By Amie Oliver, Librarian and Curator of Print Materials, and Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist
Each month, we post an update to notify our readers about the latest archival collections to be processed and some highlights of our print material acquisitions. These resources are primed for research and are just a sampling of the many resources to be found at The Texas Collection!
Here are February’s finding aids:
BU records: School of Nursing, 1900-2008, undated (#BU/154): Includes extensive department correspondence and administrative files as well as some photographic materials regarding the history, formation, and accreditation of the school.
Most of the photographs in the School of Nursing collection are class photographs like the one shown here. Many of them include the names of faculty and students as well as the date and location of the photograph on the back. BU Records: School of Nursing, Accession #BU/154, Box 11 OVZ, Folder 2, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
Mike Cox papers, 1913-2014 (#3851): Papers contain information on the media relations of Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of Transportation, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Additionally, this collection consists of Mike Cox’s personal files and research on Henry Lee Lucas, the Texas Rangers, Texas history, and prominent leaders from Texas.
Here are February’s featured print materials: Annual Santa Rosa Roundup, Vernon, Texas. [Vernon], 1949. Filled with photographs, advertisements, and rodeo information, this beautiful and substantial souvenir album of the Santa Rosa Roundup and Rodeo offers an impressive look at the annual event. At the time of this publication, the event was only three years old. Today, the Santa Rosa Roundup enters its 70th year.
McCarty, John L. Amarillo: Welcome Stranger. Amarillo: Chamber of Commerce, [1940]. Dallas: a Friendly City in a Friendly State. [Dallas]: [Dallas Chamber of Commerce], [1934?]. The Texas Collection is home to many Texas promotionals, publications printed to entice citizens to visit or relocate to the Lone Star State. Promotionals often touted the abundances that can be found: natural resources, employment, city attractions, educational opportunities, etc.
D.M. Ferry & Co. D. M. Ferry & Co’s Universal Almanac and Annual Descriptive Catalogue of Garden and Flower Seeds. Detroit: D. M. Ferry & Co., 1896. The Ladies Birthday Almanac, for the Year … Chattanooga: Chattanooga Medicine Co., 1889. Capital Almanac Illustrated. J. S. McIntyre, 1890. These three volumes are a sampling of some of the late 19th and early 20th century almanacs in the collection. Though they aren’t about Texas, they do provide useful information about the time period in which each is published and also show the variety of almanacs available.
For the past two weeks, we’ve been writing about the Parker family—see Part 1 and Part 2. Last week’s post was about the preservation of Old Fort Parker. Today we continue the story with the Parker family’s work to preserve its historical documents—what is now the Jack and Gloria Parker Selden collection, housed at The Texas Collection.
The story of preserving Parker family materials through time is impressive in its own right. With many documents in the collection dating back to the 19th century, it is remarkable that so many of these papers survived. Family historians faithfully stored and studied the documents and made sure the materials endured for the next generation of the family. Now, by giving them to The Texas Collection, these documents are preserved and accessible for the public to view and research.
Materials in this collection were assembled, collected, and preserved by three distinct groups in the Parker family: Joseph and Araminta Taulman, Lee Parker Boone, and Jack Selden, though many other Parker family members contributed to the preservation of their family history, including Joe Bailey Parker and Ben J. Parker. Each of the three major preservation groups represents a different generation in the Parker family history, and each contributed different research materials and collecting emphasis to the collection.
Letter from Sam Houston in 1836 giving permission for Daniel Parker to construct a fort near Comanche Crossing on the Trinity River. Could be in Freestone or Henderson counties. This is not the fort that was raided in 1836 by the Comanche. Jack and Gloria Parker Selden papers, Accession 3954, box 1, folder 5.
It seems that family members began gathering historical documents relating to family history very early in their time in Texas. By 1854, the materials were stored in a container the family has referred to as the “blue box” by Dan Parker, grandson of Daniel Parker. This box of documents was added to over time and passed down through the family. It eventually came to Jack Selden and contained most of what is now Series I, the oldest materials in the collection.
Joseph and Araminta Taulman were active in Texas public history in the 1930s. Araminta was the great-great-granddaughter of Daniel Parker, patriarch of the Parker family in the 1830s. While the Taulmans created some materials now in the Jack and Gloria Parker Selden collection, most of the Taulman papers are now in the Joseph E. Taulman Collection at the Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin.
Letter from the United States War Department to Isaac Parker in 1845. Describes how the United States army was actively looking for Cynthia Ann Parker in all communications with the Comanche. Jack and Gloria Parker Selden papers, Accession 3954, box 1, folder 9.
Lee Parker Boone, born in 1891, focused on collecting and describing Parker genealogy information for much of his life. Boone was a court reporter in Midland, Texas. In the Selden collection, many of the letters inquiring about family trees and giving information about possible family relationships were from or to Boone.
Jack Selden was born in 1929 and graduated from Palestine High School in Texas. After graduating from George Washington University, he served in the United States Air Force as a navigator and speechwriter for 21 years, eventually becoming a lieutenant colonel. Returning to Palestine, he became a civil trial assistant. In 1985, he became mayor of Palestine, serving three terms.
Flier advertising the “Telling of the Tales” dramatic reading. This particular version, performed in 1983, was open to the public and in conjunction with the Parker family reunion. Jack and Gloria Parker Selden papers, Accession 3954, box 19, folder 18.
At some point, Selden became the historian of the Parker family and faithfully preserved an increasingly large collection of documents, photographs, and other materials containing his research on the topic, plus the work of Lee Boone, selections from Joseph Taulman, and others who contributed to preserving the Parker family story. With these resources, Selden wrote and published a book on the Parker family in Texas history. Return: The Parker Story, published in 2006, documents the Parker family’s arrival in Texas, and traces their history through Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanah Parker, and others, up to the Parker family reunions today. This past year, Selden donated this collection of materials to The Texas Collection.
Jack Selden also wrote and performed in the “Telling of the Tales,” a dramatic reading of the Cynthia Ann Parker story. Other Parker family members also participated in the production. This drama was performed several times for the public, both at Old Fort Parker in the early 1980s and at Pilgrim Baptist Church near Elkhart, Texas. Programs and scripts from “Telling of the Tales” performances can be found in the Selden collection.
This concludes our series celebrating the Jack and Gloria Parker Selden papers arrival at The Texas Collection. Mark your calendar for Selden’s lecture: Thursday, February 18, at 3:30 pm in the Guy B. Harrison Reading Room of The Texas Collection, located in Carroll Library at Baylor University. If you can’t make the lecture, follow us on Twitter—we’ll be live-tweeting the event at #ParkerFamilyTX.
Sources:
Find a Grave, Inc. “Lee Parker Boone.” Memorial #22788886. Databases. Accessed February 8, 2016.
We recently wrote about the story of Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker. Today we continue the story by discussing efforts through time to remember their story by preserving Fort Parker.
After the events of the Parker story in Texas—Cynthia Ann’s capture by Comanche, her recapture and return to Texan society, her son Quanah’s role as military leader against the United States army, and his subsequent role as a political leader to help the Comanche on the reservation—the Parker story became a popular one in Texas. (See Part One of this blog series if you need a refresher.) With Texan interest in historic preservation growing due to the impending Texas Centennial in 1936, people began to work towards preserving the site of Parker’s Fort or Fort Parker.
Interior of the Old Fort, circa 1941.
While the original fort was long gone, the site was selected in the 1930s as a work area for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was decided to build a replica fort, matching as closely as possible the original fort built by the Parkers. Several Parker family members visited the site of replica fort in the 1930s to help verify that it was the site of the original fort. Construction was still underway as the Texas Centennial came and went.
Program from the Grand Opening of Fort Parker State Park in 1941. Note the opportunity to visit “restored Fort Parker”–now known as Old Fort Parker.
Only a couple of miles away, the same CCC camp built camping and outdoor recreational facilities around a 670 acre lake, formed from building a dam across the Navasota River. While the plan originally called for one site to be named Fort Parker State Park, which would include the replica fort, the lake, and all the recreational facilities, eventually the site was split into two separate areas. Confusingly, the recreation area with the lake became known as Fort Parker State Park, while the replica fort site became known as Old Fort Parker State Historic Site, or just the Old Fort.
In 1941, after years of planning and construction, Fort Parker State Park was opened to the public. Along with fishing, boating, and fireworks, people could also visit Old Fort Parker, where construction was complete on the replica fort.
After many years of use, the replica fort at the Old Fort site was rebuilt in 1967. Both Fort Parker sites were operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department until 1992, when the nearby cities of Groesbeck and Mexia, and Limestone County took over operations of the Old Fort. Fort Parker State Park continues to operate as a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department site.
Postcard of Old Fort Parker. Jack and Gloria Parker Selden papers, Accession 3954, box 8, folder 20, at The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
Today, visitors to Old Fort Parker can tour the replica fort, various historic structures from Central Texas, and the visitor center. For research opportunities, patrons can visit The Texas Collection and view materials on the Parker family and Old Fort Parker.
The next post in this series will examine the various creators of the Selden collection. Mark your calendar for Selden’s lecture: Thursday, February 18, at 3:30 pm in the Guy B. Harrison Reading Room of The Texas Collection, located in Carroll Library at Baylor University.
The Texas Collection recently acquired a group of historic documents on the Parker family, including Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quanah Parker. This amazing collection is one of several record groups on the Parker family already at The Texas Collection. In anticipation of Jack Selden’s February 18 lecture, “Return: the Parker Story,” this blog post will be the first in a series of posts that tell the story of the Parker family in Texas.
Cynthia Ann Parker came to Texas with 38 family members from Illinois in 1833, and the family settled near Groesbeck. By the summer of 1835, the Parkers had a rough wooden fort built that was called Parker’s Fort or Fort Parker. The family tended crops on about 12 miles along the Navasota River, returning as needed to the fort.
Aerial view of replica Parker’s Fort, also known as Old Fort Parker. This historic site, open to the public, is on the same site the original fort was on in 1836.
By 1835-1836, situations in Texas had changed drastically from when the Parkers first came to Texas. Good relations with local American Indian groups had given way to open hostility, as Texans attacked a Kichai village to recover horses thought to have been stolen. For several weeks, this group of Texans used Parker’s Fort as a base to search surrounding areas for Indian groups that they believed had stolen their horses.
Working relationships with the Mexican government had also deteriorated. Military hero Antonio López de Santa Anna overthrew the previous government, put down rebellions that broke out in various Mexican states, and sent military units to Texas to enforce Mexican law. By 1836, Santa Anna himself was in Texas at the head of a Mexican army to put down a brewing rebellion among the colonists, who spoke openly of independence from Mexico. After a string of Mexican victories, Sam Houston led a Texian army to win the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836, and the Texas Revolution was over.
Notation in Daniel Parker’s Bible that states “John Parker…was killed by the Indians at Navasot on Parker’s Fort in Texas on the 19th day of May 1836.” Jack and Gloria Parker Selden papers, Accession 3954, box 34, folder 1, at The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
Just one month after the Battle of San Jacinto, on May 19, 1836, Parker’s Fort was attacked by an American Indian force of several hundred warriors, long understood by eyewitnesses to be predominantly Comanche. With many of the Parker men out working in the fields, the 30 people in the fort were quickly overwhelmed. Five Parker family members were killed and five others were captured, but the rest escaped. One group of Parker family members, traveling only at night for safety, trekked 90 miles in six nights to the safety of Tinnenville.
Photograph of Cynthia Ann Parker and her daughter Prairie Flower (Topsannah) after their return to Anglo Texan society in the 1860s.
One of those captured was Cynthia Ann Parker. Just twelve or thirteen when taken captive, she was adopted into the tribe and became thoroughly Comanche. She became the wife of Peta Nocona, a noted leader in the Naconi band of the Comanche. They had three children, two boys and a girl: Quanah, Pecos, and Topsannah. Peta Nocona was probably killed in the Battle of the Pease River in 1860. Cynthia Ann was captured by Texas Rangers in this battle, and was identified as the Parker’s Cynthia Ann, who had been with the Comanche for almost 25 years. Though she was returned to Texan society, Cynthia Ann never recovered from her capture and made several attempts to escape back to her life on the plains. She died in 1870, and was originally buried in Fosterville Cemetery, Anderson County, but was reinterred in the Post Oak Mission Cemetery near Cache, Oklahoma, in 1910. Cynthia Ann was reburied a final time in 1957 in the Fort Sill Post Cemetery, Lawton, Oklahoma.
Cynthia Ann’s son Quanah Parker became the last major Comanche chief to surrender to United States authorities. A leader in the Quahada subtribe of the Comanche, Quanah for years frustrated the efforts of the United States army to capture his people. After the Comanche defeat in the Battle of Adobe Walls in 1875, Quanah and his people were pursued by the United States army during the Red River War, the last major military campaign in Texas. After their supplies were destroyed, Quanah and his people were forced to surrender, and were taken to the reservation designated for the Comanche and Kiowa in southwestern Oklahoma.
Over time, Quanah adjusted to reservation life and became a very wealthy and influential man. Though increasingly powerful in Indian-government relations, he could not stop the movement to break up the reservations and distribute the land among the individual Indians, who were then forced to sell much of their land by unscrupulous land dealers. Quanah continued his efforts to help his people however he could, including negotiating leases of land to ranchers, which brought in much-needed income for the tribe. After a visit to the Cheyenne Reservation, Quanah became ill and died twelve days later, in 1911. His remains have been moved once, from Post Oak Mission Cemetery in Oklahoma to Fort Sill Post Cemetery, Lawton, Oklahoma.
The next post in this series will focus on the restoration of the Fort Parker historic site, and the final post will examine the various creators of the Selden collection. Mark your calendar for Selden’s lecture: Thursday, February 18, at 3:30 pm in the Guy B. Harrison Reading Room of The Texas Collection, located in Carroll Library at Baylor University.
Sources:
Gwynne, S.C. Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches. New York: Scribner, 2010.
By Amie Oliver, Librarian and Curator of Print Materials, and Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist
Each month, we post an update to notify our readers about the latest archival collections to be processed and some highlights of our print material acquisitions. These resources are primed for research and are just a sampling of the many resources to be found at The Texas Collection!
Here are December’s finding aids:
E.S. James, noted editor of the Baptist Standard for twelve years, presents his personal papers to James E. Wood Jr., director at the time of what is now Baylor University’s J. M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies. Dr. Wood was also a noted Baptist leader, who led the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs for eight years. The Texas Collection recently acquired these papers of Dr. James mentioned in this photograph. James E. Wood Jr. papers 3969, Box 5, Folder 10.
Leuschner Family papers, 1845-1927 (#3361): The collection includes land deeds, mortgage and insurance papers from Falls and McLennan counties, and family and business correspondence.
Charles Otto Leuschner is one of two probable men for which the town of Otto, Texas, was named. His business affairs included cotton, oil, cattle and real estate in Central Texas. This ledger shows the details of his cotton crop and sales. Leuschner Family papers, Accession 3361, Box 1, Folder 12, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
San Leon: Destined to Become the Greatest Resort City in America. Houston: Western Land Corp., 1910. Print. Located in Galveston County, San Leon is called the “bright spot of Texas” in this promotional volume. Highlighting San Leon’s prime location, public improvements, sporting, and environment, this rare volume, one of only two known in existence, entices people to come, build, and invest in this raw land that is prime for development.Red Book of Dallas. Dallas: Holland Brothers Publishing, Co., 1895. Print. Filled with the names and addresses of upper-class families, many specifying which day they receive visitors, this volume is the must-have social registry for 1895 Dallas. Also included is information on proper etiquette when calling on families, membership directories for exclusive clubs, a shopping directory, and ads for local businesses.The first several pages from the Red Book of Dallas. The volume begins by describing how proper introductions should be done among the ladies and gentlemen of Dallas in 1895.Monroe, James. Message from the President of the United States…Relating to the Occupation of Amelia Island. March 26, 1818. Read, and Ordered to Lie upon the Table. Washington: E. de Krafft, 1818. Print. Listed in Thomas W. Streeter’s Bibliography of Texas, 1795-1845, this volume primarily concerns Florida’s Amelia Island. However, contained within is also information about Galveston, including a letter to the Minister Plenipotentiary of the Mexican Republic from Luis Aury concerning his plans to “abandon the establishment at Galveston” and a statement by Vincente Pazos declaring Galveston “the established port of the Mexican Republic.”
With Christmas around the corner, we thought we’d take a look at how the holiday comes up in our archival collections. The following is just a small sample of Christmas-related photos, programming, and other documents that can be found at The Texas Collection on the most wonderful time of the year.
George W. Truett (middle, 2nd row from the back) and family at Christmas in Waco, c. 1890s. Apparently, the challenge of getting a good family Christmas photo is not a new one–hardly anyone is looking at the camera here! BU records: George W. Truett Theological Seminary #BU/298, box 3, folder 15.Christmas card, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Palmer Brooks to Dorothy Scarborough, c. 1931. Baylor President Brooks extended Yuletide greetings and a taste of Texas home to Baylor alumna and former faculty Scarborough, who was at this point teaching at Columbia University in New York. There are Christmas cards aplenty in Scarborough’s (and other) collections. Dorothy Scarborough papers, Series I, box 13, folder 4.
Waco Caritas Christmas party, 1980. Caritas staff gather for a photo at a Christmas party. Again, the challenge of the group photo–there’s always someone whose eyes close. [Waco] Caritas records #2891, box 5, folder 15.Christmas program (piano copy) at Brook Avenue/Bethel Baptist Church, undated. Finding new and engaging ways to lead a church in its celebration of Christmas always is a challenge for ministers–this piece was found in a folder full of clippings for various Christmas ideas and activities. (Pre-Pinterest, you know.) Telling the Christmas story through Bible verses and beloved carols is a must, though. [Waco] Brook Avenue and Bethel Baptist Church records, box 3, folder 12.
“A Little Child Shall Be the Leader” sermon by Marvin Griffin on audiocassette, 1979 December 16. Rev. Griffin was preaching at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Austin at this point in his career. His collection includes hundreds of recordings of his sermons and radio broadcasts.Happy New Year (and new century!) from Chas. L. Sanger & Co., a cotton buyer/shipper company. Barnard-Lane collection #39, box 5, folder 14.
By Benna Vaughan, Manuscripts and Special Collections Archivist
Thomas and Nancy Mann. Thomas C. Mann papers, Series XII, Box 38, Folder 3.
“We expect to speak with one voice on all matters affecting this hemisphere. Mr. Mann will be that voice.” Thomas Mann earned that vote of confidence from none other than Lyndon B. Johnson–by the early 1960s, Mann had twenty years of service in Latin American diplomatic relations and had earned the nickname, “Mr. Latin America.” The Thomas C. Mann papers at The Texas Collection provide a look at Latin America through the materials of a career foreign diplomat during the 1940s-1960s.
Thomas C. Mann was born in Laredo, Texas, on November 12, 1912, where he grew up bilingual due to the close proximity of his hometown to Mexico. Mann attended Baylor University from 1929-1934, earning a BA and then an LLB from Baylor Law School. He married Nancy Aynesworth, daughter of Dr. Kenneth H. Aynesworth (considered a founder of The Texas Collection), and spent 1934-1942 working at his father’s law firm in Laredo.
Thomas Mann to Mr. Hall (American Embassy, Mexico), 1961 June 30, Thomas C. Mann papers, Series XII, Box 38, Folder 3.
Mann began his foreign diplomatic career when he hired on with the State Department in 1942. Mann tried to enlist in WWII military service but was turned down because of his poor vision. Instead, he was asked to join the State Department, partially because of his bilingual abilities–he was a perfect fit for service in Latin America. He was Special Assistant to Montevideo, Uruguay in 1942-1943. From there, he became Assistant Chief in the Division of World Trade Intelligence (1944-1945), Assistant Chief in the Division of Economic Security Controls (1945-1946), Chief of the Division of River Plate Affairs (1946-1947), and then Second Secretary in Caracas, Venezuela (1947-1949). Mann was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Middle American Affairs from 1949-1953, during which time he worked closely with the new Eisenhower Administration on Latin America policy.
The only break in Latin American diplomatic service was in 1953-1954, when Mann became Counselor to Greece. But when President Jacobo Arbenz was overthrown in Guatemala in 1954, Mann was quickly brought back and assigned the office of Deputy Chief of Mission to that country, where he served one year. In 1955-1957, Mann was the Ambassador to El Salvador, and then in 1957 was appointed Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs, a post he would hold until 1960. Mann would hold the office of US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs twice, from 1960-1961 and then from 1964-1965. Between those years, from 1961-1963, he served as Ambassador to Mexico. Mann’s last diplomatic office was that of US Under-Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs from 1965-1966. Mann retired from diplomatic service in 1966 and went to work for the Automobile Manufacturer’s Association from 1967-1971.
One of the most remarkable series in the papers is the Oral History series. Mann served under five U.S. presidents (Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson) and the oral history interviews Mann did for the Presidential Libraries of four of the presidents are very insightful. The oral history for the Kennedy Library is particularly interesting as it discusses a foiled assassination attempt on Kennedy when he was in Mexico in 1962. Mann also goes into some detail on his thoughts and understanding regarding the Bay of Pigs and events surrounding it, as well as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Each interview gives focus on a president, foreign policy and actions during that period (with the exception of the John Foster Dulles Oral History), and taken together, provide strong insights into the Latin American political landscape during those years.
Thomas Mann to Mr. Hall (American Embassy, Mexico), 1961 June 30, Thomas C. Mann papers, Series VII, Box 24, Folder 6, Book 45.
Mann was also instrumental in helping to finalize the decades-old dispute between the US and Mexico regarding the boundary lines between the two countries, during his tenure as Ambassador to Mexico from 1961-1963. The boundary between the two was the Rio Grande, which had changed its course over the years, sometimes adding land to one country while taking it from another. Attempts at defining the boundary to the satisfaction of both countries had failed up until this time, and Mann played a large part in the discussions and negotiations which formally finalized the dispute, called the Chamizal Agreement, in January 1963. There are also two folders of recorded telephone conversations with LBJ in the collection that are very interesting to read and detail many conversations between the two from January 1964-June 1966.
Mann’s career is full of interesting events and situations, and his papers reflect that diversity. He was involved in the the Panama Canal Dispute and the Dominican Crisis in the early 1960s. He helped secure aid for fledgling governments in countries such as Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile. During his career, there was not much that went on in Latin America that Thomas Mann didn’t know about. His papers provide great insights into this long and interesting diplomatic career and also provide a wealth of research potential in the area of US-Latin American relations.
Gross, Leonard, “The Man Behind Our Latin American Actions,” Look, June 15, 1965
O’Leary, Jerry, Jr., “Portrait of a Diplomat: Mann Is a Forceful Loner,” Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., September 13, 1964
Meyer, Ben F., “Thomas Clifton Mann Receives Mexican Citation For Outstanding International Relations Achievement,” Baylor Report, May 1968
By Amie Oliver, Librarian and Curator of Print Materials, and Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist
For the past couple of years, “Research Ready” has featured our newly processed archival collections. Starting this month, we also will include a few highlights of items recently added to our print materials. As always, this is just a sampling of the many, many resources to be found at The Texas Collection!
Dr. McGlasson served as the chief medical officer for the last year of the building of the Panama Canal. This photo, amid a scrapbook largely comprised of European cityscapes and landscapes, highlights the scale of this massive construction project in which he played a small role. Irvy Lee McGlasson papers 3946, Box 4, Folder 1.
Here are October’s finding aids:
Jack and Gloria Parker Selden collection, 1755-2007, undated (#3954): These papers include materials about the Parker family throughout Texas history, including the stories of Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker. Much of the collection is Jack Selden’s extensive research on the Parker family to write his book Return: The Parker Story in 2006.
E.S. James papers, 1938-1969 (#3965): Sermons, correspondence, and other collected materials about James, his colleagues, and subscribers to the Baptist Standard. E.S. James was editor of the Baptist Standard for twelve years.
Irvy Lee McGlasson papers, 1904-1931 (#3946): Materials include artifacts, photographs, and other materials about McGlasson, a doctor from Waco that served as the chief medical officer for the workforce building the Panama Canal.
Here are October’s featured print materials:
Le Champ-d’Asile, au Texas. Paris: Chez Tiger, 1820.
This volume, listed in Thomas W. Streeter’s renowned Bibliography of Texas, 1795-1845, provides a rare account of the failed Champ-d’Asile colony of Napoleonic loyalists who settled on Texas’ Trinity River in 1818.
Annual Catalogue Hill’s Business College, 1905-1906. Waco: Hill’s Business College, 1905. Print.
In 1881, Robert Howard Hill founded Hill’s Business College, which operated in Waco for more than 40 years. This volume offers a glimpse into the faculty, curriculum, and student body of the 1905-1906 academic year.
The City of Fort Worth and the State of Texas. St. Louis: Geo. W. Engelhardt & Co., 1890. Print.
Part of the Engelhardt Series of American Cities, this volume examines business opportunities in 1890 Fort Worth and includes information on the railroad, real estate, manufacturing, and finances.
“Why haven’t we developed the Brazos into something like San Antonio’s River Walk?”
“Sure, we have sail-gating, but when are we going to develop this river properly?”
“Why haven’t people realized the value of the Brazos and put some real money into developing it?”
“Lock and Dam No 8 Brazos River. Placing Concrete in Lock Floor. Lower End Lock- (March 5, 1913)” is in folder 419a, box 7, E.FW18 —“Records of the Dallas Engineer Office”, Record Group 77—Records of the Army Corps of Engineers (Southwest Division), National Archives and Records Administration (Southwest Division)
Questions like these resonate along the length of the Brazos but are regularly volleyed around Waco lunch tables. If anything, the revitalization of Waco’s city center and the construction of McLane Stadium have only made these questions more pressing. Many Wacoans simply don’t understand why one of this state’s most iconic rivers has seemingly escaped the reach of developers. They cannot fathom the lack of attention. Coach Art Briles even raised this question over the summer, insisting that the lack of development is “unbelievable” and something that “blows [his] mind.” I understand that sense of shock and awe. When I began my work on the Brazos River nearly a decade ago, I approached it with the exact same question. Why, I asked, has the Brazos avoided the attention of developers? How could any businessman allow that to happen? As I began looking into the river’s history, however, I realized that I was asking the wrong question.
“[Baylor Bookstore in Flood], 1989, “Waco—Events—Floods—1989,” Photograph Collection, Texas Collection
This belief that the Brazos River should be more heavily developed is actually very old. Stephen F. Austin introduced American immigrants into Mexican Texas in 1821, and in the nearly two hundred years since then, developers and boosters and politicians have worked almost unceasingly to improve this powerful and temperamental waterway. Even before Austin’s arrival, however, Spanish settlers and Indian populations manipulated the river, developing it for their own purposes. The Spanish, for example, built irrigation canals and small embankment dams in Texas. No, the conviction that this river should be developed is not new. The end result of development has changed, but the idea of improving this river has not. A better question, then, is this: given the long history of attention to the Brazos, why has it not been developed more fully? Why must men like Art Briles shake their heads in wonder today, mind reeling at the untapped potential of this river? Why must politicians and business leaders and the inestimable public do likewise? “[Brazos in Flood], 1913,” “Waco—Events—Floods—1913,” Photograph Collection, Texas CollectionThe short answer–and the topic of discussion in my lecture–is that any lack of development is not due to a lack of effort. There has actually been a concentrated, long-standing effort to improve this waterway. The problem is that most of the proposed development projects along the Brazos have been, at best, a temporary success.
Take, for example, the lock and dam project (early 1900s). To expand navigation along the Brazos River, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a series of eight structures that would use a small-scale dam and a lock to raise water levels in areas plagued by shoals, falls, and bars. This project was applauded energetically, but construction of the locks and dams proved to be problematic, to say the least. In 1912, for example, engineers at the lock and dam near Waco reported that an untimely drought had dried up the river, leaving a scant 8 inches of water in the lock. One year later, employees at the same lock noted that a recent flood had done more than $20,000 worth of damage (the equivalent of $481,000 today).
“Why haven’t we tried to develop the Brazos River?”
As I said, that isn’t the right question.
“Why haven’t we been able to develop the Brazos more fully?”
That question may not have an easy answer, but it does guide us down a productive path of research and discussion.
Eager to hear more about this discussion? Join us in Bennett Auditorium at 3:30 pm on Thursday, October 22, to hear her thoughts on development along the Brazos River. Dr. Archer, an instructor at Angelo State University and Baylor alumna, is promoting her book, Unruly Waters: A Social and Environmental History of the Brazos River. The book will be available for purchase at a reception following at The Texas Collection and at the Baylor Bookstore during Homecoming.
Each month, we post a processing update to notify our readers about the latest collections that have finding aids online and are primed for research. Here are September’s finding aids:
Dr. James W. Swain designed numerous dresses for the Waco Cotton Palace Pageant between the 1970s and the 1990s. Each of the dresses made, such as the one featured here, were custom designed for each participant and took into account their height, weight, hair color, and complexion. Waco Cotton Palace Pageant, Incorporated records #2579, box 52, folder 4.
Diana R. Garland papers, 1911-2013, (#3955): These papers include personal records, letters, and curriculum from Garland’s positions at the Carver School of Church Social Work and the Baylor School of Social Work.
Luther-Dienst family papers, 1887-1931, (#3243): The collection includes personal and printed items sent primarily to Alex Dienst from John Hill Luther. A scrapbook from Annie Lou Pollard, a Baylor college student in 1925, is also included.
Diana Garland received many letters of support like this one when news broke of the Carver School’s dissolution at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Dr. Garland’s forced resignation. Diana R. Garland papers #3955, box 5, folder 4.
![Annual Santa Rosa Roundup, Vernon, Texas. [Vernon], 1949.](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1644/25143923682_1a920e02e2_o.jpg)
![McCarty, John L. Amarillo: Welcome Stranger. Amarillo: Chamber of Commerce, [1940]. Dallas: a Friendly City in a Friendly State](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1635/24966599130_6d579759b8_o.jpg)
