Call Number:

C1512

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 0.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); D. C. Herrin "Columbia River Scenery" Photographs, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

circa 1892-1897 (inclusive)

Creator:

Herrin, David C., 1863-1909?

Form:

Photographs -- 19th century.

Abstract:

Consists of 13 mounted albumen card photographs from Oregon photographer D. C. Herrin's "Columbia River Scenery" series that depict various scenes along the river, including views of waterfalls; sites such as The Dalles, the Columbia River Gorge, and Mount Hood; and steamships. Herrin took the photographs via The Dalles, Portland, & Astoria Navigation Company (DP&AN) steamers and via the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) line.

David C. Herrin (1863-1909?), an Oregon native, studied photography in San Francisco in the late 1880s, and by 1888, had set up studios in Medford, then Linkville, and Lakeview, Oregon, before moving to The Dalles in 1892. There, he ran a studio with his wife Margaret, also a photographer, until 1898. Moving to Portland in 1899, the husband and wife team joined photographer Frank G. Abell to form the Abell - Herrin Co. Herrin appears to have ceased his photographic endeavors around 1903, and actively pursued running the Ancient Order of United Workmen Lodge in Portland, Oregon as the Grand Master Workman, and later as the Insurance Manager for the Order until his death.

This collection consists of 13 albumen card photographs from photographer D. C. Herrin's "Columbia River Scenery" series that depict various scenes along the river, including views of waterfalls; sites such as The Dalles, the Columbia River Gorge, and Mount Hood; and steamships. The photographs were taken by D. C. Herrin via The Dalles, Portland, & Astoria Navigation Company (DP&AN) steamers and via the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) line.

Included are two images with before and after shots of four sternwheelers under steam at the opening of the Cascade Locks on November 5, 1896, including "Dalles City" -- built in Portland in 1891, and rebuilt in 1909; "Maria" built at Portland in 1887 and abandoned in 1923; "Harvest Queen" built at Celilo in 1878, and dismantled in 1899; and finally the "Sara Dixon", built in 1892, and rebuilt in 1906. Two images show the sternwheelers making the passage through the locks as they raise them up and down, with one showing the "Harvest Queen" and another steamship making passage out of the locks; and the other showing all four being raised together with the locks doors closed. Another image in the series shows the steamers visible through the stone arch gateway in The Dalles, emblazoned with the title "An Open River to the Sea" with The Dalles sign visible on the right, and cold beer advertised for sale on the side of the saloon to the left. Of particular interest is a photo of a salmon fish wheel at The Dalles about 1894, showing the wheel in operation with salmon literally spilling over the sides and the operators standing amidst the "One Night's Catch." Another image shows the log flume which operated off of Bridal Veil Falls, transporting logs downstream crossing the creek several times before reaching the sawmill below the falls. Other photos include an early shot of Tamanawas Falls on the other side of Mt. Hood, Fairy Falls on the upper reaches of Wahkeena Creek, Latourelle Falls, Mt. Hood, Multnomah Falls, and a view of the Cascade Rapids at the Cascade Locks before the Locks opened in 1896.

Images are sized 4.35 x 7.35 in., all mounted on boards sized from 4.8 x 7.8 in. (5 photos) up to 5.2 x 8.5 in. (8 photos), all with text embossed into far right margin, or along the lower margin, a few with ink or pencil annotations on verso. Several cards are inscribed with text "Herrin Gallery; H. E. Hammond, Mgr." Hammond acted as manager of the Herrin Gallery in The Dalles beginning in 1897 as Herrin and his wife were in the midst of moving to Portland.