Environment, Conservation, and Wildlife

O

Oliver and Oliver Law Firm Records, 1760-2004 (CG0010)
296 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The Oliver and Oliver Law Firm Papers contain case files and correspondence of the firm from the 1880s to 1980s. This collection also includes the genealogy of the Oliver and Watkins families, family correspondence, and civic involvements with the Boy Scouts of America, Rotary Club, Sons of the American Revolution, and Presbyterian Church. In addition, this collection contains material related to the Little River Drainage District, Oliver Land and Development Company, and Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

Open Space Council Collection, 1988-2005 (S0302)
1 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

This collection contains photographs of events sponsored by the Open Space Council of St. Louis, including Operation Clean Stream, which seeks to protect and restore the Meramec River and its tributaries.

Counties

Ozark Land and Lumber Company Records, 1887-1933 (C0037)
8 cubic feet (688 folders), 100 oversize volumes

 Finding Aid

The business papers and record books of a Shannon County, Missouri, lumber company consist of correspondence, financial records, minutes of directors’ and stockholders’ meetings, store records, cutting and other lumber records, land records, and survey maps.

Counties

P

Quintin Papineau Photographs, 1996-1998 (CG0034)
0.01 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

35 photographs taken by Quintin Papineau of agriculture, buildings, springs, riverboats, and machinery several counties in southeast Missouri, Oregon County, Marion County, and cities in Illinois along the river.

Guy Brasfield Park Papers, 1894-1951 (C0008)
28.2 cubic feet (2,341 folders)

 Finding Aid

Official and personal correspondence and papers of Guy B. Park, Democratic governor of Missouri from 1933 to 1937. Also includes his work as an attorney for the Chicago Great Western Railroad Company, 1933-1946, as well as some personal papers of Eleanora Park.

Counties

Parnell Family Collection, 1835-1981 (SP0090)
1.5 cubic feet (26 folders, 361 photographs, 1 oversize box)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The Parnell Family Collection consists of photographs and personal papers of the Parnell family, as well as related families including the Moore, Thompson, and Wilson families of Taney County, Missouri. The collection also contains early images of Taney and Stone County towns and landscapes.

Counties

PedNet Coalition (Columbia, Mo.) Records, 2001-2003 (C4217)
0.2 cubic feet (9 folders)

 Finding Aid

Correspondence, newsletters, and meeting minutes of the organization advocating an integrated network of bike and pedestrian routes through the city of Columbia, Missouri.

Counties

Marlin Perkins Papers, 1873-1991 (S0516)
17.4 cubic foot; 350 folders; 2854 photographs; 32 16mm films; 29 audio cassettes, 14 audio discs, 16 items

 Finding Aid

The Marlin Perkins Papers consist of newspaper clippings, correspondence, zoo animal feeding records, business contracts, equipment lists, maps, archaeological records, publications, and zoological findings, conservation and ecological writings, scrapbooks, photographs, and film. The materials in this collection are related to Marlin Perkins’ involvement in national and international zoos, wildlife and nature conservation, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, Zoo Parade, and various other dealings involving wildlife.  

Counties

Eugene M. Poirot Papers, 1923-1989 (R0385)
5 cubic foot (231 folders, 2 rolls of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

These are papers of a farmer and environmentalist of Lawrence County, Missouri. Topics include agriculture, fish-culture, soil conservation, and farm legislation. Included are family papers, correspondence, writings, speeches, photographs, and motion pictures on videocassette.

Counties

Clyde H. Porter Collection, 1958 (K0526)
0.1 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Research notes and papers of Porter and his wife Mae Reed Porter, regarding families engaged in the fur trade in the Kansas City area, and the American West. Included are files on the Chouteau Family of Kansas City, the Charbonneau Family, Moses "Black" Harris, and the Thomas Vasquez Family.

Counties

Prairie Grouse Technical Council Records, 1957-2001 (C4582)
0.75 cubic feet (22 folders)

 Finding Aid

Newsletters, programs and proceedings, and correspondence surrounding conferences held by the Prairie Grouse Technical Council from 1957-2001.

Alex Primm Oral History Collection, 1981-2000 (SP0054)
1 cubic foot (113 audio cassette tapes)

 Finding Aid

The Alex Primm Oral History Collections contain audio cassette tapes with oral history interviews conducted by Alex Primm in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. The interviews cover a range of Ozark related topics such as Grasshopper Hollow in Reynolds County, Missouri; Palmer, Missouri; Ozark rivers; and Fort Leonard Wood. The project on Ozark rives includes interviews with individuals lived and made their livings on or near the Current, Jacks Fork, Little Piney, and Big Piney rivers. Primm interviewed local residents, many of whom had lived in the Ozarks their entire lives.

S. Fred Prince Papers, 1899-1999 (SP0005)
.5 cubic feet (12 folders)

 Finding Aid

The S. Fred Prince Papers document the work of a naturalist and illustrator who spent many years studying the geology and ecology of the Southwest Missouri Ozarks. They also include the research conducted by Suzanne Wilson, a freelance writer who published an article in the Missouri Conservationist magazine about Prince’s life and work. The collection consists of copies of Prince’s unpublished original manuscripts along with interviews and correspondence that Wilson conducted with those who knew Prince or had possession of his work. 

Counties

R

River des Peres Watershed Coalition Records, 1929 (S1243)
0.25 cubic foot

The River des Peres Watershed coalition contains photographs and glass slide negatives the organization collected chronicling the construction of the River des Peres Sewerage and Drainage Works. The photographs in the collection primarily depict the construction near the Missouri History Museum.

Counties

River Power and Transport Association Corporate Records, 1927-1933 (C1232)
0.13 cubic feet (1 volume)

 Finding Aid

Corporate records of the River Power and Transport Association, Wilmington, DE, 1927.

Appended to these records are the minutes of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis River Front Improvement Corporation, 1933.

Counties

Nelson F. Rogers Papers, 1894-1996 (R1318)
1.75 cubic foot (79 folders, 9 volumes, 231 photographs)

 Finding Aid

The Nelson F. Rogers Papers contain the professional papers of Nelson F. Rogers, a forester with the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Research Center. He conducted research at the Sinkin Experimental Forest and Central States Forest Experiment Station, studying reforestation of strip-mined areas and experiments involving the cultivation of shortleaf pine. The collection also includes personal papers and Rogers family genealogical material.

Daniel Rothwell Papers, 1935-2011 (C4375)
2 cubic feet (64 folders)

 Finding Aid

Papers of an aerospace technical illustration supervisor, wildlife and woodland conservationist, hunter, teacher, pilot, UFO researcher, restoration hobbyist, and the manager of Rothwell Ranch Wildlife and Woodland Preserve, Piedmont, Wayne County, Missouri.

Counties

G. Andy Runge Papers, 1970-1991 (C3923)
17 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The papers of a Mexico, MO, attorney who served on the Missouri Conservation Commission, was active in state and national environmental organizations, and a Curator of the University of Missouri. The papers consist of correspondence, subject files, financial records, minutes of meetings, publications, and other records of the various organizations in which he was active during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

S

Saint Francis Levee District Records, 1893-1980 (R0076)
(2 rolls of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

The Saint Francis Levee District of Missouri Records contains a microfilm copy of ledgers, minute books, and financial records of the Saint Francis Levee District.

Francis Asbury Sampson Photographs, no date (CA6544)
1 folder

Six nature photographs taken in Camden and Morgan Counties of Sampson and a Mr. McCullough of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Counties

Dan Saults Papers, 1937-1985 (R0403)
2 cubic feet (44 folders)

 Finding Aid

These are papers of a conservationist and outdoor journalist, including material on the Outdoor Writers Association of America, wilderness areas, the "Irish Wilderness" of Oregon County, Missouri, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, and the Ozarks region. There are a typescript of Saults's unpublished novel and copies of many of his articles and speeches.

Scenic Missouri, Inc. Records, 1980s-2000s (CA6243)
6 cubic feet, 5 audio cassettes, 57 computer discs, 47 video cassettes

 Finding Aid

Records of a nonprofit organization advocating scenic conservation in Missouri. The group conducted "Save Our Scenery" initiative-petition drives and placed a statewide vote on billboard control on the November 2000 ballot. The measure lost 51 to 49 percent. Contains correspondence, financial records, publicity materials, photographs and slides, and audiovisual materials.

Charles and Elizabeth Schwartz Papers, 1915-1990s (C2217)
0.4 cubic feet, 2 volumes, 1 computer disc

 Finding Aid

The papers of Charles and Elizabeth Schwartz document their lives as wildlife conservationists and enthusiasts in Missouri. The collection contains the manuscript of The Wild Mammals of Missouri, published articles and newspapers, artwork, research, and photographs.

Sedalia Democrat Photographs, 1942, 1977 (P0781)
9 photographs

Photos of May 1977 tornado in Sedalia, Pettis County.

Counties

William J. Seever Memorandum, 1894 (C1741)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains field notes of an archaeological trip down the Gasconade River, describing caves in Pulaski County, MO, by a Missouri archaeologist.

Counties

Mrs. A.D. Segnin Photograph Collection, 1916 (P0375)
15 photographs

 Digitized Materials

Photographs of the aftermath of a 1916 tornado in Olean, Miller County, MO.

Counties

Ben Senturia Papers, 1968-2015 (S0745)
30 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Ben Senturia has been long active in environmental, antiwar, and political reform efforts. A graduate of Washington University in 1966, Senturia served as a research assistant for Barry Commoner, an early and ardent environmentalist, from 1966 through 1968. Senturia became a predoctoral fellow in the Environmental Field Program at Washington University at this time. Thereafter, he worked as an organizer and campaign consultant for a variety of public interest, nonprofit organizations, chief among them were the St. Louis Coalition for the Environment and the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign. Throughout this time and beyond, Senturia frequently acted as a consultant to numerous nonprofit organizations, assisting them in organizing and directing political or fund-raising campaigns as part of a private business, the Center for Active Citizenship, organized in 1989. The papers contain correspondence, essays, photographs, legislative materials, and reports.

Counties

Daniel Serda Papers, 1976-2011 (K0687)
21 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Research materials gathered by Serda, a local historian, city planner, and faculty in the Department of Urban Planning, University of Kansas. Includes Kansas City bibliographic research, the Kansas City Stock Yards, the 1951 Flood, and other topics of his research and writing.

Counties

Edward Martin Shepard Lantern Slide Collection, no date (R1184)
0.25 cubic foot (41 lantern slides)

 Finding Aid

These are lantern slides showing springs, natural bridges, and caves in the Ozarks region of Missouri. They were produced for teaching purposes by Edward M. Shepard, a professor of geology at Drury College in Springfield, Missouri.

SHSMO-KC Postcard Collection, 1908-1956 (K1345)
.24 cubic foot (22 folders)

 Finding Aid

The State Historical Society of Missouri-Kansas City Postcard Collection is an artificial collection combining miscellaneous postcard acquisitions related to Missouri places, individuals, organizations, and events. The State Historical Society of Missouri-Kansas City Postcard Collection continues to have material added to it. New additions are added at the end of the collection.

Sierra Club, Ozark Chapter Records, 1967-2019 (S0428)
65.25 cubic feet, 979 photographs, 14 audio tape

 Finding Aid

The records of the Sierra Club, Ozark Chapter, contain correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, photographs, and newsletters documenting the chapter's mission to protect the nation's wilderness. Subjects of interest include nuclear power, coal and strip mining, and the Meramec Dam.

Counties

Fritz Smith Papers, 1892-1900 (R0373)
1 folder

 Finding Aid

This is a daily record of water levels on the Mississippi River at New Madrid, Missouri, 22
November 1892 -- 31 August 1900. There are also occasional notes on the weather, river conditions,
and steamboats.

Hurse Smith Papers, 1933-1943 (R0568)
1 folder

 Finding Aid

This is the scrapbook of Hurse Smith of Prospect, Alabama, a member of Company 1733 of
the Civilian Conservation Corps. Smith served in camps at Calico Rock, Arkansas, and Pond
Fork, Missouri. The scrapbook includes the names of officers and members of the company, a
brief record of service, and photographs of the camps and members of the company.

Counties

Thad Snow Papers, 1923-1955 (CG0027)
1.31 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The Thad Snow Papers include writings, correspondence, scrapbooks, memorabilia and photographs. Snow was a prolific writer during his life. He is best remembered for his column, “Letters from the People” for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch beginning in the 1930s. The topics covered in this collection include politics, foreign affairs, farming, Snow’s family, economics and human nature.

Robert M. Snyder Jr. Collection, 1849-1932 (K0025)
5 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Personal papers of R.M. Snyder, Jr. and his family relating to his collecting, research, and writing on Americana, the Ozarks, and Ha Ha Tonka, a home built in the Ozarks by his father. Additionally are the collected correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera that Snyder collected from historically significant people thorughout the course of his life.

Solid Waste Task Force (Columbia, Mo.) Records, 1990-1993 (C4207)
0.5 cubic feet (11 folders)

 Finding Aid

The records contained in the Solid Waste Task Force collection consist of pamphlets, brochures, letters, notes, newspaper clippings, and legal documents. The records display a clear path from citizen activism to the implementation of laws intended to address citizen concerns.

Counties

Southwest Missouri Resource Conservation and Development Records, 1964-2011 (SP0009)
28 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The records consist of the financial documents, correspondence, project notes and publications pertaining to the operation of the non-profit environmental organization known as Southwest Missouri Resource Conservation and Development. 

John Nathan Sparks Papers, 1901-1947 (C2798)
3.1 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The John Nathan Sparks Papers consist of the business and personal correspondence of an employee of the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company of Grandin, MO.

George A. Spencer Papers, 1948-1960 (C0969)
9.0 cubic feet (954 folders), 1 oversize volume

 Finding Aid

Letters, reports, and legislative papers of a Democratic state representative from Boone County, 1949-1952, and state senator, 19th district, 1953-1960. In the 1960 Democratic primaries Spencer was an unsuccessful candidate for the attorney general nomination.

Counties

Barbara Sprenger Papers, 1867-2016 (S0281)
11 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The Barbara Sprenger Papers contains correspondence, histories, photographs, reports, and maps pertaining to Dioxin and hazardous waste dumping of the Russell Bliss, Grover Callahan, and related properties in the Wildwood and Ellisville, Missouri, areas. The collection also contains family papers, which include correspondence, genealogical research materials, and photographs.

Counties

St. Charles Countians Against Hazardous Waste/Weldon Springs (SCCAHW) Records, 1946-1996 (S0677)
5 cubic feet, 148 folders, 79 photographs

 Finding Aid

The St. Charles Countians Against Hazardous Waste Records contain correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and reports documenting the group’s effort to halt nuclear dumping at, and eventual decontamination of, the Weldon Spring Ordnance Works site.

St. Louis Division of Parks and Recreation Photographs, 1930-1944 (P0814)
0.2 linear feet

Photos of St. Louis from 1936-1939, with an emphasis on parks, urban forestry, and public buildings.

Counties

St. Louis Environmental Media Center (LAD) Records, 1973-1977 (S1065)
3 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

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

Counties

St. Louis Tornado of 1927 Photograph Collection, 1927 (S1237)
0.01 cubic feet, 1 folder, 27 photographs

This collection consists of 21 photographs depicting damage from tornadoes in St. Louis in 1927, and 6 photographs depicting destruction from a fire in an unidentified building in 1939.

Counties

St. Louis Tornado Photographs, 1896, 1896 (P0277)
40 photographs

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Photographs of damage following an 1896 tornado in St. Louis, including many by Samborsky Photo. Some of these images were published in Julian Curzon's The Great Cyclone at St. Louis and East St. Louis, May 27, 1896.

Counties

State of Missouri Photograph Collection, 1903-1904 (P0018)
486 photographs

 Digitized Materials

Over 400 original photos created for the 1904 publication on Missouri at the time of the World's Fair by Walter Williams; shows all aspects and counties in Missouri.

Counties

James Stebbings Photograph Collection, 1968-2008 (S0811)
1 cubic foot, 532 photographs

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

This collection contains photographs taken by James Stebbings between 1968 and 2008. The images depict the National Stockyards Company of National City, Illinois, St. Louis Soulard market, and Times Beach and Gray Summit, Missouri.

Carl Stelzer Papers, 1980-1995 (S0994)
26 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

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

Counties

E. Sydney Stephens Scrapbooks, no date (CA4741)
0.4 cubic feet

Scrapbooks compiled upon Stephen's retirement from Missouri Conservation Commission and other testimonials.