News & Press

Gorge Photography (W.T.)

The beauty and magic of the Columbia River Gorge has attracted photographers for more than 150 years.  In the fall of 2008, the Oregon Historical Society and the Portland Art Museum will showcase rarely seen images produced by Carleton Watkins, Lily White, Sarah Ladd, Benjamin Gifford and others.  Some of the images produced by Watkins in 1867 -- using mammoth glass plate negatives -- are considered among the greatest landscape photos ever made.   These early photographs act as touchstones for understanding the ways in which humans navigated and learned to live in the wilderness of the Gorge.  In collaboration with OHS and PAM, Oregon Public Broadcasting will produce a one-hour special chronicling the history of the Gorge through these remarkable photos.

The Oregon Historical Society is pleased to announce the winner of the Society’s first college scholarship competition titled, "What Does Lincoln Mean To Us Today?" The scholarship opportunity was given to all Oregon high school juniors as part of the recent exhibit A House Divided, Lincoln: In His Own Words.

The winner of the competition will receive a scholarship of $10,000 to be used for tuition at an institution of higher education. The award will be presented at an afternoon tea in honor of Ms. Leandra Wolf, a homeschooled junior from Hillsboro who wrote the winning essay. "It was challenging to analyze what Lincoln means to the public today, and interesting to see how this meaning aligned with my own understanding of him," says Ms. Wolf.

To read the essay in its entirety click here

To read the official press release click here

George Vogt was recently profiled in the March 28th edition of the Portland Tribune.

"George Vogt moved to Oregon 15 months ago with his standard poodle, Poster, and he isn’t one to look backward. Well, maybe a little bit. Well, maybe a lot. Vogt is, after all, executive director of the Oregon Historical Society.

Poster mostly stays in Vogt’s office but also roams the halls around Vogt’s office. Come to think of it, Vogt
does pretty much the same.

Vogt has held similar posts at museums in Wisconsin and Delaware, and he’s had just enough time to take stock of the Oregon museum. Mind you, we didn’t mean taking stock in a bad way, as in taking a museum’s stock to another location. Although that can happen at museums. Let Vogt explain…"

To see the full article, click here .