Oliver Matthews Collection, 1905-1969

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Matthews, Oliver Vincent, 1892-1979
Title
Oliver Matthews Collection
Dates
1905-1969
Quantity
16 cubic feet
Collection Number
Consult repository.
Summary
The Matthews Collection consists of scrapbooks and trip logs pertaining to Oregon trees, logging methods, and wood products.
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
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Oliver Matthews (1892-1979), dendrologist and self-described "botanical tramp," traveled all parts of Oregon for more than 40 years in pursuit of trees, particularly the biggest of each species. Matthews graduated from Willamette University in 1913 and later received teacher training as a post-graduate at Oregon College of Education, but had no formal training as a botanist.

He served in Europe during World War I and worked as a carpenter and an extra in the silent film industry in Hollywood after the war. He returned to Oregon in 1928 and except for seasonal work as a carpenter and in a Salem cannery, devoted the rest of his life to the study of Oregon's trees. He corresponded extensively with herbariums, state and national forest services, newspapers, and individuals; collected hundreds of wood specimens; discovered a new cypress that bears his name; extended the known geographical range of several trees; contributed extensive botanical specimens to many herbariums; and located, measured, and documented the largest specimens of many trees, including Douglas Fir and Weeping Spruce.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection consists of scrapbooks and logs pertaining to Oregon trees, logging methods, and wood products. The scrapbooks, arranged by species or other subject, include correspondence, clippings, photographs, and postcards. The logs contain day-by-day and mile-by-mile information on trips taken by Matthews in his search for botanical specimens, wood samples, and rare or large trees. The logs include maps, photographs, correspondence, trip narratives, and receipts.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Oliver Matthews Collection, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Organized in three series: 1. Scrapbooks; 2. Logs; and 3. Publications.

Related Materials

Other materials relating to this collection can be found in the Oliver Matthews Photographic Collection (P 118) and in the Memorabilia Collection.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I:  ScrapbooksReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box
1
Scrapbook 1
apx 12x17 in.
Box
1
Narrow Leaf Cottonwood
apx 12x17 in.
1
Willows and Birches
apx 12x17 in.
World's largest Northwest Paper Birch Discovery of extension of Northwest Paper Birch growth to area other than the Minam River
1
Scrapbook 2
apx 12x17 in.
Box
1
Sumac
apx 12x17 in.
Oregon's largest Scarlet Sumac
1
Driftwood
apx 12x17 in.
Wood collecting on Oregon's beaches Gifts of wood samples to State Forestry Department and to OSU Forestry School
2
Scrapbook 3
apx 12x17 in.
Box
2
Johnson Fir
apx 12x17 in.
2
"Sport" trees
apx 12x17 in.
2
Noble Fir
apx 12x17 in.
3
Scrapbook 4
apx 12x17 in.
Box
3
Incense Cedar
apx 12x17 in.
Uses
4
Scrapbook 5
apx 12x17 in.
Box
4
Oregon Ash
apx 12x17 in.
Salem historical photos, newspaper clippings.
4
Elderberries
apx 12x17 in.
"Detective Work" (letters, gathering of Herbarium materials, etc.) in trying to establish a new elderberry.
5
Scrapbook 6
apx 12x17 in.
Box
5
Largest tree ever cut in Oregon
apx 12x17 in.
5
Early logging methods
apx 12x17 in.
Ox teams, skid roads, donkey engines, trestles, railroads, yard engines.
6
Scrapbook 7
apx 12x17 in.
Box
6
Mountain Alder
apx 12x17 in.
6
Red Alder
apx 12x17 in.
6
Cut-leaf Alder
apx 12x17 in.
6
Sitka Alder
apx 12x17 in.
Growth on Saddle Mountain.
6
White Alder
apx 12x17 in.
7
Scrapbook 8
apx 12x17 in.
Box
7
Blue Blossom (Blue Myrtle)
apx 12x17 in.
7
Buffalo Berry
apx 12x17 in.
Growth in Harney County Alvord County
7
Dogwood
apx 12x17 in.
7
Tasseltree, Silktassel
apx 12x17 in.
7
Madrone
apx 12x17 in.
7
Kinnikinik, Heather, Manzanita, Huckleberry
apx 12x17 in.
7
Rhododendron
apx 12x17 in.
7
Azalea
apx 12x17 in.
8
Scrapbook 9
apx 12x17 in.
Box
8
Syringa
apx 12x17 in.
8
Rose
apx 12x17 in.
8
Evergreen Blackberry
apx 12x17 in.
8
Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany
apx 12x17 in.
8
Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany
apx 12x17 in.
8
Oregon Crabapple
apx 12x17 in.
8
Western Serviceberry
apx 12x17 in.
8
Black Haw (Hawthorn)
apx 12x17 in.
8
Columbia Haw
apx 12x17 in.
8
Bitter cherry
apx 12x17 in.
8
Chokeberry
apx 12x17 in.
8
Wild Plum
apx 12x17 in.
9
Scrapbook 10
apx 12x17 in.
Box
9
Douglas Maple
apx 12x17 in.
9
Bigleaf Maple or Broadleaf Maple
apx 12x17 in.
Maple burls and veneers PowWow tree
9
Kimball Maple
apx 12x17 in.
9
Vine Maple
apx 12x17 in.
Phantom Bridge Silver Creek Falls
9
Cascara Buckhorn or Chittim
apx 12x17 in.
10
Scrapbook 11
apx 12x17 in.
Box
10
Chinquapin
apx 12x17 in.
10
Western Hackberry
apx 12x17 in.
10
Oregon Grape
apx 12x17 in.
10
Oregon Myrtle (California Laurel)
apx 12x17 in.
10
Avocado
apx 12x17 in.
11
Scrapbook 12
apx 12x17 in.
Box
11
Aspen
apx 12x17 in.
11
Black Cottonwood
apx 12x17 in.
12
Scrapbook 13
apx 12x17 in.
Box
12
Redwood
apx 12x17 in.
Fossils Redwood Highway (photos from 1926) Metasequoia
13
Scrapbook 14
apx 12x17 in.
Box
13
Old Forestry Building, Portland
apx 12x17 in.
Lewis and Clark Exposition, 1905
13
Old logging photos and postcards
apx 12x17 in.
13
Cordwood, wood-burning stoves, furnaces
apx 12x17 in.
13
Virgin Douglas fir photos, postcards
apx 12x17 in.
13
Southeast corner of Oregon
apx 12x17 in.
14
Scrapbook 15
apx 12x17 in.
Box
14
Forest Fires
apx 12x17 in.
Tillamook Burn, 1933, 1945.
14
Photos, wood samples
apx 12x17 in.
14
Witchbroom on Douglas fir
apx 12x17 in.
14
Mistletoe
apx 12x17 in.
15
Scrapbook 16
apx 12x17 in.
Box
15
California Juniper
apx 12x17 in.
15
Dwarf Juniper
apx 12x17 in.
15
Rocky Mountain Juniper
apx 12x17 in.
15
Western Juniper
apx 12x17 in.
15
Robinson Juniper
apx 12x17 in.
Matthew's part in naming new specimen.
16
Scrapbook 17
apx 12x17 in.
Box
16
Early Roads in Oregon
apx 12x17 in.
16
"Life Zones" in Oregon
apx 12x17 in.
17
Scrapbook 18
apx 12x17 in.
Box
17
Determinants of Vegetation
apx 12x17 in.
Rainfall Soil Latitude
17
Fire
apx 12x17 in.
17
Logging
apx 12x17 in.
18
Scrapbook 19
apx 12x17 in.
Box
18
Alpine Larch
apx 12x17 in.
18
Western Larch
apx 12x17 in.
18
Tamaracks
apx 12x17 in.
18
Mountain Hemlock
apx 12x17 in.
Crater Lake Buried forests
19
Scrapbook 20
apx 12x17 in.
Box
19
Western Hemlock
apx 12x17 in.
19
Paper Industry
apx 12x17 in.
20
Scrapbook 21
Box
20
Tanoak
20
Oregon White Oak
Pioneer cemeteries Various large or historic oaks in Oregon
20
Scrapbook 22
Box
20
California Black Oak
20
Canyon Live Oak
20
Dwarf Oak
20
Oracle Oak
20
Scrapbook 23
Box
20
Western Red Cedar
Shingle cutting
20
Hogan Cedar
21
Scrapbook 24
Box
21
Alaska Cedar (Alaska Yellow Cedar)
21
Port Orford Cedar
21
Scrapbook 25
Box
21
Sitka Spruce
"Wart" trees Weeping form Oregon Coast - photographs
21
Scrapbook 26
Box
21
Weeping Spruce
Siskiyou National Forest - Miller Lake area "Great trees"
21
Scrapbook 27
Box
21
Engelmann Spruce
21
Steamboats, beach scenes
22
Scrapbook 28
Box
22
Ponderosa Pine
Early logging photos
22
Scrapbook 29
Box
22
Sugar Pine
22
Western White Pine
22
Whitebark Pine
Bonsai trees
22
Scrapbook 30
Box
22
Pacific Yew
Bows and arrows
22
Florida Yew
22
Coast (or Beach) Pine
22
Digger Pine
22
Jeffrey Pine
22
Knobcone Pine
22
Scrapbook 31
Box
22
Limber Pine
22
Spiral grain in trees
22
Bristlecone Pine
22
Lodgepole Pine
23
Scrapbook 32
Box
23
Douglas fir -- big trees
23
Early surveying in Oregon
23
Coos Bay, lumber port
23
Scrapbook 33
Box
23
Uses of Douglas fir
Chips, Christmas trees, cooperage, ship's decking, doors, drugs, javelins, piling, sawdust, plywood, tanning, veneer, etc.
23
Enemies of Douglas fir
23
Scrapbook 34
Box
23
Origin of Christmas Tree
23
Alpine Fir
23
Silver Fir
23
Lowland White Fir
23
Scrapbook 35
Box
23
Red Fir
23
Shasta Fir
23
White Fir
24
Scrapbook 36
Box
24
Douglas fir
Shipping Big trees Log rafts Pole business
24
Scrapbook 37
Box
24
Discovery of Matthew's Cypress, Cupressis Bakeri subsp. Matthewsii
24
Monterey Cypress
24
Miller Lake area, Southwest Oregon
24
Scrapbook 38
Box
24
Matthews Cypress
24
McNab Cypress
24
Baker Cypress
24
(Botanical Notes, many from specimens gathered by Matthews)
24
Scrapbook 39
Box
24
Matthews Cypress
25
Scrapbook 40
Box
25
Matthews Cypress
apx 12x17 in.
25
Scrapbook 41
Box
25
Matthews Cypress, arranged by area of growth
apx 12x17 in.
Unnumbered Scrapbooks
Box
24
National Forest Maps
25
Big trees, vol. I and II
apx 12x17 in.

Series II:  Logs, 1928-1967Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
26
1932-1939
27
1940-1946, 1928, 1931
28
1947-1955
29
1956-1967

Series III:  Publications, 1948Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
25
"The New World Cypresses" by Carl B. Wolf and Willis E. Wagener
1948

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Christmas tree growing.
  • Cypress.
  • Douglas fir--Oregon.
  • Forest products--Oregon.
  • Forest fires--Oregon.
  • Forests and forestry--Oregon.
  • Logging railroads.
  • Logging--Machinery.
  • Logging--Oregon.
  • Tillamook Burn, Or., 1933.
  • Trees--Oregon--Identification.
  • Wood--Identification.

Corporate Names

  • Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition (1905: Portland, Or.)

Geographical Names

  • Coos Bay (Or.)
  • Salem (Or.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Scrapbooks.