THE DALLES — Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum has restored their Historic Photo Archives online, at www.gorgediscovery.org. Thanks to a grant from the City of The Dalles, the public now can view more than 30,600 images from the museum’s vast photo collection.
“Our role as a museum is to preserve the history of Wasco County and the Columbia River Gorge, while encouraging tourism,” said Susan Buce, the museum’s Registrar. “The same day I applied for the grant, I got a request from the travel writer for the Oregonian, who asked me if we had historic photos of a few local businesses she planned to feature.
“Our photo collection is used by authors, businesses, educators, reporters and researchers seeking a link into the past — perhaps a photo of a place they remember as a child, or the face of an ancestor. Subjects include Celilo Falls, agriculture, riverboats, trains, pioneers, and historic landmarks in The Dalles and area communities. We have photos from the 1800s through modern-day.
“Through the grant we were able to work with a local developer, Steven Jurney of Imbue Information Design. We can now process an image and immediately upload it to our website.”
The project also added more than 5,000 photos from the Oregon-California Trail Emigrant Inscription collection. James Henderson of White Salmon used a technique of cross-polarized lighting to capture digital images of names, initials and dates carved on cliffs or painted onto rocks using axle grease or tar. This five-year project photographing inscriptions left by Oregon Trail pioneers provides greater public access to a significant national historical resource.
“We are the only museum in the country with this unique collection,” Buce said. “Researchers and visitors can now view our photo collections online. And thanks to the city’s grant, we are able to regularly add to our online collection.”
The museum’s Historic Photo Collection and Oregon Trail Collection can be viewed at www.gorgediscovery.org.
Commented