Soap Creek Valley oral history series · Monograph #2

Paul M. Dunn

Monograph #2 in the Soap Creek Valley oral history series: Paul M. Dunn, recorded in 2 sessions between November 2, 1978 and September 18, 1979, printed 1990.

Biographical Sketch and Story of the Adair Tract, Benton County, Oregon

Cover of Paul M. Dunn as printed — The printed cover. Full-size scan on the creator's own site, nwmapsco.com.

Photograph printed in the monograph: Paul M. Dunn — **Paul M. Dunn.** As printed: “Paul M. Dunn, 1962” From the front matter of the printed monograph (front-2 (frontispiece, facing the title page)), reproduced from the creator's own scan.

Jackson, Royal G. and Jennifer A. Lee 1990. Paul M. Dunn. Biographical Sketch and Story of the Adair Tract, Benton County, Oregon. Soap Creek Valley History Project, Monograph #02, 2nd printing. Oregon State University Research Forests and College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon: 53 pp

Provenance

Creator: Dr. Bob Zybach
Narrator: Paul M. Dunn
Recorded: 2 sessions, November 2, 1978 to September 18, 1979
Transcribed, audited, edited: Royal G. Jackson (interviewer); Jennifer Lee (interviewer); Jennifer Lee (other); Bob Zybach (series-editor); Bonnie Humphrey-Anderson (transcriber); Lisa Buschman (indexer); Lisa Buschman (editor); William Atkinson (authorizer); Thayer Willis (other); Neva Kissinger Dunn (other); Royal G. Jackson (photographer)
Printed: 1990, 2nd printing · Oregon State University Research Forests and College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon
Pages: 53 printed pages
Original: http://www.nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Oral_Histories/Soap_Creek_Valley/02_Dunn/Jackson-Lee_1990.pdf
Accessioned: From Bob Zybach’s upload, 23 August 2026
Source file checksum: sha256:47a3b791dd94671d3991c66629dcfd5b…

Front matter, as printed

Cover, as printed

PAUL M. DUNN Biographical Sketch and Story of the Adair Tract Benton County, Oregon Oral History Interviews by Royal G. Jackson and Jennifer Lee Soap Creek Valley History Project OSU Research Forests Monograph #2

Cover photograph

Cover Photo: This photograph of an early OSC School of Forestry work crew is from Royal Jackson's personal photograph collection. It was first used for the cover of his 1980 book, McDonald-Dunn Forests: Human Use and Occupation.

Acknowledgments

The Soap Creek Valley History Project was authorized by, and is under the direction of, Dr. William Atkinson, Director of the OSU Research Forests. Funding for the project is provided by the OSU College of Forestry. Oral history research and transcription for the project have been performed with the assistance and cooperation of the OSU Homer Museum. The Paul M. Dunn interview was researched and transcribed under the supervision of Jennifer Lee, the Museum's Oral Historian. Transcription to computer files was done by Bonnie Humphrey-Anderson of the Homer Museum staff. Lisa Buschman, OSU Research Forests secretary, assisted in the final editing, formatting, and indexing. Neva Kissinger Dunn provided the copy of the biography of Paul M. Dunn that appears as the index to this monograph.

Soap Creek Valley History Project

The Soap Creek Valley History Project was undertaken by the Oregon State University's Research Forests in 1989 for the purpose of better understanding the history, ecology, and culture of an area that has been directly impacted by OSU land management practices for over sixty years. An important part of the project has been the locating of recorded interviews with individuals who have had an influence upon the valley's history. Additional recordings have also been made with significant individuals who were not previously consulted, as well as "follow-up" interviews with a few people who have continued to contribute to our understanding of the Soap Creek area. The publication of these interviews as a series of cross-referenced monographs has been undertaken in an effort to make them available to resource managers, researchers and educators. It will also provide accurate and accessible references for a planned written history of the area. One of the primary accomplishments of the project has been the creation of a computerized concordance file. This was made possible through the assistance and expertise of Bonnie Humphrey-Anderson, of the Homer Museum staff, and Lisa Buschman, secretary for the OSU Research Forests. This file allows for both the efficient and systematic indexing of the monographs in this series, as well as providing a method for cross-referencing other research materials being used in the construction of a scholarly history of the Soap Creek Valley. Wherever possible, that history is being assembled from the written and spoken words of the people who made it and lived it. The use of the concordance file allows information from the journal entries of botanist David Douglas, the transcribed words of Kalapuyan William Hartless, the spoken memories of pioneer "Grandma" Carter, and the recordings of OSU forest manager Mary Rowley -- a history spanning over a century and a half -- to be systematically searched and organized. The index to this monograph constitutes the first applied use of the file. Citations to the following monograph should mention both the museum and OSU Research Forests.

Introduction

The interviews with Paul M. Dunn took place in Peavy Hall on the OSU campus on November 2, 1978 and September 18, 1979, with funding provided by the OSU College of Forestry and Homer Museum. The interviews were part of Homer Museum's Oral History Project: "Oregon State University and its Effect on the Larger Community." To members of the forestry community, Paul M. Dunn needs little introduction. His inclusion in a history of the Soap Creek Valley is primarily due to his efforts in securing the Adair Tract for OSU's forestry and agriculture. It is for those efforts that the tract was subsequently named the "Paul M. Dunn Research Forest" after it came under OSU ownership. For those unfamiliar with the geography of the Soap Creek Valley, it is sufficient to know that it drains much of OSU's McDonald Forest on the south, much of the Paul M. Dunn Forest on the north, and contains hundreds of OSU College of Agriculture acres within its flood-plain. For those unfamiliar with Paul M. Dunn, or those who simply don't realize the remarkable number of contributions he has made to the Corvallis community, to Oregon State University, and to the field of forestry in general, they are referred to the appendix to this monograph. After a long and productive career, Paul M. Dunn died in 1988. His widow, Neva Kissinger Dunn. has graciously allowed the biography of her husband -- written for a permanent display at the World Forestry Center in Portland by Thayer Willis -- to be included with this history. Her enthusiastic support of this project is indicative of the type of help and the contributions she brought to her husband's life, both private and professional. In reviewing the biography for publication, Mrs. Dunn observed that she believed "it covers everything very well." It is hoped that the reviewers of the following oral history will come to a similar conclusion. Bob Zybach Corvallis, Oregon September 1, 1990

The map

[EDITOR 'S NOTE: An attempt to locate this map has been unsuccessful. It may have simply represented an informal agreement, or been subsequently destroyed.]

The recording sessions

November 2, 1978 — Peavy Hall, Oregon State University campus, Corvallis, Oregon Interviewers: Royal G. Jackson, Jennifer Lee · Mode: interview · Source: as stated Stated on p.ii ('November 2, 1978 and September 18, 1979') and in the interview note beneath the Part I heading (p.1).
September 18, 1979 — Peavy Hall, Oregon State University campus, Corvallis, Oregon Interviewers: Royal G. Jackson, Jennifer Lee · Mode: interview · Source: inferred Second interview date stated on p.ii. The note beneath the Part II heading (p.32) repeats 'November 2, 1978', but Dunn refers on p.23 to 'last time', so Part II is assigned to the second session; date assignment inferred, the date itself stated.

The Soap Creek Valley History Project p. i
Introduction to Paul Dunn Interviews p. ii
Part I. Biographical Sketch pp. 1–31
World War I p. 1
College Education p. 2
Marriage p. 3
Early Career p. 3
The Great Depression pp. 4–5
World War II p. 6
Oregon State College p. 7
School of Forestry pp. 7–10
The G.I. Bill p. 11
Industrial Forestry Career p. 12
New York City p. 13
Corvallis Retirement pp. 14–15
OSC Career Reflections pp. 16–21
Adair Tract pp. 22–24
Women in Forestry p. 25
Curriculum Changes pp. 26–27
Career Accomplishments p. 28
Retirement Years pp. 29–30
Influential Individuals p. 31
Part II. The School Forests (1927-1956) pp. 32–45
Mary McDonald Acquisitions pp. 32–34
Cultural Resources pp. 35–36
Timber Income p. 37
Cabin Fires pp. 38–39
Camp Adair pp. 40–41
Ag Land p. 42
Adair Tract Purchase pp. 43–44
Forest Research p. 45
Appendix. Personal Biography pp. 46–47
Index pp. 48–53

Maps printed in this volume

Map dividing School of Forestry and School of Agriculture holdings on the Adair Tract Printed page 43 Referred to by Dunn ('We drew a line on a map to indicate the areas.') but not reproduced. Editor's note on p.43: an attempt to locate the map was unsuccessful.

Photographs

Captions are printed exactly as they appear in the book. The photographs themselves are in the printed volume and are not online yet; the scanned PDF of the whole book shows them.

Cover Photo: This photograph of an early OSC School of Forestry work crew is from Royal Jackson's personal photograph collection. It was first used for the cover of his 1980 book, McDonald-Dunn Forests: Human Use and Occupation. Photograph in the printed book, [front-1] (not yet online) Courtesy Royal Jackson's personal photograph collection
Paul M. Dunn, 1962 Photograph in the printed book, [front-2] (not yet online) 1962
"CONSERVATOR"—Paul Dunn, assistant district forester at Ellington, with Mrs. Dunn and their children, Bob, seated, and James. 1930—Redden photo. Photograph in the printed book, [front-5] (not yet online) 1930 · Photograph by Redden

Index to this volume

Bob's own back-of-book index, made live: each page number opens that page of the transcript. Every heading also appears in the Series Index, where it gathers references from all fifteen monographs.

Adair Tract 22, 23, 24, 32, 34, 35, 38, 40, 43, 44

Adams, William R. 31

American Forestry Association 14, 29

American Pulpwood Association 14

Arizona 5

Armistice 1

Blodgett Tract 33, 34

Brandt, P.M. (Professor) 42

Bureau of Indian Affairs 25

Bureau of Land Management 6

Cabin(s)

Dean's 38, 39
Forestry (First) 38, 39
Forestry (Second) 38, 39

Caffall Brothers Timber Company 35

California 5, 7, 8, 15, 32

Berkeley 32
San Francisco 42

Canada 15

Ching, Kim 45

Civilian Conservation Corps 6, 36, 38

Clark-McNary Nursery 4

Colorado 5

Columbia University 12

Connecticut 13

Greenwich 13

Corden, Guy (Senator) 24, 42, 43

Cronemiller Lake 37

Cronemiller, Lynn 37

Depression Era 4, 5, 34, 35

Dunlap, Frederick 3, 31

Dunn 1, 3, 5, 13, 16, 31, 32, 35, 37, 38, 39, 43

James 3, 12, 13, 31
Neva Kissinger 3, 13, 16, 31
Robert 3, 12

England 1, 12

Liverpool 1

Environment/Conservation 26

Epidemics

Influenza (1918) 1

Europe 1

Federal Land Bank of Spokane 41

Ferguson, Roy 31

Fire Towers 4

Fires 38, 39

Fire Control, Protection 11, 22, 36
Woodsburning 3

Forest Fires

Oak Creek (1949) 39

Forest History Society 14

Forest Management 3, 7, 11, 22, 25

Forest Manager 25, 37

Forest Research Laboratory 9, 11, 22

France 1

Chatillion-sur-Seine 1

G.I. Bill 11

Gilfillan, F.A. (Dr.) 8

Gill, Harold 8

Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation 29

Hill Family 30, 38, 39, 43

Homesteads 35

Idaho 5, 31

Iowa 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 15, 16, 31

Ames 2
Fort Des Moines 2
Iowa State College 33
Le Mars 1, 2, 3, 16
National Guard 1
Sioux City 1

Jeffers, D.S. (Dr.) 31

Keep Oregon Green Association 29

Lake, Edward (Professor) 7, 8

Lewisburg Saddle 37

Logging 4, 10, 25, 39

Mason, David 30

MASON, EARL G. 7, 22

McCulloch, Walter (Dean) 7, 11, 15, 26, 31, 37, 44

McDonald Forest 9, 23, 24, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 43, 45

McDonald, Ed (Professor) 31

McDonald, Mary J.L. 9, 32, 33

Minnesota

St. Paul 30

Missouri 3, 4, 5, 12, 16, 31

Ellington 3
Missouri Forestry Department 3
State Fish and Game Department 4
State Forester 3, 6, 31, 37
State Parks Service 4

Naval Reserve Program 9, 13

Nettleton, Harry 25, 37

Nevada 5

New Jersey 1, 5, 13

Camp Dix 1
Hoboken 1

New Mexico 1, 5

Camp Cody 1
Deming 1

New York 12, 13, 15, 28

Hotel Waldorf-Astoria 13

Northwest Area Foundation 30

Oak Creek 36, 37, 39

Oregon

Central Linn 30
Coast Range 33
Corvallis 1, 13, 14, 15, 17, 28, 32, 40
Dallas 44
Fish and Game Department 4, 40
Lebanon 30
Philomath 10, 35, 36
Portland 14, 17, 18, 35
Scio 30
Springfield 21
State Board of Forestry 11, 15, 18, 28, 36, 41
State Fire Protection Districts 36
State Game Commission 39
State Insurance Fund 38
State Severance Tax 11, 22
Sweet Home 30

Oregon Counties

Benton 40
Columbia 33, 34
Jackson 33
Lake 33
Polk 40

Oregon State University

Atmospheric Sciences 36
Botany Department 7
Dairy Department 23
Forest Engineering 7, 37
Forest Management 3, 7, 11, 22, 25
Forest Products 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21, 22
Forest Products Laboratory 10, 22
Forest Products Research 9, 10, 11, 18, 21, 22
Forest Research Laboratory 9, 11
OSU Foundation 13, 29, 31
Resource Recreation Management 15, 27
School of Agriculture 6, 23, 35, 42
School of Forestry 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 42, 43

Ozarks 3

Patterson Road 37

Patterson, Harry 31

Paul M. Dunn Forest 32, 39

Pearl Harbor 13, 40

Peavy Arboretum 9, 36, 37, 38, 45

Peavy, George 7, 8, 9, 17, 22, 24, 26, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 44

Pernot, Jack 8

Peterson, Elmer G. 31

Politics

Conservationists 26
Environmentalists 26

Prescribed Fires 3

Price, Earl 42

RANDALL, WARREN R. 27

Recreation 27

Hikers 39
Hunters 39
Parties 39

Reforestation

Nursery 4
Tree Planting 4, 36

Religion

Baptist 29
Gentiles 5
Mormon 5
Presbyterian 29

Research 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 41, 45

Roads & Trails 37, 39

Wagon Roads 36

Rowley, Marvin 43

Saw Mills 14, 21, 35, 36

Schoenfeld, William 42

Soap Creek 35, 41

Society of American Foresters 29

Soil Conservation Service (U.S.) 4, 5, 6

South Dakota 1, 5

Lennox 23

South Santiam Education and Research Advisory Committee 30

Southern Pulpwood Conservation Association 14

Spaulding Lumber Company 33

Spaulding Tract 33, 34

Spike Camp (CCC) 36

St. Regis Forestry Educational Program 14

St. Regis Paper Company 12, 13, 13, 14, 15, 27, 29, 31

Starker, Thurman J. (T.J.) 8, 24, 35

Strand, August L. (President, OSU) 18, 19, 23, 24, 31, 33, 41, 42, 43

Sulphur Springs 35

Taylor Grazing Act 4, 6

Taylor, T.G. (Professor) 5, 31

Timber Management 32

Timber Sale 43

U.S. Army 40

U.S. Defense Program 40

U.S. Forest Service (U.S.D.A.) 5

U.S. Steel Company 12

Universities

Columbia University 12
Iowa State College 2
New York University 13
Oregon State University 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31, 32, 35, 37
University of California 32
University of Washington 35
Utah State University 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 16, 17, 28, 31, 32

University of California 32

University of Washington 35

Pack Forest 35

Utah 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, 28, 31

Logan 4, 5, 15
State Department of Forestry 6, 28
State Forester 3, 6, 31, 37

Utah State University 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 16, 17, 31, 32

Clark-McNary Nursery 4
College of Forest Resources 16
Forestry Department 3, 4
School of Forestry, Range and Wildlife Management 5, 6

Van Ellis 35

Vandals 38

War Assets Department 23

Wars

World War I 1
World War II 6, 17, 34, 35, 36, 41, 43

Western Forestry Center 14, 29

Wildlife 4, 5, 6

Deer 4, 39
White-tailed deer 4
Wild turkey 4

Wildlife Management 5, 6

Willamette Industries 44

Willamette Valley Lumber Company 44

Wilson, Sinclair 8

Women

Forestry Students 9, 25, 26

The printed original

Read the original PDF The whole monograph as printed, on the creator's own site, nwmapsco.com.
The cover image On the creator's own site, nwmapsco.com.

How to cite this item

The first line is the citation as it is printed in the original. Use it when you cite the work itself. Use the second when you cite this page.

As printed: Jackson, Royal G. and Jennifer A. Lee 1990. Paul M. Dunn. Biographical Sketch and Story of the Adair Tract, Benton County, Oregon. Soap Creek Valley History Project, Monograph #02, 2nd printing. Oregon State University Research Forests and College of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon: 53 pp
This page: Dunn 1990. America's School Trust Library, The Zybach Collection. https://schooltrusts.org/collections/zybach/soap-creek/m02-dunn/
Permalink: https://schooltrusts.org/collections/zybach/soap-creek/m02-dunn/
Original PDF: http://www.nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Oral_Histories/Soap_Creek_Valley/02_Dunn/Jackson-Lee_1990.pdf

More on citing this collection: How to cite the Zybach Collection.

Something wrong on this page? Submit a correction — this page is already selected. See how that works.