau of Land Management
  1956
 
21
Chudoff Committee
  1955
 
4 1
Timber Market Areas and Access Roads
  1954-1955
   
Bureau of Mines
  1943-1956
 
2
General
  1950-1952
 
3
General
  1953
 
4
Metallurgical Lab, Albany
  1946
 
5
Metallurgical Lab, Albany
  1946-1956
 
6
Metallurgical Lab, Albany
  1943-1945
 
7
Report on the Northwest Electrodevelopment Laboratory
 
 
8
Miscellaneous
 
 
9
National Parks
 
 
10
Oregon and California Revested Lands Administration
  1944-1945
 
11
Oregon and California Revested Lands Administration
  1943-1944
 
12
Oregon and California Revested Lands Administration
  1945
 
13
Oregon and California Revested Lands Administration
  1946
 
14
Oregon and California Revested Lands Administration
  1946-1948
 
15
Oregon and California Lands
  1951-1956
 
16
Oregon and California Lands-Dan Goldy Land Exchange
  1949-1950
 
17
Oregon and California Lands-Right of Way Problem
  1955
 
18-19
Oregon and California Lands-Sustained Yield
  1948-1950
 
20
Oregon and California Lands-General Accounting Office, Sale of government owned timber, report of investigation
  undated
   
Lumber
  1943-1954
 
21
General
  1943-1944
 
5 1
General
  1945-1946
 
2
General
  1947
 
3
General
  1948-1950
 
4
General
  1949-1950
 
5
General
  1952
 
6
General
  1953
 
7-8
General
  1954
 
9
General
  1956
 
10
O.P.A. Controls
  1943-1944
 
11-12
Wood Waste, Alcohol Plant
  1948
 
13
Wood Waste, Alcohol Plant
  1953-1954
 
12
Wood Sugar
  1948
 
12-13
Wood Sugar
  undated
 
12
Wood Sugar
  1943
 
13
Mining
  1951
 
14
National Housing Authority
  1945
   
Office of Price Administration
  1945-1947
 
6 1
General
  1945
 
2-4
General
  1946
 
5-6
General
  1947
 
7
Favoring Extension
 
 
8
Opposing Extension
 
 
9
Oregon State Water Resources Board
  1956
   
Power
  1947-1956
 
10-11
General
  1947
 
12
General
  1948
 
13
General
  1948-1949
 
14
General
  1950-1952
 
15
General
  1953-1955
 
16
General
  1955-1956
 
17
Questionnaire
  1955-1956
 
18
Radio and Television
  1946-1956
   
Railroad
  1940-1956
 
19
Abandonment of Service between Eugene and Ashland
  1955-1956
 
20
Box Car Shortage
  1947-1950
 
7 1-3
Box Car Shortage
  1950-1954
 
4
Freight rates
  1940
 
5
Great Northern Railroad
  1944-1951
 
6
Truman Seizure
  1951
   
Reclamation
  1946-1956
 
7
General
  1946-1952
 
8
General
  1953-1956
 
9
Grants Pass Irrigation District
  1951-1952
 
10
Rogue River Project-Talent Division
  1954
 
See also H.R. 8384, 1954.
 
11
Rogue River Project-Talent Division
  1955-1956
   
Removal of Regular Army Officers from Active List
  1946-1947
 
12-13
General
  1946
 
14-15
General
  1947
 
16
H.R. 2744 Amendments
 
 
17
H.R. 2744 General Correspondence
 
 
18
H.R. 2744 James C. White
 
 
19
H.R. 2744 Jesse F. Dressler
 
 
20
H.R. 2744 Michael C. Greata
 
 
21
Miscellaneous
 
 
22-23
Miscellaneous
  1943-1956
 
23-24
Resources-Forth District Warm Minerals, Timber, etc.
 
 
25
Resources-Coos Bay Coal
  1945
 
26
Resources-Krome Corp.
  1944
   
Rivers and Harbors
  1946-1956
 
8 1
Appropriations, #1 of 5
  1946-1956
 
2
Appropriations, #2 of 5
  1947-1950
 
3
Appropriations, #3 of 5
  1952-1956
 
4
Appropriations, #4 of 5
  1955-1956
 
5