The Jewett Collection consists primarily of the business collection of George Frederick Jewett (1896-1956) in the capacity of Vice President (1935-1946) and President (1946-1949) of Potlatch Forests, Incorporated, and as a prominent member of the National Lumber Manufacturer's Association, leader of the Association's Committee on Forest Conservation, President of the North Idaho Conservation Association, and member of other conservation associations. In all there are twenty-five file boxes of this material and in addition there are eleven file boxes of the financial records of the companies, associations and institutions with which Mr. Jewett was associated. There are further fourteen file boxes of business letters pertaining to the Edward Rutledge Timber Company, of which company Mr. Jewett became General Manager in 1928, and which was one of the three companies to be merged into Potlatch Forests, Inc., in 1931. The correspondence of those companies associated with the Rutledge Company are filed in four boxes, all the miscellaneous papers relevant to this section being filed together in one box. Stored in five file boxes are all the financial and legal records of the Edward Rutledge Timber Company and its associated companies, large bound volumes precluded from being placed in file boxes by virtue of their size.

The personal papers of the Jewett Family date from (1853-1950) and despite sporadic gaps due to the loss of such material in recent floods they give a valuable insight into the lives of George Frederick Jewett, his father James Richard Jewett (1862-1943) and, to a lesser degree, his grandfather George Washington Jewett (d.1879). This material is contained in two file boxes. Also in two file boxes are the personal business papers of the collection. These include the correspondence between G.F. Jewett and the many companies with which he was associated on a personal basis; with his banks, insurance brokers, and attorneys; and his dealings in real estate. It also includes correspondence with the Republican Party, in which Mr. Jewett took a keen and active interest, with the English Speaking Union, the United Services Organization and with many other philanthropic institutions to which both he and Mrs. Jewett gave generously both of their time and money.

The collection of Jewett Memorabilia occupies one file box, and there is one file box of miscellaneous material.

The contents of each section are outlined in full detail in the following Description of Series. In addition to the subject analysis by section a name index of the entire collection enables the researcher to locate without difficulty all the correspondence of a given individual.

The Jewett Collection is a valuable source for the study of American forest history in all its aspects, and in particular from those of actual lumbering, conservation and business.