Featured Collections - University of Arkansas Libraries

The Fay Jones Collection (ca.1930...1950-1998...2004), representing the life and work of a creative and successful American architect during the last half of the Twentieth Century, was opened on April 4, 2009 as part of the Architecture School renaming celebration. The collection is a contained and complete record of his teaching, his practice, his philosophy of architecture and his skill as an artist.

The collection comprises 226 projects in 30 linear feet of project files containing correspondence, construction schedules, notes, sketches, reports, and product literature. Over 22,000 separate sheets of drawings illustrate the development of projects from conceptual sketches, to presentation drawings, to detailed construction drawings and PMTS of drawings. Over 20,000 slides and photographs, recorded interviews, and audio-visual tapes support project documentation.

Also contained in the collection are lecture notes, appointment books, posters, awards, registration certificates, sketch books, and personal and professional biographical material. Printed resources include magazines, clippings, and Jones’s own library. Three dimensional items include metal and wood details of design or construction importance as well as working models for Thorncrown Chapel, Thorncrown Worship Center, Cooper Chapel, Pinecote Pavilion, the Hermitage Chapel and the Fraser/Chapman Chapel.

The Margaret Smith Ross Papers were donated to Special Collections by Edwin L. Ross, Jr., of Little Rock on December 17, 2004.

An avid collector of Arkansas-related historical materials, Ross assembled a collection that includes her personal papers, historical and genealogical research materials, and the original records of the Pulaski County Circuit Court dating from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her personal papers include correspondence, published “Chronicles of Arkansas” and “Grass Roots” articles, and drafts of writings. Historical materials include materials related to Arkansas during its territorial and early statehood period, Civil War and Reconstruction, and Arkansas history after Reconstruction. Original court documents pertain to notable Arkansans including Robert Crittenden, James S. Conway, Augustus A. Garland, Albert Pike, Henry Rector, Chester Ashley, William Woodruff, Powell Clayton, Elisha Baxter, Joseph Brooks, and Mifflin Gibbs. Other court documents pertain to subjects such as debt, murder, prostitution, real estate, etc. Court documents pertaining to African Americans include materials on slaves, freed Negroes, and freedmen. Also included among the court documents are post-Civil War amnesty oaths, Reconstruction era militia claims, and materials related to the Brooks-Baxter War. The history of the Arkansas Gazette is highlighted through nineteenth century court documents and papers produced during Ross’s career. Also included is significant correspondence of Walter Lemke as well as photographs made by him.

Arkansas Senator David H. Pryor donated papers from his political career to Special Collections. The papers are from Pryor's early political career and include gubernatorial papers, senatorial papers, personal materials, multimedia and artifacts.

An index to the photographs in the Walter J. Lemke Papers has been added to the finding aid for the collection. Lemke (1891-1968) established the Department of Journalism in 1928 and was a pioneer in journalism education in Arkansas. He was also the public relations officer for the University for many years. An enthusiastic local historian, he was a founder
of the Washington County Historical Society and an early editor of its journal, Flashback. The photograph series of the papers includes many publicity photographs of university subjects, pictures of Washington County landmarks, and personal and family pictures.

The Fay Jones Collection (ca.1930...1950-1998...2004) represents the life and work of a creative and successful American architect during the last half of the Twentieth Century. It is a contained and complete record of his teaching, his practice, his philosophy of architecture and his skill as an artist.

A Civil War diary was purchased by the University Libraries in July 2004. Written by one E. [D.?] Wilson, a clerk during the expedition to the White River in eastern Arkansas, it is a brief but interesting record of his experiences in Arkansas near DeValls Bluff and Helena and of his return to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He gives a personal description of the turmoil during the engagement, as illustrated in this entry: January 8, 1863: "Rain this morning – Mud! Mud!! Commenced issuing this afternoon.-- Ordered not to issue any more Fresh Beef till further orders. Cattle lean and diseased. Wish I was fairly out of this business. Goodnight dear ones at Home."

Other pages contain records of expenses and other financial information, especially a page listing the expenses of his return home with Bill, a Negro he brought back with him to Michigan. The last entry is dated February 26, 1863: "Stage at 7 o'clk. Arrived at G. Rapids 5o'clk evening. All well."

Special Collections maintains a significant collection of Civil War resources, both print and manuscript materials. See Manuscript Resources for the Civil War, compiled by Kim Allen Scott.

WPA Interview

WPA Early Settlers' Personal Histories of African Americans in Arkansas Among the many relief efforts of the Great Depression, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) Federal Writers' Project employed workers to interview everyday people with the aim of publishing anthologies on different aspects of life in America. Two hundred thirty-three Arkansas persons were interviewed. The exhibit comprises transcriptions of questionnaires from interviews with seventeen African Americans interviewed in Arkansas.

Last modified: 04/03/2009