Benjamin Branson lived in Sheridan, Oregon, and was the first president of the Dayton-Sheridan narrow gauge railroad. Collection includes an autobiographical sketch, including a short account of an overland journey to Oregon in 1848 and gold-mining activities in Yreka, California, and Jacksonville, Oregon; a manuscript diary, February 19-June 4, 1872; and papers regarding Branson's estate.

Oral history interview with Julia E. Johnson, conducted by Deborah M. Olson in five sessions, from July 20 to November 11, 1987. Johnson discusses her early life in Jacksonville, Oregon; the operations of the Opp mine, which was owned and operated by her father, John Wesley Opp; teaching at Grant High School in Portland from 1926 to 1944; her involvement with the Girl Scouts of America; and her involvement with the Republican Party of Oregon.