Saint Louis Manuscript Collections

Theodore McMillian was the first African American to serve on the Missouri Court of Appeals, and the first African American to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Collection includes Federal Judicial Ceneter Media Library audio cassettes; Committee on Tribal Justice files and old speeches; and two books.

The Edwin B. Meissner Records contain correspondence, books, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and a videotape focusing on the history of race relations in St. Louis from 1944 to 1998. The majority of the materials focus on Meissner’s efforts to improve race relations in St. Louis as the chairperson of the St. Louis Race Relations Commission.

The Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment (MCRI) Records contain correspondence, meeting minutes, studies, and subject files on genetically modified organisms, Monsanto, Boeing, and nuclear power. MCRI is a St. Louis area faith-based organization dedicated to investing in major corporations and using their power as shareholders to influence companies to become more socially responsible and transparent.

The Missouri Humanities Council Records contains grant proposals, evaluations, development meeting minutes, program guidelines, reports, and newsletters pertaining to the group’s mission to assist libraries, museums, and other organizations in promoting educational programs focusing on history, law, ethics, philosophy, and anthropology. The majority of the collection contains grant proposals submitted to the Missouri Humanities Council by various organizations in Missouri; the grant proposal files include the proposals, correspondence, and program evaluations. The Missouri Humanities Council was founded in 1971 and is affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. It has offices in Kansas City and St. Louis. The materials in this collection date from 1971 to 2020.

The Missouri Parks Association Records (MPA) contain correspondence, legal materials, board meeting minutes, publications, newsletters, and reports relating to the organization’s mission to protect, enhance, and preserve Missouri state parks and historic sites. Included in the collection is MPA’s serial publication The Heritage. The bulk of this collection includes correspondence to and from board members as well as Missouri’s political figures including former Missouri governors, senators, and attorney general. These individuals include John Ashcroft, Mel Carnahan, and Kit Bond. Additionally, these records contain the National Park Services’ National Register of Historic Places – Nomination Forms for architectural sites in Missouri state parks that hold historical significance, such as bridges, lodges, and cabins. 

This collection contains newsletters and board of directors files of the Missouri Women's Network, which seeks to provide women in business with networking opportunities.

This collection contains Initiative petitions, correspondence, and legal materials of a group organized to institute a voluntary check-off on local utility bills to fund a board allowing consumers to contribute to rate hike decisions.

This collection contains mounted photographs, 4x5 negatives, thirty-five-millimeter negatives, and one 3.5 micro floppy disk pertaining to 'Mit Feder und Hammer? (With Feather and Hammer): The German Experience in St. Louis," an exhibit held in St. Louis in 1983 and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) from 1984 to 1989.

This collection contains videotapes on the St. Louis Zoo, Kirkwood, and the St. Louis Art Museum, collected by Ann Morris, the former Associate Director of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-St. Louis.

This collection contains two ledgers consisting of financial records of the Mound City Commercial College. Thomas A. Rice founded the Mound City Commercial College in 1859 in Boone County, Missouri.

This collection contains an oral history interview of Helen Nash, MD, interviewed by Marion Hunt, on April 20, 1999. Nash was a pediatrician who worked at Homer G. Phillips Hospital and the Saint Louis Children's Hospital. She was best known for providing youth with sex education and reducing instances of infant deaths at Homer G. Phillips Hospital.

The Natural Streams Campaign records contain correspondence, petitions, newspaper clippings, and surveys documenting the group's efforts to pass the Missouri Natural Streams Act of 1990 through a petition; had the petition succeeded, the legislation would have regulated rural streams in Missouri.

The Judge Ann Quill Niederlander Papers contains correspondence, photographs, legal materials, and rewards documenting Quill's service as a magistrate and associate circuit judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit in St. Louis County from 1978 to 1985.

This collection contains Issues of the newsletter from the group Normandy Seniors.

The Northside Preservation Commission Records contain reports, photographs, and audio cassettes and videotapes pertaining to the group's mission to preserve North St. Louis, Missouri's historic properties, as well as help low-income families buy property in the area.

The Paraquad Records contain correspondence, grant files, legislative materials, and newspaper clippings pertaining to the organization's mission to help people with disabilities to live independently in the St. Louis area.

This collection contains meeting and executive committee minutes, correspondence, membership directories, and treasurers' reports relating to Pi Lambda Theta's mission to recognize and students who attain academic excellence.

This collection consists of a photograph scrapbook of a lead paint company in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Personal Rights of Missourians (PROMO) Records contain meeting minutes, newsletters, legislative materials, and educational resources pertaining to PROMO's mission to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Missourians through education, political lobbying, and grassroots organization.

The Redevelopment Opportunities for Women Records contain newsletters, concert tickets, and programs pertaining to providing financial literacy resources and advocacy to women affected by poverty and domestic violence.

This collection contains photographs, videotape, newspaper clippings, and meeting minutes of the R-9 Community Center.

The Rotary Club of Clayton-Ladue Records contains correspondence, photographs, directories, and newsletters relating to the group's mission to provide humanitarian services to the residents of the St. Louis area.

This collection contains photographs, newspaper clippings, a scrapbook, and political ephemera of Geri Rothman-Serot, who was elected to the St. Louis County Council in 1990 and became a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in Missouri in 1992.

he records of the Saint Louis Ambassadors contain chronological event memorabilia, directories, videotapes, club records, and photographs relating to the group's mission to help the St. Louis community through helping organizations plan and execute events and assist with electing candidates for political office in Missouri and Illinois.

The records of the St. Louis Economic Conversation Project contain research files and meeting minutes pertaining to the group's mission to redirect arms resources toward peaceful uses.

This collection primarily contains reports on St. Loouis County, including child health and long-term care facilities.

This collection contains meeting minutes, reports, and a newspaper clippings scrapbook of the St. Louis Philanthropic Organization's anti-pornography effort to influence cable television programming.

The State of Missouri incorporated the St. Louis Regional Library Network (SLRLN) in 1977 as a not-for-profit dedicated to providing access to educational opportunities and shared resources for libraries and librarians in the greater St. Louis area, including St. Louis City and County, St. Charles, Franklin, Warren and Lincoln counties. The records contain correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, and workshop materials related to SLRLN's administration, finances and networking activities from 1978 to 1987.

This collection contains topographical area maps produced by the U. S. Geological Survey, the Missouri Geological Survey and Illinois Geological Survey.

The St. Louis Women's Choir Records contain concert programs, a philosophy statement, and retreat materials.

The Metro St. Louis Women's Federal Credit Union Records contain bylaws, a charter, newsletters, and news clippings pertaining to the group's mission to provide economic self-sufficiency for women living the St. Louis metropolitan area.

This collection contains songbooks, scorecards, and photographs pertaining to events, individuals, and places connected to Art Santen, a longtime resident of the Skinker Debaliviere neighborhood and noted collector of bottle caps.

The Dorothy Schneider Papers contain correspondence, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, and a dissertation pertaining to Schneider's experiences volunteering with the American Red Cross during World War II in the Pacific Theater, as well as her peace activism with the United Nations Day World Holiday.

The Ellen Schwartz Papers contain photographs, a diary, and VHS and cassette tapes of oral histories pertaining to her research on the Freund family.

This collection includes newsletters and publications pertaining to abortion, including copies of "Our Bodies Our Selves" and the "Cervical Cap Handbook."

The Sue Shear Papers contains correspondence, legislative materials, and newspaper clippings relating to her career as a legislator representing St. Louis County (District 83) in the Missouri House of Representatives (1972-1998). Topics of interest in the collection include abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment, mental health, and children and families in Missouri.

The James F. Shrewsbury Papers consist of meeting minutes, political campaign material, newspaper clippings, reports, and political campaign materials pertaining Shrewsbury’s career on the 16th Ward Alderman (1983-2007) and the President of the St. Louis Board of Alderman (2002-2007), for the city of St. Louis. This collection also contains political campaign ephemera—bumper stickers, political buttons, and flyers—pertaining to Missouri state and national politicians. The materials in this collection date from 1962 to 2015.

This collection contains postcards depicting the Majestic Hotel; the Cheshire Inn; the Sheraton Jefferson; the Jewel Box in Forest Park; Korean War Memorial in Forest Park; and the Streckfus Steamer "President."

The Skinker-DeBaliviere Times Collections contains issues of the newspaper documenting the history of the neighborhood, including the Delmar Loop and Bolivartown.

This collection contains issues of SLAM magazine, an underground LGBTQ publication.

Annual meeting minutes and Spring Grand Classic and Caravan files of the Spirit of St. Louis Region Classic Car Club.

The Carl Stelzer papers contains files on Dioxin, Times Beach, Missouri, the Ville, and Soulard, Missouri. Stelzer was a reporter for the Riverfront Times.

The Judith Stix Papers contains poetry written by Stix. Titles of interest include two anthologies "City of Birds," and "Sweet Length of Days.

The Talk Tapes/Textbooks on Tapes Records contain photographs, compact discs, and scrapbooks pertaining to the organization's mission to provide books to individuals with learning disabilities and visual impairments.

The Rosemary Hyde Thomas Papers contain photographs, oral histories, and research papers pertaining to the Landmarks Program, which encouraged middle and high school students to explore historical themes in their community neighborhoods. Materials of interest include oral history interviews students conducted with former Pullman Porters, Webster Groves, and the flood of 1993.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis Public Policy Library on St. Louis Collection consists of studies and reports regarding the formation and growth of Missouri state and local governments, including the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. 

This collection contains correspondence, articles, oral history interviews, and photographs collected by Cornelia Frances Sexauer for her 2003 thesis, "Catholic Capitalism: Charles Vatterott, Civil Rights and Suburbanization in St. Louis and the Nation 1919-1972." Charles Vatterott was a real estate and civil rights activist, who was instrumental in creating the St. Louis Interracial Justice council in 1944. He also established the Vatterott Foundation in 1948 to improve educational and career advancement opportunities for ethnic and religious minorities.

This collection contains local, state and national newsletters published by veterans' groups.

The Voluntary Interdistrict Coordination Council collection contains newsletters, reports, and a settlement agreement connected to the development of the magnet schools in St. Louis.

The papers of Herb Waerckle contain family histories and a scrapbook pertaining to Waeckerle's career as a journalist for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat and as well as his career in public relations working for the Schnucks and Monsanto.

This collection consists of Issues of Nature Notes, the Bulletin of the Webster Groves Nature Society, Vol. 68, No. 6-Vol. 70, December 1998.

This collection contains a thesis written by Lisa Weinmann on mainstream feminism in St. Louis during the 1970s, as well as fifteen oral history tapes she used as research for her thesis.

The Judge Noah Weinstein Papers contain judicial files on juveniles, the legal justice system, and legal education, as well as correspondence. Weinstein was a St. Louis County Circuit Judge and assisted with writing Missouri juvenile code.

The Mae Wheeler Papers contains autograph and address books, contracts, newspaper clippings, flyers, and correspondence relating to Wheeler's career as a Jazz singer. Also included in the collection are photographs of Wheeler's performances. 

The Betty Wilson Papers contain correspondence, conference proceedings, position papers, reports, studies, and newspaper clippings regarding clean water and water conservation in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, as well as Dioxin pollution in Missouri.

This collection contains blueprints for an unfinished castle of George F. Wood-Smith, located in South St. Louis County.

The papers of Austin Wright contain newspaper clippings and photographs chronicling Wright's career as an entertainer and politician in St. Louis's African-American community. During his life, Wright's voice served as the main feature of a variety of local acts, including the Three Peppers, a group that performed in several large venues, most notably the Riviera Club. Wright also participated in such civil rights organizations such as the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE). He also worked to support community organizations like the YMCA and Annie Malone Children's Home.

The papers of Ruth Osborne Write contain poetry, notebooks, correspondence, and artwork documenting Wright's career as an artist, as well as her service in the United States Navy during World War II.

The Young Audiences of St. Louis Records contain meeting minutes, memos, newsletters, photographs, videos, and newspaper clippings pertaining to music education for K-12 students. Founded in 1957, the Young Audiences of St. Louis's mission is to assist schools with developing and promoting live music and cultural events for students.

This collection contains calendars, rosters, membership lists, and mailings of a group founded by the spouses of the directors and staff associates of the Young Men's Christian Association Metro St. Louis

Environmental activist Kay Drey assembled this collection from the newspapers and literature of groups organized to oppose the Calloway Plant; legal documents from challenges to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Union Electric over the plant’s operating license and safety concerns; and the files of Bill Smart, an ironworker fired the plant for going public with complaints about below-standard structural steel work and defective materials used in the plant’s construction.

Subject files collected by Kay Drey pertaining to nuclear hazards in the United States. 

This collection contains meeting minutes, petitions, newsletters, newspaper clippings, notes, and photographs relating to Kay and Leo Drey's campaign to block St. Louis County from developing a recreational complex in Queeny Park and preserving it as open recreational space.

The University City Residential Trust Records contain correspondence, meeting minutes, and newspaper clippings relating to the University City Rental Trust’s (UCRT) mission to maintain cultural diversity during the integration process in the University City area. UCRT attempted to accomplish this task by purchasing homes in University City and renting them to white families in neighborhoods where African American children outnumbered white children in the elementary district.

The United Shoe Workers International Union (USWA) Records contain correspondence, meeting minutes, contracts, charters, and newsletters of the union's headquarters in St. Louis.

The Citizenship Education Clearinghouse Records contain meeting minutes, correspondence, grant files, and newsletters pertaining to the organization's mission to integrate participatory citizenship into high school curricula.

This collection contains the files of former St. Louis County Parks Director Robert J. Hall. Hall served as the County Parks director from 1996 to 2001.

The St. Louis LGBT History Project Collection consists of LGBT publications and three-dimensional objects (including t-shirts) collected by the Project. Founded by Steven Brawley in 2007, the St. Louis LGBT History Project is dedicated to preserving the history of the LGBT community in St. Louis, Missouri.

This collection contains meeting minutes, press releases, correspondence, and manuals pertaining to the St. Louis branch of the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign.

Photographs of tornado damage in Joplin, MO from June 3, 2011.

This collection contains materials on the Missouri Teamsters and Ernest Calloway.

This collection contains slides of architecture from cities outside Missouri

This collection contains legal materials, reports, and newspaper clippings documenting the hazards posed by dumping nuclear waste in the town of Hematite in Jefferson City, Missouri. Mallinckrodt Chemical Works built a commercial uranium-fuel processing plant in Hematite in 1956 that the company used to produce nuclear fuel rod assemblies for commercial power plants. The plant closed in 2001.

This collection contains Videotapes of Outlook St. Louis, a WHSL-TV and cable access television program for the LGBTQ community. The program featured episodes that focused on political and cultural events relevant to LGBTQ community.

The Ron Elz Papers contain essays, speeches, photographs, and reel-to-reel tapes pertaining to his career as a radio station at KSHE 95 and as a disc jockey at radio stations KXOK and KMOX under the moniker Johnny Rabbit. Materials of interest include radio scripts Elz wrote for his KMOX radio show, Route 66; essays he wrote on Gaslight Square; and reel-to-reel tapes featuring advertisements and jingles for local St. Louis businesses.

The Gaylord Container Corporation Records contain two volumes of legal materials pertaining to the company's operations from 1937 to 1939.

The Architecture collection contains three booklets published in 1928 written about the use of marble in various types of buildings found within the urban landscape. The supplemental materials include an architectural bibliography, photographs of various buildings, and a portrait of an unidentified woman.

The St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Division began the Missouri Quilt Inventory contest in September 1983. The collection includes correspondence to contest winners, a newspaper article about the contents, provenance about the quilts, and photographs of the quilts on display in the contest.

The Robert C. Williams Collection contains three spiral-bound news clipping scrapbooks on Martin Luther King, the assassination of JFK, and the 2005 resolution of the 1964 murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.

A copy of the commemorative book Looking Back...Moving Forward, A Report To The Community on the St. Louis 2004 Effort by Deborah A. Dugan.

Film footage of the Foest Park Highliands fire, taken on July 19, 1963, and the Raltson Purina fire, taken on January 11, 1962.

The Missouri Forest Heritage Records contain correspondence relating to Loe A. Drey's efforts to preserve Missouri forests and the wildlife within them from 1954 to 1999.

The Peg Serrano Papers contains literature from Univeristy City delegates pertaining to the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas, held from November 18 to 21, 1977.

Gateway Human Resources (GHR) was an organization that provided professional development resources for women in the workplace. The materials in this collection contain meeting minutes, budget reports, membership applications, and correspondence relating to developmental workshops, dinner meetings, and annual conferences. Also included in this collection is a short history of GHR and the National Human Resources Association (NHRA), the parent organization of GHR.

This collection contains slides of the Mississippi River, Forest Park, and the lower Meramec River.

This collection contains research materials used to prepare Jefferson Barracks nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

This collection contains slides of St. Louis architectural landmarks, some of which no longer exist, such as the St. Louis Club at Locust and Ewing. F. Ray Leimkuehler was an architect for the St. Louis City Public School Board and used the slides for a presentation on St. Louis architecture. Also included in this collection are notecards describing the images and newspaper clippings recounting Leimkuehler's career.

The Abortion Class Records contain oral history tapes, newspaper clippings, flyers, pamphlets, handouts, and books on abortion in the state of Missouri, collected by a University of Missouri, St. Louis class on reproductive rights and abortion.

The Robert Logsdon Papers contain newspaper clippings and photographs relating to Logsdon's labor activism as a candidate for the governor of Missouri in 1948 and a member of the executive board of the Union District 8.

The Milissa Grant Civil Rights Oral History Collection contains oral histories grant conduct with St. Louis Civil Rights leaders.

This collection contains items related to Gloria Simpson’s time working for sculptor and commercial photographer Frank Morgan White (1877-1956), who was active in St. Louis from 1913 to 1947. Photographs include images of streetcars, the September 29, 1927 tornado, Soldan High School, and sculptures. Also included are White’s official photographs of Charles Lindbergh’s trophies.

The Barnes Medical College Notebooks document the classroom experiences of students who attended Barnes Medical College from 1902 to 1905.

The Cinema St. Louis Records contains schedules, calendars, promotional materials, newspaper clippings, and press release notebooks documenting the organization's mission to advance film as an art through the presentation of independent films. Cinema St. Louis sponsored events have included the St. Louis International Film Festival, Cinemaspoke, and the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase.

This collection consists of posters from Circus Flora, a St. Louis-based theater company specializing in one-ring theater productions.

The Hassebrock Family Papers consist of correspondence written by members of the Henry Hassebrock family of Mascoutah, Illinois, during World War II. The correspondents include Henry Hassebrock's sons, Walter, Henry, and Elmer, as well as his son-in-law, Benjamin Keck, and his daughter, Mona Hassebrock Keck. All four men served in the United States Army during World War II.

The Walter Shafer Diary consists of 58-page typewritten diary entries written by Shafer, describing his experiences as a soldier overseas with the 35th Infantry Division in World War I. The diary entries date from May 2, 1918, through May 13, 1919.

This collection consists of the 1909 edition of the Ivy yearbook of Hosmer Hall, a young women's school that opened in Clayton, Missouri, in 1904. The yearbook contains photographs, cartoons, illustrations, and business advertisements that document the activities of the school and its students. The Clayton School District purchased the building in 1936 and converted it into a middle school.

The John J. Buse, Jr. collection consists of photographs, scrapbooks, historical notes, correspondence, and personal reminiscences of a St. Charles, Missouri , historian and collector. An extensive photograph collection by Rudolph Goebel, John Gossler, and A. Ruth are included.

This collection contains meeting minutes, financial statements, and newspaper clippings of a St. Louis firm dedicated to producing metal products, including fenders, hood supports, and ordinance fuse liners.

Unknown collection.