Willamette Valley Sketch Map, 1851

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Gibbs, George, 1815-1873.
Title
Willamette Valley Sketch Map
Dates
1851 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.01 cubic foot, including 3 maps, (1 map folder)
Collection Number
MAPS WVSketch
Summary
The Willamette Valley Sketch Map depicts purchases and reservations made by the Board of Commissioners with Native Americans in Oregon. The map was prepared by George Gibbs and Edmond A. Starling. Gibbs was a geologist and ethnologist who participated in treaty negotiations between the U.S. Government and native tribes. This collection consists of three reproductions of the original map, which is held in the National Archives.
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.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

George Gibbs was a geologist and ethnologist who participated in treaty negotiations between the U.S. Government and native tribes because of his expertise on Native American customs and languages. A native of New York, Gibbs moved to Astoria, Oregon, in the 1840s and became a customs officer. He worked on the Northern Railroad Survey and the Northwest Boundary Survey in the 1850s and early 1860s. Gibbs spent the last decade of his life working at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Gibbs died in 1873.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Willamette Valley Sketch Map consists of three reproductions of the manuscript map, Sketch of the Wallamette Valley: Showing the purchases and reservations made by the Board of Commissioners, appointed to treat with the Indians of Oregon, April and May 1851 prepared by George Gibbs and Edmond A. Starling. The map shows settlements, tribal lands, and rivers as well as vegetation and some individual land ownership.

The original map is held in the National Archives. The original is 30.5 x 50 inches and has a scale of 4 miles to the inch. The 3 reproductions that comprise this collection vary in quality, but appear to have been made in the early 1970s. Two are about two-thirds of the original's size (23 x 35 inches) and the third is approximately half the size of the original (15 x 21 inches).

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Willamette Valley Sketch Map (MAPS WVSketch), Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

These materials were transferred from the Oregon State University Libraries' maps collection to the Special Collections & Archives Research Center in 2014.

Related Materials

Other 19th century maps of the Willamette Valley are available in the Willamette Valley Township Survey Plats (MAPS Township) and Historic Oregon Topographic Maps (MAPS ORTopos). The Native American Maps Collection (MAPS Native) includes other maps documenting native lands in Oregon.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Indian reservations--Oregon.
  • Indians of North America--Oregon.

Geographical Names

  • Willamette River Valley (Or.)--Maps.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Maps.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Starling, Edmund A. (creator)