An Authoritative and Free Resource on All Things Oregon
Research Categories
The downtown Research Library is closing for renovation in 2020, but Oregon history is ALWAYS OPEN on The OE
Researchers WILL HAVE ACCESS to reference services during the renovation; please contact libreference@ohs.org with your reference inquiries. Scheduled to Begin Spring 2020: Preparations are underway to transform the OHS Research Library into a welcoming and fully accessible twenty-first-century space for research, learning, and collaboration. Our library is the heart of everything we do at the Oregon Historical Society. Our exhibits, the scholarship in the Oregon Historical Quarterly, our online Digital History Projects, and the free public programs we offer would not be possible without the invaluable librarians and archivists who safeguard and make accessible the largest collection of Oregon history available anywhere in the world.
May in Oregon History
Here is just a glimpse of May happenings in Oregon. Anson Dart and Willamette Valley Treaty Commissioners signed five treaties with the Kalapuya and Molalla tribes of the Willamette Valley and the Cascade Range. Congregation Beth Israel, the oldest and most prominent Jewish Reform congregation in Oregon, has its first meeting in May 1858. President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law the bill that created Crater Lake as a National Park in Oregon. Woody Guthrie arrives in Portland in May 1941 to begin writing songs for the Bonneville Power Authority, including "Roll On, Columbia," a Northwest anthem and the official folk song of Washington State. The Vanport flood happened on May 30, 1948.
Looking for history in All The Places?
The Oregon History Wayfinder is an interactive map that identifies significant places, people, and events in Oregon history. Each point on the map connects to the historical records and scholarship on the Oregon History Project and The Oregon Encyclopedia, two of the digital history sites created by the Oregon Historical Society. The Oregon History Wayfinder is supported in part by the Oregon Heritage Commission.
Welcome to the award-winning Oregon Encyclopedia
Western History Association, Gene Autry Public History Award, 2012.
AASLH American Association of State and Local History, Leadership in History
Award, 2011.
NCTE logo National Council of Teachers of English, Multicultural Program Award,
2009.
OHS Digital History Projects
In addition to The Oregon Encyclopedia, the OHS Digital History Projects include the Oregon History Project and Oregon History Wayfinder.
The OE is Green!
The Encyclopedia's editorial process is completely paperless. Our authors and editors use a one-of-a-kind online workshop developed by Portland State University. We've published hundreds of authoritative entries on Oregon history and culture without hurting a single Douglas Fir. Donate your green to The OE and keep us—and the trees—growing.
Additional Funding
This project has been funded in part by the Oregon Heritage Commission and the
Oregon Cultural Trust.
Project Partners
LSTA Libraries as Community Resources Meetings, made possible by a grant from the
Institute of Museum and Library Services to The Oregon Encyclopedia.