John H. Gallagher was a soldier in the Spanish American War and a mining engineer in Portland, Oregon. Papers include correspondence, 1902-1909, regarding personal matters; receipts and documents, circa 1895-1900, regarding the Philippines and the Spanish American War, with some items in Spanish; and broadsides for events for U.S. troops in Hawaii, 1898.

Collection includes correspondence and speeches by Rufus Cecil Holman, a Portland businessman who served as Oregon state treasurer and as a U.S. senator. Correspondence regards national politics relating to World War II, and the resources of the Pacific Northwest; correspondents include Philip H. Parrish, Harold L. Ickes, George C. Marshall, and Donald M. Nelson. Also included are certificates and photographs.