Black and white image of a man and a woman picking filberts in an orchard. Three filled sacks stand to the left of the image, a man with a bucket standing just beyond the furthest sack. A woman kneels on the ground next to a bucket and appears to be picking filberts from the ground. Today (2012), Oregon produces all but a tiny fraction of the United States hazelnut crop. Many of those orchards are in Washington County. This photo was part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who, in addition to taking his own photographs, collected images that depicted daily life in the area.
Black and white image of a four story grist mill on a river. It is impossible to tell if the mill is functional or damaged. Museum records suggest this could be a mill in the Yamhill County, but such mills would have been common sites around Washington County in the days before there were many roads to transport crops around the area. This photo was part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who, in addition to taking his own photographs, collected images that depicted daily life in the area.
Black and white image of a bags of feed being filled at a mill. Dust fills the air as several men supervise the machines filling bags of feed. This photo was part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who, in addition to taking his own photographs, collected images that depicted daily life in the area.
Black and white image of a group of men, mostly in overalls, standing inside of a meal with sacks of grain and meal. All the men wear hats, whether newsboy style, fedoras, or ball caps. Three of the bags of grain appear to be burlap and have lettering that reads 'Use Co-op Products. Feeds. Tualatin Valley Co-op.' Another back seems to be paper and simply reads 'Higro Alfalfa Meal' on the side. This photo was part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who, in addition to taking his own photographs, collected images that depicted daily life in the area.
Black and white image of children grouped in an empty lot with cattle of various breeds and sizes. Two large open air barns sit on the far side of the lot. Most of the children wear white or other light-colored clothing. Museum records identify this image as being from the Washington County Fair 4-H livestock judging. This photo was part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who, in addition to taking his own photographs, collected images that depicted daily life in the area.
Black and white image of several young people in light-colored clothing directing pigs around an enclosed space while an audience looks on. In the background are large open-air barns, and a Ferris Wheel. Museum records identify this image as being from the Washington County Fair 4-H livestock judging. This photo was part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who, in addition to taking his own photographs, collected images that depicted daily life in the area.
Black and white image of showing hay being stacked with a beaverslide stacker. Hay was loaded on the large forked tines, then pulled up the slide and dumped over to form a large, loaf-shaped stack. Museum records do not identify a location for this image, which is part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who also collected photographs and images from around the area.
Black and white image of a team of eight horses pulling a threshing machine through an empty field. One man sits on top of the thresher, while another holds the reins at the front of the machine. On the other side of the team of horses, an automobile with two men inside also drives through the field. Farmers rarely owned their own machinery; instead, large crews of itinerant laborers travelled up and down the Columbia River Basin during harvest season, following a machine owner to the various farms and working for several days to harvest and thresh the farmers' crops. Museum records do not identify a location for this image, which is part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who also collected photographs and images from around the area.
Sepia-toned image of a two-wheeled tractor pulling a grain binder through a field of wheat. The binder cut the grain near the base, then the large paddle wheel swept the stalks into the binder where they were gathered and bound with twine by a mechanical knotter. The bundled grain was then dumped off to the side to be placed into a shock for further ripening before being loaded on a wagon and taken to the thresher. Museum records do not identify a location for this image, which is part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who also collected photographs and images from around the area.
Sepia-toned image of men loading grain into a belt-driven threshing machine. One man at the right of the image monitors the tractor whose engine is running the machine; the other of the long belt a man stands on top of a rick full of wheat, ready to toss it into the separator. Another man stands on a cart of wheat, waiting to be separated as well. The name 'Case' can be seen on pipe leading away from the thresher. J. I. Case invented the first successful threshers, which were originally horse-powered. Farmers rarely owned their own machinery; instead, large crews of itinerant laborers travelled up and down the Columbia River Basin during harvest season, following a machine owner to the various farms and working for several days to harvest and thresh the farmers' crops. Museum records do not identify a location for this image, which is part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who also collected photographs and images from around the area.
Sepia-toned image of man driving a two-wheeled tractor across a field. A young child in a knitted hat with a pom-pom on top waves from his lap. He appears to be plowing under the field; most of the field is turned earth, but for a small strip of dried straw just to the other side of where his plow is turning the earth. A harrow is chained behind the plow. Museum records do not identify a location for this image, which is part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who also collected photographs and images from around the area.
Sepia-toned image of mechanical farm equipment from early twentieth century. A tractor with two large metal wheels pulls what appears to be a planter across a plowed field. Museum records do not identify a location for this image, which is part of the Herbert McMullen bequest. McMullen was a local photographer who also collected photographs and images from around the area.
Black and white image of a child and a young woman holding a bucket of beans. The child wears pants and a shirt and a cowboy hat. People of all ages can be seen picking beans throughout the field behind the pair at the center of the image. Museum records identify this location as the Carothers & Son farm, near Cornelius, Oregon.
Black and white (overexposed) image of a tractor pulling a mechanical bean picker through a field of beans. The harvested beans are dropping from a hopper into wooden crates behind the picker, overseen by a young man. Museum records identify this location as the Carothers & Son farm, near Cornelius, Oregon.
Black and white(overexposed) image of a mechanical bean picker being pulled through a field of beans. The harvested beans are dropping from a hopper into wooden crates behind the picker, supervised by a young man making certain the crates do not overflow. Museum records identify this location as the Carothers & Son farm, near Cornelius, Oregon.
Black and white (overexposed) image of a tractor pulling a mechanical bean picker through a field of bush beans. A pick-up truck follows in the background. Museum records identify this location as the Carothers & Son farm, near Cornelius, Oregon.
Black and white (overexposed) image of a tractor pulling harvesting equipment through a field of beans. The harvested beans are lifted up a conveyor belt and then dropped into wooden crates behind the picker. A young man rides on the trailer, supervising the fall of the harvested beans. Museum records identify this location as the Carothers & Son farm, near Cornelius, Oregon.
Black and white image of a young girl, identified in museum records as Eileen Carothers, and a woman wearing a hat. They stand in between two rows of pole beans, and the woman holds a handful of beans while Eileen is picking some. Museum records identify this image as from the Carothers & Son farm, near Cornelius.
Black and white image of hand-harvested flax stacked in a field outside Cornelius, Oregon. These traditional stacks or 'little chapels' preserved the fibers at their longest and most supple, ideal for the manufacture of cloth. One of the oldest fibers known to mankind, flax produces both linen and linseed oil. A major crop in the Cornelius and North Plains area from the late 1800s, a large processing plant was built near Cornelius in the twentieth century. Cheaper cotton and synthetic fibers collapsed the flax market in the late 1950s. Currently, flax is on the upswing again as a crop, though today it is valued more for its seeds, which are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and highly prized for both human consumption and animal feed.
The members of the first Sherwood Grange pose to take a picture during a meeting. The Sherwood Grange was farmers who formed a political alliance in Sherwood, Oregon.
Black and white image of a field of blooming daffodils, backed by a rail fence and a grove of trees, with a tree-covered hill in the background. An older model pick-up is visible in the center of the picture, and the sky is visibly clouded over.
Black and white image of a flat-bed wagon loaded with bags of hops. A man stands on the front of the wagon, while another man stands with several children beside the wagon.
