New Finding Aid | J.H. Horner photographs

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce an updated finding aid published for the J.H. Horner photographs (PH200_039). The finding aid is available on Archives West.

John Harland Horner (1870-1953) moved to Enterprise, Oregon in 1911 and served as an assessor. He was an amateur historian, active for more than thirty years, documenting the history of Wallowa County.

The photographs in this collection cover a wide range of events in Wallowa County, from roughly 1900 to 1930. The primary focus is on the Nez Perce people and events relating to them during this time period. There are a number of photographs documenting the reburial of Chief Joseph the Elder, a funeral ceremony, and the dedication of a monument in his honor. In one image the funeral procession is seen transporting Chief Joseph’s remains to his final resting place, led by Francis McFarland, followed close behind by Ah-la-kat, a Nez Perce warrior. There are numerous Nez Perce portraits in this collection as well. Horner also photographed settlers of the area including people at work on their homesteads, and the first stage coach in Wallowa County, Oregon.

Notes from processing:

This collection presented a challenge in relating the traditional names of the Nez Perce, as they are often written out phonetically due to the language barrier between English and the Native American languages. Moreover, the traditional names are often spelled a number of different ways and this can cause confusion when trying to search for a particular individual or confirm an individual is being represented accurately in the finding aid.

–Emily Haskins, Special Collections Intern