Potts Photo Collection

Robert “Bob” Potts was a lifelong Albany resident and historian. Co-owner of the Duedall & Potts Stationary Store in downtown Albany, Bob collected thousands of local historic photographs during his lifetime. In the 1990s, Bob used these photos to create five photobooks on Albany’s history, currently available for purchase in the Museum’s gift shop.

In 2015, through a joint project between the Albany Regional Museum and the Albany Public Library, approximately 8,000 photos from the Robert Potts Collection were numbered, sorted, and scanned. The scanned images were hosted online though Google photos. The project was supported in part by a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

In 2024, the Museum received two grants to update the database to make it keyword searchable using PastPefect Online. The project was supported in part by the Oregon Heritage Commission and the Doris & Bill Scharpf Foundation.

To purchase copies of the photos, please contact the museum at 541-967-7122.

CATEGORIES:

Aerial views – 280 images
Agriculture – 90 images
Bands – 107 images
Buildings – 700 images
Chamber of Commerce – 500 images
Clubs – 232 images
Events – 420 images
Fire Department – 353 images
Homefront (WW II) – 389 images
Homes – 350 images
Horses – 178 images
Industry – 328 images
Interiors – 270 images
Miscellaneous – 452 images
Outdoors – 230 images
People – 1997 images
People 2 – 1574 images
People 3 – 1000 images
People 4 – 1000 images
People 5 – 1278 images
Schools – 696 images
Sports – 365 images
Streets – 187 images
Timber – 342 images
Transportation – 708 images