James Kenneth Peters slides of South Fork Forest Camp

Collection

Identifier: Org. Lot 1446

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of 80 35mm color slides that depict the South Fork Forest Camp in the Tillamook State Forest, Oregon. The slides were taken by Kenneth James Peters, a foreman at the camp from 1960 to 1967. The images show views of the camp and work crews performing forest management projects; scenes include camp buildings and tree planting. The people in the slides are unidentified.

Dates

Creation: 1960-1967

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for the slides is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed under a Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

James Kenneth Peters was born near Birkenfeld, Oregon in 1923. He grew up in Carlton and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In addition to working as a commercial fisherman, a trapper for the Oregon Game Commission, and a truck driver, Peters was a labor foreman at the U.S. Forest Service’s South Fork Camp from 1960-1967.

Sources: Obituary, Oregonian, April 12, 1996, page 33; correspondence with Peters' daughter, Katherine Clock, 2025.

Historical note

The Oregon State Board of Forestry and Board of Control established the South Fork Forest Camp in 1951 as a result of legislation to reforest land affected by the Tillamook Burn. A minimum-security work camp, it is situated in the Tillamook State Forest and is owned and jointly operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections and the Board of Forestry. Work crews of people incarcerated at the camp perform forest management, assist with disaster relief efforts, and engage in fire suppression throughout Oregon.

Sources: "Adults in custody rehabilitation," Oregon.gov, https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/ForestBenefits/Pages/Rehabilitation.aspx; "South Fork Forest Camp History," by Nathan Seable, October 2014, Oregon.gov, https://www.oregon.gov/odf/forestbenefits/documents/SouthForkInformation.pdf

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder in shared document case)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Collection consists of 80 slides, taken by James Kenneth Peters, depicting the South Fork Forest Camp in the Tillamook State Forest, Oregon, including tree planting, buildings, and work crews. The camp is a minimum-security work camp established in 1951; Peters was a labor foreman there from 1960 to 1967.