Weatherford Hall – New Photo of the Tower Finial! Super student researcher Mike Dicianna has given us another fun post about OSU history.

One of the most iconic buildings on the Oregon State campus is Weatherford Hall. Completed in 1928 as part of a massive building program began by Oregon Agricultural College President William Jasper Kerr, the new dormitory would house 344 male students for the growing institution. The newly completed building cost $460,000 – including furnishings! The university financed the huge project by means of a bond issue that was retired gradually with usage fees paid by the men who lived in the dorm. The residence hall wings were named after Austin T. Buxton, Daniel V. Poling, Thomas J. Cauthorn, and Curtis L. Hawley. From the beginning, the men of these dorms were known as “independents,” that is not affiliated with the fraternities on campus. Watch a video history of this picturesque building on YouTube.

Weatherford Hall served as a dormitory and focal point for the university for many years, but time was not kind to the stately building. Leaks destroyed plaster in the interior, wiring and plumbing became dated and dangerous, and the building was deemed unsafe. The dorm closed at the end of the 1993-94 school year. In 1997, a renovation of the historic dorm was planned, and Weatherford reopened in 2004 as the new home of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program.

Recently, a donor called SCARC with a question about a photograph from her grandfather, Lloyd Bonney’s estate with a possible connection with OSU. Nan Harrison, of Springfield, Oregon described a photograph of her grandfather with the new “copper finial to be placed on the new O.A.C. Dormitory, Corvallis, Ore.” The copper finial was manufactured by Strobel & Miller Metal Works, of Eugene, Oregon. Nan agreed to send SCARC the original photograph and negative to include in our collection.

My first thought was it possibly could have been the decoration for the first men’s dorm, Cauthorn Hall (now Fairbanks) dating just before the turn of the century. Upon receiving an initial scan of the photo, I could tell it was later than 1892, but where could this finial have been installed? Searching through SCARC’s collection of historic O.A.C. photographs, the huge copper finial revealed itself! The tower of the new dormitory, Weatherford Hall sported the beautiful creation. The date of the photograph was confirmed as 1928!

This one photograph enhances our collection of Weatherford Hall in a special way. There are a few construction images from 1928, and numerous photos throughout Weatherford’s eighty-five year history, but this individual detail shot of the finial is a true find. As a thank you to our donor Nan and her family, I spent some time restoring the old photo digitally. Removing cracks and stains, the original “patina” of the photograph was retained, and a high resolution copy was made available to the family.

Sometimes it is the small things that excite an archivist. This single photograph revealed a part of OSU history that has been undocumented in our collections. Weatherford Hall was built exclusively by Oregon sub-contractors during 1928, something the Architect firm of Bennes & Herzog was proud to feature. And now, through this donation of a single photograph, the firm of Strobel & Miller of Eugene can be documented as part of this achievement. The photograph is available for researchers in Harriet’s Collection (HC), at OSU Special Collections & Archive Research Center.

You may not give much thought to the tremendous amount of work that goes into describing collections and putting that information online. Not being the one who works at that end of the archival workflow in SCARC, I can tell you that the staff and students are hard at work!

Participants at Phi Delta Theta barn dance (1950s), from MSS Choate.

You may also not give much thought to the steady stream of materials we are lucky enough to receive each week. We have alumni, department staff, and many others who are looking out for collections that would make great additions as we work to document the history of our university. I wanted to share a sampling of the collection guides that SCARC staff have updated or created over the past couple of months. Though these fall in the “students” and “sports” categories, because that’s what on my mind these days with the new school year and exciting football season, there are many more gems that now have new guides!

One thing to note: you’ll see two links and may wonder why… We have guides on our SCARC site, but also in the Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA), a database of collections from around the northwest. If you are interested in a topic or person, and want to see if there are other research possibilities in our region, NWDA is a great place to explore.

From the Football Photograph Colection

Football Photograph Collection, 1894-2000 (P 004)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv94665
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/p004/index.html

This collection consists of approximately 800 photographs of football games, practices, players, and coaches. Images of athletic facilities such as Bell Field and Parker Stadium are also included. An item-level list of the images, with links to those images that are available online, is part of this guide.

Arbuthnot, James G., Photograph Collection, 1909-1915 (P 191)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv69671
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/p191/index.html

These photographs document Arbuthnot’s life and activities in and near Corvallis as well as Oregon Agricultural College athletic teams and sporting events. James G. Arbuthnot was Athletic Director from 1906 to 1918 and the coach of the wrestling team in 1911-1917 and 1920. The collection includes 318 photographs.

Smith-Western Co. Photographs of Oregon State College, c. 1955/56 (P 164)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv02270
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/p164/index.html

This collection of 89 photographs consists of images (primarily negatives) of Oregon State College campus buildings and sorority and fraternity houses. The negatives were printed as postcards and sold in the College bookstore.

Lepper, Helen, Diary, 1938-1931 (MSS Lepper)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv99447
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/lepper/index.html

This diary documents the daily activities of Helen Marie Lepper during her student years at Oregon State College. She attended OSC from 1927 until 1930 and studied music.

Choate, Virgil L., Collection, 1953-1957 (MSS Choate)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv21252
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/choate/index.html

The Choate Collection consists of ephemera and photographs assembled by Choate during his student years at Oregon State College. Virgil L. Choate earned a BS in Agricultural Education in 1958. The collection includes 25 photographs, primarily depicting activities of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Mason, Donald L., Photographs, 1915-1935 (P 290)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv56347
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/p290/index.html

The Mason Photographs depict the Oregon State College foundry facilities, items made in the foundry, and students in foundry classes. Donald L. Mason earned a BS in Industrial Arts from Oregon State College in 1937 and was Foundry Instructor in the Industrial Arts Department until 1943. The collection includes 51 photographs.

Oviatt, May, Collection, 1903-1912 (MSS Oviatt)
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv91265
http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/coll/oviatt/index.html

This small collection documents Oviatt’s work as a public school teacher in Benton County (Oregon) and includes certificates and contracts. May Oviatt earned a BS in Household Science from Oregon Agricultural College in 1908.