The collection consists of memorabilia relating to eastern Oregon. Materials date from the late 19th century to the 1970s. Some of the materials were compiled by Umatilla County Judge James H. Sturgis, as indicated by items stamped with his name, but it is unknown whether he possessed everything in this collection or whether some materials were later added by others.

A significant quantity of the materials relate to the Pendleton Round-Up. These include souvenir programs, brochures, photographs, postcards, publications, and ephemera. The collection also includes reminiscences and histories. Individual and family reminiscences relate to the L. R. Bloom family, the McAlister and Williamson families, Charles W. McClure, Vera Koch Onkto, George Washington Webb, and Dunham Wright. Histories include that of the Mormon Church in Union County, Oregon; of Crystal Rebekah Lodge No. 50 in La Grande, Oregon; of the town of Summerville, Oregon; and of the town of Union, Oregon. Other materials include typescript copies of Benjamin Brown's diary entries from 1860 to 1862; compiled information and documents relating to the McCarty gang, to the execution of Pleasant Strong, and to a monument commemorating Til Taylor; the text of a speech Walter M. Pierce gave at the dedication of a monument in 1934; a book of poems by Buck Wilkerson; a promotional booklet about Umatilla County; assorted photographs and postcards; and commercially produced photographs depicting Native people.