Burt Brown Barker (November 3, 1873 – January 29, 1969) was a lawyer, arts advocate, university administrator, federal program administrator, regional historian and preservationist. Over the course of his long life he extensively researched the people and places of his home state and was described as the "grand old man of Oregon history." Born in

Waitsburg, Washington Waitsburg is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,166 at the 2020 census. Waitsburg has a unique city classification in Washington state, being the state's only city which still operates under its terri ...

, and raised in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

in northwestern Oregon, Barker was a school friend of future U.S. president Herbert Hoover. Educated at Willamette University, University of Chicago, and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, Barker worked as a lawyer in Chicago and New York before he joined University of Oregon in 1928 as vice president and acting president. He was heavily involved in organizing and funding the creation of the campus' Dads' Gates. Barker commissioned or purchased the campus statue '' Pioneer Mother'' from artist Alexander Phimister Proctor. ''Pioneer Mother'' was either dedicated to or modeled after Barker's mother, Elvira Brown Matheny, who came to the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...

by wagon train when she was three years old. Barker served as the director of Region 16 for the Public Works of Art Project from 1933 to 1934, and director of the Federal Art Project office based in Portland. He was also a president of the

Oregon Historical Society The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preser ...

. Barker is noted as being the first person to obtain access to the records of the Hudson's Bay Company in London, which had previously been closed to researchers. As a preservationist he was involved in conserving the

Hoover–Minthorn House The Hoover–Minthorn House is a museum in Newberg, Oregon, United States, created from the residence of Herbert Hoover, thirty-first President of the United States. Hoover lived there from 1885 to 1891, with his uncle and aunt John and Laura Mi ...

in Newberg (Hoover's childhood home), the Lee Parsonage and Jason Lee House at what is now the Willamette Heritage Center, and the Ox Barn at the Aurora Museum. Barker retired from practice in 1938, died in 1969 at age 95, and was buried in the Riverview Cemetery Mausoleum. He was survived by his daughter Mrs. John Sprouse of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and sister Mrs. Blanche Walker of Tacoma.

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