Digital Photograph Collections

Adams County Community Archive

Adams County Community Archive is a collection of historic materials documenting the early culture, industry,and community life of rural Adams County including the towns of Benge, Lind, Othello, Ritzville, & Washtucna. The collection is funded by a grant from the Washington State Library.

Library Cornerstone Collection

When the Ritzville Public library was constructed in 1907, a time capsule was placed in a cornerstone of the building—a metal box with old letters and documents pertaining to the building of the library, a few old coins, newspapers, and more. Various newspaper articles placed in the time capsule documented the cornerstone laying ceremony. Governor Albert E. Mead attended the celebration.
 

Early Schoolhouses in Adams County

In partnernship with the Adams County Historical Society, the Library digitized a comprehensive collection of photographs depicting early rural schoolhouses throughout the county. Many of the more than one hundred one-room schoolhouses built in Adams County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are gone, as are the small towns that grew up around them.

Click here for more photos and information.

A.M. Kendrick Photograph Collection

The photos contained in the A. M. Kendrick Collection span nearly 50 years, depicting early agricultural techniques used in the Big Bend region of the Columbia Basin, interiors and exteriors of local retail and commercial businesses, towns, street scenes, churches, schools, scenes of the Northern Idaho wilderness, and a look at general day-to-day life on the farm. Kendrick was born in Northport, Washington on August 23, 1896 and moved to Ritzville in 1935. From 1935 until his death in 1976, Kendrick was the area's main portrait and studio photographer.


 

Gilson Scrapbook Collection

The Gilson Scrapbooks consist of 4 volumes of memorabilia, photographs, newspaper articles and personal letters relating to the history of Adams County. Place names include Ritzville, Cunningham, Lind, Othello, among others. The Gilson Family settled in east Adams County in the years 1890-1910.



 

Adams County Historical Society Photograph Collection

The Adams County Historical Society was organized in May 1956 to gather and preserve the history of Adams County.  Today, the Society's endeavors are the same with a strong emphasis on archiving and gathering local history for generations to come.

Washington State Library Flickr Albums

A collection of more than 40 albums put together by the Washington State Library that chronicle the history of our state.  Includes early digitized images, recent photos, scans from books and newspapers, and more.