Walker Farms records

Collection

Identifier: Coll 188

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Records of Walker Farms primarily consist of correspondence, particularly between Emery Walker and his business partner, Herbert Whitacre, and of financial documents, which relate to the farm, the financial holdings of Emery Walker and to his estate after his death, and to Walker's widow, Constance. The collection also includes a small number of brochures for agricultural and food processing equipment. The materials in the collection reflect the concerns of farmers with the ways crops can be ruined by weather, insect invasions, and low prices.

Dates

1945-1977

Creator

Walker Farms (Athena, Or.) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Historical note

In Eastern Oregon during the post-World War II era, wheat and oats were cash crops that not only grew in abundance, but also sold readily on the world market. One of the successful farming ventures in the area was Walker Farms, in the Athena area in Umatilla County. The farm was financed by Emery Walker, a businessman of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and managed by his partner and son-in-law, Herbert Whitacre.

Extent

1.2 Cubic Feet (3 document cases)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Records of an eastern Oregon farm, near Athena in Umatilla County, engaged in large-scale growing of wheat, oats, and peas from the 1940s to the 1960s.