Dormitory at Chemawa Indian School - c. 1890

This dormitory was one of the first buildings completed at Chemawa Indian School when it moved from Forest Grove to the Salem area in 1885. This view was made by James G. Crawford in about 1890 as part of a series of photos of public buildings in the mid-Willamette Valley.

The Chemawa school had originally been started in Forest Grove in 1880, following the philosophy of Richard H. Pratt, whose goal was to integrate Native American children into general society by removing them from their homes and educating them in boarding schools. It was the second such school opened, after the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania.

Most of Chemawa's early frame buildings, like this one, were later replaced by more permanent brick structures.

-- This photo is restored and printed by Old Oregon.