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Oregon Secretary of State Archives Division

Oregon Historical Photograph Collections

Historical Photographs at the Oregon State Archives

To search the Oregon State Archives online holdings for historical images:

  1. In the first row of the 'Search By' fields, select 'Title' from the dropdown of the first box, and in the second box, enter your search text (for example: 'river', 'logs', 'mountain')
  2. For the second row, choose 'Electronic Document Type' from the dropdown, and enter 'jpg' within the second box.
  3. The third row can be used for a more granular search. Click the Search button.
Screen shot shows the search screen in ORMS (Oregon Records Management Solutions) where a search can be made for images by title
Over a dozen children in a strawberry field holding baskets and bowls of strawberries they picked.
Children harvesting strawberries, 1916. Oregon State Archives, OWP0004.

More Photos

The Baker County Library has over 10,000 photos of schools, churches, communities, mines and more.

Salem Public Library Historic Photograph Collections

The Salem Public Library Historic Photograph Collections include over 10,000 photographs from the holdings of the Salem Public Library, the Oregon State Archives, and the Marion County Historical Society. Images date from the mid-1800s to the 1990s.

Salem Public Library Contributions

Salem Public Library contributed over 7500 photographs to the collections spanning from the mid-1800s to the 1990s. Collections include the Ben Maxwell Collection; the Salem Statesman Journal Collection; and the Kovel Homes Collection.

Oregon State Archives Contributions

The Oregon State Archives contributed nearly 2,300 photographs. Many feature regions of Oregon outside of the Marion County/Willamette Valley area. They date from the 1880s to the 1970s and represent activities of more than 30 state agencies. Oregon Highway Department tourism promotion photographs make up a large portion of the total. The database also includes photos from the Oregon State Fair, Water Resources Department, and Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Marion County Historical Society Contributions

The Marion County Historical Society contributed over 300 photographs dating from the late-1800s to the mid-1900s. Subjects include landmark buildings such as the Oregon State Capitol, the Marion County Courthouse, the Oregon State Penitentiary, and the Bush House.