Ships & Boats
- A Nez Perce Canoe - 1910As low as $5.00Each region created their own canoe designs based on tradition and available materials. This view shows a Nez Perce version, carved out of a single cedar log. Learn More
- A Shipbuilding Crew in Seattle - circa 1900As low as $5.00From 1893 through 1906 photographer Wilhelm Hester documented ships and shipping in Washington State, as well as Alaska scenes he captured when he joined the gold rush of 1898. Learn More
- A Shipbuilding Crew in Seattle, Side View - Circa 1900As low as $5.00In 1900 wood was still the dominant material used in ship building, and many wooden ships were built in the Pacific Northwest, especially in the Seattle area. Learn More
- Along East Shore of Wizard Island, in Crater Lake - 1905As low as $5.00A self-portrait of photographer Willis Vail and his sister Evangeline, docked at Wizard Island. You can see the string he's using to trip the shutter. Learn More
- Assembling a Steam Gold Dredge, Eastern Oregon - c. 1900As low as $5.00This large steam-powered gold dredge is under construction on an unidentified river somewhere in eastern Oregon, probably near Baker City, where photographer Martin Hazeltine operated his studio. Learn More
- Bailey Gatzert in Cascade Locks - 1904As low as $5.00The Cascade Locks were completed in 1896, eight years before this photo was taken by Benjamin A. Gifford. Learn More
- Barge Used for Oregon City Bridge Construction - 1922As low as $5.00This close-up view shows us many of the details of the barge with a steam donkey powered crane used to build the Oregon City Arch Bridge. Learn More
- Bark at Dock - Portland? - c. 1873As low as $5.00I can use some help identifying the location. Dennie, the photographer, imprinted his photos with his Portland address, but he also worked in Tacoma and sometimes in Olympia. Learn More
- Below Station A at Willamette Falls - 1895As low as $5.00This unusual view shows Station A, the first powerhouse used for the first long-distance transmission of electrical power in the United States. Transmission lines went 14 miles, from the Falls to Portland. Learn More
- Boating at Castle Rock - c. 1901As low as $5.00Two properly attired women manage their rowboats in the foreground of this idyllic scene at Castle Rock, now known as Beacon Rock, on the Columbia River. Learn More
- Boating on Crater Lake - 1912As low as $5.00This is a hand-tinted version of a well-known photograph by Kunselman and Gerking, usually seen in its original black and white form. Learn More
- Boatloads of Salmon at Oswego Creek - 1905As low as $5.00At the beginning of the twentieth century, local fishermen at the mouth of Sucker Creek (now Oswego Creek) would catch one ton of salmon per night at the beginning of salmon season. Learn More
- Broadway Bridge with Sternwheeler - 1915As low as $5.00Created in 1915 by an unknown photographer, this view shows the Broadway Bridge, looking towards the west, two years after its completion. You can find much the same view today from North Interstate Avenue. Learn More
- Building a Sternwheeler in Portland Harbor - c. 1905As low as $5.00In this group portrait of workers at the construction site of a new sternwheeler, we can identify the M. F. Henderson and the No Wonder moored behind it. Learn More
- Business District and Waterfront, Portland, Oregon - 1936As low as $5.00Taken during Portland's first "Fleet Week", this view shows the destroyer Reuben James and other Navy ships in front of the City's downtown business district. Learn More
- Cascades of the Columbia and Cascade Locks - c. 1921As low as $5.00Completed in 1896, Cascade Locks allowed river traffic to bypass the Columbia River Cascades until they were submerged in 1938, replaced by Bonneville Lock and Dam. Learn More
- Castle Rock from the Oregon Side - 1880sAs low as $5.00An unusual view of Castle Rock (now Beacon Rock) from across the Columbia River. Learn More
- Columbia River Sternwheer J. N. Teal - 1911As low as $5.00The "J. N. Teal" docks at a primitive landing on the Columbia River, probably at the town of Arlington. Learn More
- Cruiser USS West Virginia in Portland Harbor - c. 1911As low as $5.00The USS West Virginia, a Pennsylvania class armored cruiser, was commissioned in 1905 and initially served as part of the Atlantic fleet before joining the Pacific fleet in 1908. Learn More
- Dredge "Clackamas" in Portland Harbor - 1929As low as $5.00The 3,400 hp diesel electric dredge "Clackamas" shown here was launched in 1925, and at that time was the largest diesel electric dredge in the world. Learn More
- Dredge "Multnomah" in North Portland Harbor - 1913As low as $5.00The pipeline dredge USS Multnomah was built in 1913 by Portland Iron Works. This photo was taken that same year. Learn More
- Enterprise, Ladder Dredge for Star Sand Company, Portland - c. 1900As low as $5.00The Enterprise was the first boat in Oregon to take sand from under the water. She was built for Christian Missinger in about 1890, soon after he founded Star Sand Company. Learn More
- Factories at Willamette Falls, Engraving - c. 1890As low as $5.00This engraving is from The West Shore, an illustrated magazine published in Portland from 1875 through 1891. Many of its articles were profiles of towns throughout the Pacific Northwest. Learn More
- Family with Their Fishwheel, Columbia River - c. 1890As low as $5.00While some of the large fishwheels, and most of the permanently fixed fishwheels, were owned by corporations or other businesses, many families built and operated their own fishwheels on the Columbia River. Learn More
- Fireboat Puts on a Show in Portland Harbor - circa 1910As low as $5.00Wooden piers and the buildings above them were among the structures most susceptible to fire in the 1800s and early 1900s. Learn More
- Fireboats George Williams and David Campbell - c. 1913As low as $5.00In 1913, two steam-powered fireboats patrolled the Portland waterfront - the George Williams and the David Campbell. They served together until 1928, when they were replaced by three new gasoline powered craft. Learn More
- Fish Wheel at Upper Cascades, Columbia River - c. 1885As low as $5.00Fish wheels, water-powered mechanisms that "mined" salmon, were active on the Columbia River from 1879 through 1934. Learn More
- Fleet of Fishing Boats at Fishermen's Dock, Marshfield - 1930As low as $5.00This very detailed photo allows us to step into the world of small fishermen in Marshfield (now Coos Bay), Oregon in 1930. Learn More
- Four-masted Bark Galena, Stranded near Seaside - 1907As low as $5.00While the wreck of the Peter Iredale is still well-known, most people are not aware of the grounding of the Galena, which happened near the same spot only three weeks later. Learn More
- Gondola on Oswego Lake - c. 1920As low as $5.00A note on the original photo speculates this may be a group of students from St. Helens Hall, Portland Episcopal School for Girls. Whoever they are, they are clearly enjoying themselves. Learn More
- Harvest Queen Towing the Glenelvan of Glasgow, Scotland - 1897As low as $5.00The Harvest Queen, a large sternwheeler at 200 feet long, was often used as a tug to tow ocean-going sailing ships up and down the Columbia River. Learn More
- Harvest Queen Working as a Tug on the Columbia - c. 1903As low as $5.00Larger sternwheelers were occasionally pressed into service as tugboats to help guide tall masted ships through the narrow passages of the Columbia River. Learn More
- Launch of the 1st Liberty Ship, the Star of Oregon - 1941As low as $5.00A large crowd has turned out at the Kaiser Shipyards in Portland on September 27, 1941, to celebrate the launch of the first of many Liberty Ships built here. Learn More
- Launching a Dredge in the John Day River - circa 1895As low as $5.00While the dredge was not yet fully complete, it was clearly ready to be moved away from the docks and to float on its own. A crowd has gathered to observe the event. Learn More
- Launching the Boat, Steel Party at Crater Lake - 1903As low as $5.00This was not the first boat on Crater Lake, but it was an important one, lowered to the lake by the Will G. Steel excursion in 1903. Learn More
- Light House Joe, a Makah, on Neah Bay - 1910As low as $5.00This view by Asahel Curtis shows Light House Joe posing next to his canoe with his hand-made wooden harpoon and sealskin buoys. Learn More
- Lillian Bickner in her Canoe on Oswego Lake - c. 1910As low as $5.00This image is a variation on the photo used for the front cover of Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America: Lake Oswego", compiled by Laura Foster. Learn More
- Lily White's Houseboat at Dunthorpe Water Works - c. 1903As low as $5.00Lily White and her friend Sarah Ladd were accomplished amateur photographers whose work is still appreciated today. White was known for her houseboat, the Raysark, which she used as her photography headquarters, usually anchored along the Columbia River. Learn More
- Lily White's Houseboat Moored at Castle Rock - c. 1903As low as $5.00The Oregon Historical Society owns a print of this view of Lily White's houseboat, the Raysark, near Castle Rock. Our version starts instead from the original glass plate, in a private collection, and is a slightly larger crop. Learn More
- Lily White's Houseboat, The Raysark, on the Columbia - c. 1903As low as $5.00This view of the Raysark is likely near Lyle, Washington, where Lily White often moored her boat. We're probably looking towards the river from one of the inlets, or "lakes", that occur along the north shore of the Columbia in that area. Learn More
- Log Rafts Below Willamette Falls Locks - c. 1905As low as $5.00This classic view looks upstream below the locks and above them, Willamette Falls. Learn More
- Logjam on the Upper Willamette - c. 1900As low as $5.00Two steamboats arrive to help clear out a logjam under a bridge somewhere on the upper Willamette River. Learn More
- Looking Across the Columbia River from Cape Horn - c. 1900As low as $5.00Turning the tables on many photographs of Cape Horn, Jackson chooses here to use the overhanging bluff as a frame for a view back across the river towards Oregon. Learn More
- Looking Across the Willamette, Dunthorpe Water Works - c. 1903As low as $5.00There's little visible development on the east side of the Willamette River in this 1902 view from the south side of the Dunthorpe Water Works. Learn More
- Lowering a Boat through Cleetwood Canyon to Crater Lake - 1903As low as $5.00Cleetwood Canyon, located behind the current lodge, was named by William Steel because this is the location where the Cleetwood, the first boat to reach the lake, was slid down in 1886. Learn More
- Lowering the Boat "The Start" down to Crater Lake - 1903As low as $5.00Part of the Will G. Steel Excursion helps to lower the boat down to the lake. The boat was likely named for the fact that Crater Lake National Park was created the year before. Learn More
- Meeting the Ship at Newport - c. 1909As low as $5.00This appears to be a special occasion, as a small band and a crowd have turned out to welcome the arrival (or departure) of a small steamboat at the docks in Newport. Learn More
- Mills and Sternwheeler at Willamette Falls - c. 1915As low as $5.00There's a lot going on, and a lot of crisp detail, in this glass plate negative created by Ralph Eddy of Oregon City in about 1915. Learn More
- Navy Ships Along the Waterfront, Portland - 1936As low as $5.00Navy ships pause near the Portland Public Market in August, 1936. Opened in late 1933, it was at the time the world's largest public and farmer's market. Learn More
- Navy Ships in front of Old Steel Bridge, Portland - c. 1905As low as $15.00Taken upstream from its companion photo (see Related Photos below), this view shows two unidentified Navy ships resting in the waters of the Willamette in Portland. Learn More