Photographic images are a great resource for exploring Willamette's ever-changing campus from a variety of perspectives.
Most of the collections listed on this page have been digitized and are available via the Archives' website. You are welcome to visit the Archives see any of the items from the collection in the physical form.
The Willamette University Campus Photograph Collection, comprised of over 2,700 photographic prints, negatives, slides, and copy prints of sketches and blueprints, is a rich documentary resource covering nearly a century and a half of Willamette’s history.
A strength of the collection is the visual documentation it provides of Willamette’s ever-developing campus, particularly the buildings and landscape. Images show groundbreakings, construction, renovations, fires, and demolitions of various buildings. Transformation of the campus grounds, through activities such as the redesign of the Mill Stream and the removal of trees, is also evident. Aerial views of the campus provide yet another perspective of campus architecture and grounds and, to a lesser extent, downtown Salem, Oregon.
The Willamette University Scrapbook Collection consists of scrapbooks created by Willamette University faculty, staff, and students. Scrapbooks include newspaper clippings, photographs, programs, letters, awards, and souvenirs gathered to document the individual and community life at Willamette University. Specific scrapbooks were created for campus residence halls. NOTE: Scrapbooks are not digitized, but can be accessed by visiting the Archives.
The Willamette University and Salem, Oregon Postcard Collection includes Willamette buildings and grounds, university student activities such as parades and athletic events, and prominent downtown Salem scenes. The 161 postcards (both black/white and color) document range in date from the early 1900s through 1990.
Dr. Helen Pearce taught at Willamette in the English department. Her collection of twenty-nine black and white images is largely comprised of photographs capturing buildings on Willamette's campus.
The Paulus Glass Plate Negatives Collection comprises over 1000 glass plate negatives of historical significance to Willamette University, the City of Salem, and the Willamette Valley. Otto K. Paulus took the majority of the images, dated between 1914 and 1918, during his time as a student at Willamette University. His brother, Robert Paulus, likely took a proportion of the other images. The images fall into three broad categories: scenes of Willamette University; scenes of Salem and the Oregon countryside; and several hundred studio portraits of Salem citizens
The Vernor Martin Sackett Negative Collection documents campus life and students activities at Willamette University in the 1920s. While usually not the focus of the photograph, many buildings are visible in the background of the images. Sackett graduated from Willamette University 1922. Next to his portrait in the yearbook, The Wallulah, is the comment, "he owns a whole flock of cameras that won't eat anything but embarrassing situations."
