Return to Photographs PageCrown Zellerbach Corporation Photographic Collection
(P 216)
ca. 1899-1980
apx. 1000 photographs, 3 photograph albums and .25 cubic feet of documentary
material
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains photographs of the Crown Zellerbach paper mill
in Lebanon, Oregon. The photographs, arranged chronologically, document
mill operations from around 1900 until it was closed in 1980, and include
photographs of mill buildings, log ponds and raw products. Several aerial
photographs illustrate the growth of the mill through the years of operation.
There are also photographs of the interior of the mill, paper machines and
employees. A few photographs feature other Crown Zellerbach divisions, such
as the Camas, Washington, paper mill and the headquarters in San Francisco.
Crown Zellerbach's involvement with the comunity was also recorded in the
photographs. Parades, parade floats and mill open houses are featured. Most
of the photographs were taken from the 1920s to the 1950s. The albums are
bound and contain multiple years. Documentary material includes histories
of the mill, daily instructions, safety regulations and paper samples.
Provenance
The collection was donated to the Horner Museum in 1980 and transferred
to the Oregon State University Archives in July 1996.
Forms
The collection consists primarily of black and white prints. Negatives,
color prints and color negatives are indicated in the inventory where appropriate.
Historical Note
The Lebanon, Oregon, Crown Zellerbach paper mill was built in 1889. It initially
made paper from wheat straw and converted to wood pulp in 1903. The mill
started as Lebanon Paper Company and went through several mergers including
Crown Willamette, finally merging with Zellerbach in the 1920s. The mill
manufactured shell paper for wrapping such things as shotgun shells and
dynamite, corrugated material and core paper. In the early 1950s, Crown
Zellerbach chemists developed a line of chemicals from the by-products of
the mill. The Orzan line of chemicals was sold to other manufacturers to
use in materials such as linoleum paste, insecticides and other agricultural
sprays. The mill was closed August 1, 1980 and at the time was one of the
oldest paper mills in the Pacific Northwest.
Related Materials
A 1965 motion picture film pertaining to paper manufacturing is located
in the
Extension & Experiment Communications Films and Videotapes (P 120: 279).
Shelf Locations
P Shelves
2/2/3 (oversize photos)
SR 5/7/5/31 (documentary materials)
SR 4/2/5/L & 7/2/3/b (oversize documentary materials)