Megan at Turner Publishing graciously sent me a copy of the new book, Historic Photos of Oregon, by William C. Stack. And it’s exactly what I expected: chockfull of historical photos from around the state.

But what sets this book apart from the many that have been released over the years is that many if not most of the photos presented here are rare – meaning I haven’t seen many of them – and believe me, I’ve seen mucho Oregon historical photos.

The images mostly focus on the people – a hard-scrapple people who worked the land, busted their asses and worked to the bone, all without a fresh Oregon IPA, cup of Stumptown or laptop.

Author Stack includes informative chapter intros and captions and really does “tell the story of the citizens who dedicated themselves to Oregon’s potential. Which ultimately, gave cities like Portland, Eugene, Salem and Medford, as well as the state’s smaller communities, the power to grow and prosper.”

Here are some of the photos from the book that speak for themselves [and judging from the photos, lots of animals didn’t make it very far in the making of our state]:

The book is available at local bookstores or online.