LibGuides: Archives & Special Collections: Featured Collections

Finding Aids

Finding aids contain detailed information about archival collections and what's in them. They do not contain scans or photos of the actual items. Instead, they contain a description of the collection, relevant historical information, date ranges within the collection, conditions governing access, and a detailed inventory. Since many archival collections are divided into boxes and folders, finding aids are often the best way to learn what is in each collection and which box or folder an item is located.

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Arkansas State University Faculty Women's Club Records, 1946-2007 The Faculty Women's Club, founded in 1938, was created to inform local citizens about the needs of Arkansas State University and serve as a forum for spouses of male faculty and, later, female faculty members. The records include yearbooks summarizing club activities, meeting minutes, membership rosters, and scholarship information.
Arkansas State University Secretaries Club Records, 1960-1995 The Arkansas State University Secretaries Club was founded in 1960 to create a deeper relationship between the women employed on campus. Over time the club changed from a social club to a professional organization. The club changed it's name to the Professional Women's Association and then to the ASU Administrative Services Association. This collection documents the club's activities.
Billy Joe Tatum Collection, 1970-2012 Billy Joe Tatum was a world-renowned author, naturalist, speaker, herbalist, natural foods expert, and gardener. This collection was created over the course of her life and her work at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Included in this collection are correspondence between Billy Joe and friends, family, politicians, businessmen/women, and those seeking her guidance on the subject of natural wild foods.
Burkhammer Family Letters, 1942-1955 In order to support his family, Joe Burkhammer moved from Greene County, Arkansas to Davis, Michigan. There he obtained work and was able to send money back home to his wife and two children. This collection contains the letters from Joe to his wife Geraldine during the times that he was away working in Michigan and letters that Joe received from Geraldine and their children.
Cole Family Papers, 1837-1963 The Cole family relocated from South Carolina to Georgia in the early 1830s. After the Civil War, several members of the family moved to northeast Arkansas, which was largely unsettled at the time. This collection includes Confederate Army papers, family histories, tax documents, paperwork regarding the sale and purchase of property, and family photographs.
Colonel George Peek Collection, 1873-1960 Colonel George Peek was a prominent U.S. Army officer who served for 30 years in various capacities. This collection contains documents related to his period of active duty.
Craighead County Citizens for McClellan Collection, 1972 This collection was formed by the 1972 the Craighead County Citizens Committee created to campaign for the election of John Little McClellan to the United States Senate. This collection contains information documenting McClellan's successful campaign.
Craighead County Home Demonstration Club Records, 1936-1993 The Arkansas Home Demonstration Club (AHDC) was founded in 1912 with the goal of strengthening families through consumer science education. In Craighead County several local chapters were established by women who wanted to participate in the AHDC curriculum. This collection contains the materials distributed by the AHDC to local chapters including club secretary record books and yearbooks containing the annual curriculum. The collection also contains scrapbooks maintained by various clubs.
Craighead County Post Office Records, 1892-1912 This collection documents the Post Office system in and around Jonesboro during the early 20th century. During that period, First Class and Fourth Class Post Offices worked together to provide an essential service to the largely rural community. This collection includes Post Office record books which record postage sold, undelivered mail, official correspondence, and wages or commission earned. The material in the collection was generated by the postmasters.
Dr. W. Wayne Workman Collection, 1973-1993 Dr. W. Wayne Workman began the Mississippi County Nurse-Midwife Project working in conjunction with Dr. Eva Doge from the Arkansas Department of Health in 1976. The aim of this project was to combat the high infant mortality rate in Mississippi County Arkansas. This collection consists of correspondence that spans a twenty year period (1973-1993), administrative information, research, newspaper clippings concerning midwifery, vital statistics, resume and personnel information, education, and more.
Edgar Isaacs Papers, 1918-1922 Ora Edgar Isaacs was a rural mail carrier and farmer from Bay, Arkansas who served in the United States Army during the World War One. This collection contains letters written by Isaacs during the war.
Eugene W. Smith Collection, 1937-2018 The Eugene W. Smith Collection highlights the career of Dr. Eugene W. Smith and his contributions to Arkansas State University. Eugene Smith was raised in Forrest City, Arkansas where he graduated high school. Once he completed his primary education, Smith attended Arkansas State College (1948-1952) followed by the University of Mississippi (1954-1958) where he received multiple education degrees. After completing his degrees, Smith returned to Jonesboro, Arkansas and spent the remainder of his career at Arkansas State.
Flood-Crain Family Papers, 1860-1962 The Flood and Crain families lived in rural Arkansas and Missouri during the early 20th century. The papers contained in this collection include genealogies, personal correspondence, and materials that deal with day-to-day life of the families.
House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials Collection, 1951-1953 This collection is a series in the E.C. "Took" Gathings Collection. This series contains research, artifacts, and correspondence related to the House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials that was chaired by Congressman E.C. Gathings in 1951. From 1951-1953 the House Select Committee investigated alleged pornography in "Pocket Sized Books," advertisements sent through the United States Postal Service, and the content of television, movies, radio, and magazines.
Johnnie J. Herman Collection, 1940-1979 The documents in this collection belonged to Johnnie J. Herman and was compiled during the time he worked for the Missouri Pacific Railway Company from the 1940s through the 1970s.
Joseph H. Weston Collection, 1972-1976 This collection contains publications of the newspaper Sharp Citizen, a weekly paper published by Weston, and information related to his trial, book publication, and political campaign.
Judd Hill Plantation Collection, 1929-1986 The Judd Hill Plantation Collection contains documentation of the workings of the plantation from the time of its establishment in 1930 through its evolution into the Judd Hill Plantation Foundation. Contained within this collection is the documentation of the Plantation's establishment; financial records; farm and cattle records; infrastructure improvements; legal records, gin records; real estate and other investments; labor; mortgages and other contracts; the Judd Hill Plantation Store and more.
Larry Corbett Collection, 1974-1977 Larry E. Corbett is a farmer in Alicia, Arkansas who worked together with Noel Baker (who was also a farmer) to improve farm legislation, particularly rice allotment legislation. This collection consists of transcripts of testimony given before various Congressional subcommittees, schedules of Congressional hearings, copies of Congressional farm bills, correspondence with members of Congress, correspondence with other farmers, press releases, newspaper clippings, and farm publications.
Mississippi County Nurse-Midwife Project Collection, 1976-1984 Dr. W. Wayne Workman and Dr. Eva Dodge began the Mississippi County Nurse-Midwife Project in 1976 in order to combat the high infant mortality rate in Mississippi County. This collection consists of documents that pertain to the business side of the project including policies and program information, board minutes, budgets, fees, financial documents, contract information, correspondence (general and personnel related), grant information, structure addition, convention information, and more.
Noel W. Baker Papers, 1974-2003 Noel W. Baker was a farmer and businessman from Northeast Arkansas who lobbied congress to pass new federal rice legislation for farmers. This collection documents activities which led to amending federal rice legislation including materials related to congressional committees, the USDA, and activism from rice farmers.
Osburn Family Papers, 1859-1990 The Osburn family lived in Northeast Arkansas in the late 19th and early 20th century. This collection includes Osburn family genealogies, personal histories, pictures, and legal documents, in addition to birth and death certificates.
Robert Whitlow Papers, 1945-1987 This collection contains correspondence between former-German POWs and Robert Whitlow, a representative of the Memphis Scimitar Press. During World War II, the POWs were housed at a camp established at the Jonesboro Civilian Conservation Corps, where they first met Whitlow.
Roleson Family Papers, 1797-1992 The Roleson Family was among the early settlers of the Jonesboro area and rose to prominence in the first half of the 20th century. Several members of the family fought in World War I and went on to practice law in Arkansas. The collection consists of personal correspondence between family members and friends, news clippings, material from both World Wars, and a large collection of handwritten family records notating births, deaths, and marriages.
Warner Family Collection, 1888-1941 The Warner family was a prominent family from Jonesboro, Arkansas and one of its pioneer family. In the early part of the 20th century, the family were entrepreneurs and one of the largest landowners of the area. This collection consists of business and personal papers, receipts, and statements from four members of the Warner family.
Watson and Garver Family Papers, 1881-1957 Hampton Watson was a prominent businessman of Jonesboro during the early 1900s. Leigh Garver was a traveling auditor for the Emporia telephone company based out of Kansas. This collection contains letters, college papers, legal and financial records from both families. The material in the collection was collected in part by Maggie Watson and in part by Leigh Garver and chronicles the lives of their respective families.

A-State Yearbooks

1921-2013
Online

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