People standing on the platform of the Wilkesboro train station near Banks, Oregon, circa 1911-1914. This was a stop on the electric interurban United Railways route that ran from Portland to Wilkesboro beginning in 1911. Train car number 900 is on the track. For another photograph of this station and more information about the railway line, see: Hallgren & Due, "United Railways of Oregon" (1961).
A sign on the station reads, "Great Northern Express Co." The Great Northern Express was a conventional railway that connected to the United Railways line.
The photographer, William Alonso Clapshaw, exposed half of a glass plate negative to create this image. The other half of the glass plate was used to make another photograph; see image PUA_MS154_011b. Flaws in the photograph are due to dust and deterioration of the emulsion layer on the negative.
Several men and boys stand with a set of Adriance brand reaper-binders in Banks, Oregon, circa 1910-1914. A caption reads: "One Day's Delivery of Binders By John Wunderlich, Banks, Ore." John Wunderlich was a merchant in Banks at the time. Many houses are in the background of this image; a woman stands of one their porches. The reaper-binder machines were used to cut grain and bind it into bundles or sheaves, which would then be pushed into cone-shaped stacks that would be left to dry in the fields. This photograph may have been taken at or near the train depot in Banks. For another version of the same scene, see image: PUA_MS154_055
A steam tractor engine (left) powers a belt that drives a threshing machine (right, behind hay wagon). This photograph was taken circa 1910-1914 north of Forest Grove, Oregon, possibly at or near the property now found at 42440 Purdin Road. The ridgeline in the background of the photograph closely matches the modern view looking southwest from that location.
The men standing on the wagon are loading harvested grain - perhaps oats or wheat - into the thresher, which is separating the grain from the chaff. The grain is coming out of a chute that descends from the lower right side of the thresher. The chaff, or straw, is shooting out of the thresher into the barn on the right. A field with many tree stumps and wildflowers appears in the foreground. The Coast Range, farms and groves of oak stand in the background. For a similar image by the same photographer, see Image PUA_MS154_026.
Threshing of a grain harvest, probably near Forest Grove or Banks, Oregon circa 1910-1914. A steam-powered tractor engine (right) turns a long belt which drives the threshing machine on the left. Men standing on the wagons with pitchforks are feeding harvested grain -- possibly oats -- into the thresher, which separates the grain from the chaff. Men standing by the empty horse-drawn wagon (left) are gathering the grain from a chute that extends from the thresher, while the chaff, or hay, is being shot into the air, forming huge pile (left, background). Additional workers wait nearby, while what may be a covered chuck wagon sits by the steam tractor. Cut grain that is waiting to be threshed waits in the field in the foreground. For a similar image by the same photographer, see Image PUA_MS154_023.
A man and two children stand next to brick-making machinery inside a brickyard in Wilkesboro, near the town of Banks, Oregon circa 1910-1914. They may be the brickyard owner and his son and daughter. The man is wearing business clothes, a hat, tie and a pocketwatch chain, while the children are wearing sandals and clothes that would be suitable for play. Other photographs of the same brickyard show workers wearing much rougher and dirtier clothing; see photographs PUA_MS154_036a and PUA_MS154_036b. They are standing inside a shed which sheltered the brick-making machines. Stacks of bricks are drying in the background.
A man sits on a horse on Main Street in Banks, Oregon circa 1910-1914. He is dressed like a cowboy, wearing sheepskin chaps, overalls, and a hat, with ropes coiled in front of him on the saddle. Signs for many small businesses in the town of Banks are visible. From left to right, they read: Michelet, Lawyer; W. C. Young's Real Estate, Insurance, and Feed Store ("Town Lots & Homes, Farms & Acreage"); Billiards; Odd Fellows Hall ("IOOF"); and the Willis Hardware & Imp. Co. The latter store has product signs posted including ones for: Carriages; Sharples Tubular Cream Separators; Phoenix Paint; and John Deere. Main Street is an unpaved dirt road, with wood plank sidewalks. A horse-drawn buggy is in the background behind the cowboy, while a boy holding a bicycle and a car with a cloth top stand on the right.
Several men and boys stand with a set of Adriance brand reaper-binders in Banks, Oregon, circa 1910-1914. A faint caption reads: "One Day's Delivery of Binders By John Wunderlich, Banks, Ore." John Wunderlich was a merchant in Banks at the time. The binder machines were used to cut grain and bind it into bundles or sheaves, which would then be pushed into cone-shaped stacks that would be left to dry in the fields. This photograph may have been taken at or near the train depot in Banks. For another version of the same scene, see Image PUA_MS154_022
Black and white image of a band standing in a row across an unpaved street. On a building behind them the words 'Banks Mercantile' can be read. Most of the men hold brass instruments, baritones, French horns, and trumpets. In the center of the image is a large bass drum.
Black and white image of a group of adults and two dogs in a snowy street. Most of the group is seated on a large bobsled. Houses line one side of the street behind them, set behind split-rail fences. A large barn sits in the background on the opposite side of the street. Most of the sledders wear only sweaters, hats and gloves; the women wear scarves wrapped around their heads.
Sepia-toned image of a group of school students standing on the porch and a temporary step outside of their building. Most of the boys wear coats and pants, some wear short pants and one boy has a ruffled collar. The girls wear print and patterned dresses of varying fabrics, and most wear their hair pulled back from their faces. Two men stand at the left of the group, one just visible behind the other. The school has broken out windows and an open door.
Black and white image of a number of children standing outside of a building. Some students are seated in front of the group, including two boys who appear to be almost wrestling. The girls wear knee-length skirts, many made of plaid material, while some wear pinafores or sailor style shirts. The boys wear overalls or pants with suspenders.
Sepia-toned image of a young woman dressed in a full, long white gown, gathered at the neck and belted at the waist, and with long, full, split sleeves. She holds a United States flag in one hand, and wears a crown with stars on each point.
The Washington County Bank building on Main Street in the small town of Banks, Oregon, decorated in support of the military during World War I. The front of the building is decorated with two service flags and a wheel showing progress towards a war bond fundraising goal. This photograph, which was issued as a postcard, was probably taken in late 1917 or early 1918.
The large service flag (left) is similar to other ones produced in this region during World War I. Each of the small stars on such flags typically represented one man from the community who had entered military service. Blue stars signified men who had joined the war and were still alive, while gold stars signified those who had died in service. The smaller flag (center) with three stars may have belonged to the family who operated the bank, signifying that they had three sons in service. These flags symbolized the town's commitment to the war and the seriousness of the need for raising funds.
The wheel on the right demonstrated progress towards a community-wide goal for purchasing Liberty Bonds. These war bonds were issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a way to finance the war effort. People who bought bonds would gain a return of around 3-4%, but they were promoted more as a means of demonstrating patriotic sentiment, rather than as an investment. This wheel shows that the town of Banks was about 1/4 of the way towards their goal for purchases.
The Washington County Bank was the first bank in the town of Banks, having opened in 1909. It was a postal savings bank, which was a part of a limited service banking system backed by the federal government. Outlets often served rural communities. The building had a false front with a neoclassical facade, featuring three Doric columns, holding up a rectangular pediment with false columns etched along beneath its top. A wooden sidewalk surrounded the building. An unpaved road and several Model T -like cars are visible on the left.
Black and white image of a two story house with a large front dormer in a steeply pitched roof. A covered porch surrounds two sides of the house. Lace curtains hang in the windows and a large dog lays on the porch. Three people stand or sit in the front yard behind a wire fence. A woman stands on one side of the front walkway, she wears a dress fitted at the waist and a deep v-neck revealing a high-necked white blouse underneath. Her hair is gathered into a loose bun on top of her head. On the other side of the sidewalk directly in front of the house an older woman sits in a carved rocking chair. She wears a dark skirt and a light colored Bishop style blouse. Her hair is pulled into a small bun on top of her head. The man standing at the right of the image wears a suit coat over a light-colored shirt and tie, high-waisted pants, and a 'bowler' style hat. A grey dappled horse stands next to him.
Sepia-toned image of a small wooden building with a classical facade and false front. A single large window fills the front of the building, with a door to the left. Written on the window is 'Washington County Bank, U. S. Depository, Postal Savings.' Postal savings were certificates that could be purchased at local post offices and offered an alternative savings method to rural citizens who did not always have access to a bank. Postal certificates and bonds could be cashed in at banks such as this one, which were official depositories of the system. Another building sits next to the bank, and a boardwalk runs in front of it and down the far side. The Washington County Bank was founded in 1909.
A member of the local baseball team of Banks, Oregon circa 1900. The man is wearing a traditional striped baseball uniform of knickers and loose fitting, short-sleeved buttoned shirt, with a baseball cap. He wears a dark, long-sleeved shirt beneath the light-colored uniform shirt, and his knickers are tucked into thick, two-colored socks that disappear into lace-up boots. 'Banks' is lettered across the front of his shirt. He stands in front of a misty, romantic studio backdrop.
Sepia-toned image of two men standing inside a building with a number of desks and tables. A teller's cage fills the area directly behind the men, separating the entrance from the interior of the bank. Both men wear suit coats and ties. Otto Galaway, bank teller, stands to the image left of Wheelock Marsh, the vice-president. The Washington County Bank opened in 1909; Galaway left in 1921 to open a bank in Vernonia.
Group portrait of students at Prickett school in Washington County, Oregon. This school was located north of the town of Banks, at or near Woollen Road and Green Mountain Road.
Photograph of several residences in Banks, Oregon. Along the right side of the street are, left to right, the Davies House, Galaway House, Grindle House, and the Willis house. Across the street, on the left side of the photo, is the John Carstens House and hop house.
Students and a teacher from the Harrison School on Harrison Road, between Banks and Mountaindale in Washington County, Oregon. This photograph was taken circa 1892. The students stand on and in front of the school's porch. A Hillsboro Argus article published decades later provided the names of the students and teacher: (Front row, from left) Otis Purdin, Fred Schlegel, Eugene Northrup, Ivy McMurry, Mabel Northrup, Ella Schlegel, Edwin Schlegel, Lurah Cornelius, Eva Cornelius, Louise Rieben, Ellis Purdin, Will Rieben; (top row) Mary Rieben, Rose Schlegel, Elizabeth Rieben, Minnie Northrup, Pearl McMurry, Frank Armentrout, Arthur Schelgel, Charles Purdin, Wesley Schlegel, George Cronkite (teacher), Fred McMurry and Nelse Cornelius.
