Battleship Oregon collection
Scope and Contents
This collection was compiled by the Oregon Historical Society, and consists of correspondence, reports, scrapbooks, logs, personal papers, photographs and drawings, and mementos of the battleship U.S.S. Oregon, the Battleship Oregon Commission, and the Battleship Oregon Memorial and Museum. Among these are materials concerning the vessel's construction, launch, actions in the Spanish-American War, service as a memorial and museum in Portland, and dismantling following World War II. The materials also include correspondence with the National Auxiliary of the United Spanish War Veterans, the papers of Chester Lincoln Coon (1915-1919), the 1898 diary of Sargent Weed in the Philippines, and an 1898 logbook taken from the Spanish ship Cristobol Colon.
Dates
- Creation: 1897-1993
Creator
- Battleship Oregon Commission (Organization)
- United Spanish War Veterans. National Auxiliary (Organization)
- Coon, Chester Lincoln (Person)
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
The battleship USS Oregon was the third ship to carry the name of the state of Oregon. The ship was originally classified as Coast Battleship No. 3, authorized in 1890, and built at Union Iron Works, San Francisco. Following the ship's launch on October 26, 1893, it served in major conflicts for the next fifty years, including the Spanish-American War (1898) and Philippine campaign (1899-1900), World War I, and World War II. The vessel was purchased by the state of Oregon for purposes of a memorial in 1925. It was recommissioned for World War II, used as a scrap and ammunition depot, and finally sold for scrap on March 15, 1956.
Extent
4.3 Cubic Feet (5 document cases, 4 flat boxes, and 1 oversize folder)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Collection documenting the battleship USS Oregon, the Battleship Oregon Commission, and the Battleship Oregon Memorial and Museum.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series:
- Series 1: General materials
- Series 2: Battleship Oregon Commission materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts of Chester L. Coon, March 1958 (Lib. Acc. 7662), Mrs. T. H. Turner, February 1970 (Lib. Acc. 11399), Henry H. Cortesi, April 1987 (Lib. Acc. 18197), Arthur McArthur, December 1993 (Lib. Acc. 21557); Lib. Acc. 8992; and other accessions.
Separated Materials
Photograph albums acquired with Lib. Acc. 8992 were cataloged as part of the Spanish-American War photographs collection, Org. Lot 254, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Processing Information
Some reorganization of the collection was performed in 2013. Further minor revisions were made to the collection guide in November 2024 to correct some dates and conform to current standard.
Subject
- Oregon (Battleship) (Organization)
- Battleship Oregon Commission -- Records and correspondence (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Battleship Oregon collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Shawna Gandy
- Date
- 2013; revised 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Revision Statements
- 2013: Current finding aid reflects some reorganization of the collection.
- 2024: Minor revisions to correct collection level and Series 1 dates, and to conform to current standard.
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org