Collection consists of manuscript and typescript copy extracts from Oregon newspapers, 1862-1896, regarding early exploration of the Crater Lake, Oregon area; manuscript and typescript copies of letters to the editor, 1874-1933, giving first-hand accounts of explorations of Crater Lake, Oregon, by William K. Kuykendall, E. W. Hammond, Orson A. Stearns, etc.

Manuscript diaries and scrapbooks of John William Meldrum, 5 volumes, 1865-1912. Meldrum, 1839-1919, was born in Burlington, Iowa. Contents include of the diaries and scrapbooks incude reports of Clackamas County officials, 1889-1893; delinquent tax lists, 1893; newspaper clippings; accounts, 1893-1894; and a description of a trip to Crater Lake, 1911.