Geography and Maps

1993 Flood Photographs, 1993 (K1376)
.03 c.f.

 Finding Aid

The 1993 Flood Photographs contain two photographs of the Missouri River during the Great Flood of 1993 taken by Lightfoot Photography of North Kansas City, Missouri.

Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service Aerial Photographs, 1938-1979 (P0335)
107.5 linear feet

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Missouri county aerial photographs produced by the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service.

Earl Wilson Allen Country Club District Map, 1930 (K0607)
58.5 lf

 Finding Aid

Original painting [pictographic map] of the Country Club District, for J.C. Nichols Company (on board). Painting was displayed in J.C. Nichols building on the Country Club Plaza until 2012.

Lisbon Applegate Collection, 1819-1903 (C0996)
2 cubic feet, 18 volumes

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Correspondence and business papers of Lisbon and Lewis M. Applegate of Keytesville, MO. Letters from George W. Applegate in California, 1848-1873, describing prospects for ranching, gold mining, and wine-making ventures; politics; and impact of Civil War and abolitionists. Civil War in Missouri; politics in Missouri and Chariton County; economic conditions and opportunities in Chariton County.

Armour Hills Homes Associaiton Records, 1922-2005 (K1395)
0.16 cubic foot (10 folders, 1 oversize folder)

 Finding Aid

The Armour Hills Homes Association Records contains charter documents and maps related to the association dated between 1922 and 2005.

"The Army Comes to the Ozarks," Roberta M. Routh, 1941 (C1224)
0.06 cubic feet (1 volume)

 Finding Aid

Establishment of U.S. Army troops at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, as seen through the eyes of the county director of Pulaski County Social Security Assistance. Includes illustrations, diagrams and case histories of displaced persons.

Atlasta Service Station Road Map, 1934-1935 (R0592)
2 cubic feet (1 oversize map)

 Finding Aid

This is a road map of Missouri and calendar published for the Atlasta Service Station on Route 66 in St. James, Phelps Co., Mo. The front features a photograph of the Atlasta station, a highway map of Missouri, and fragments of a calendar for 1934-1935. The reverse bears an "Aeronautical and topographical Map of the United States," and census data for the state of Missouri.

William W. Austin Letter, 1844 (C0495)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Description of Missouri River flood at Carrollton.

Evelyn B. Baldwin Scrapbooks, 1898-1929 (C1381)
0.14 cubic feet (1 volume)

 Finding Aid

Scrapbook of newspaper clippings, letters, and telegrams relating to Baldwin's Arctic explorations with the Wellman polar expedition, 1898-1899, and the Baldwin-Ziegler polar expeditions of 1901-1902. Two copies.

Clarence E. Bardsley Road Survey Collection, 1928-1932 (R0859)
(2 folders)

 Finding Aid

These are survey reports, field notes, and plats regarding relocation of the Old St. Louis-Springfield Road near Arlington in Phelps County, Missouri. The surveys were performed by Clarence E. Bardsley, Special Highway Engineer and Deputy Surveyor of Phelps County. Plats show road right-of-way, the line of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, the former site of the Ozark Iron Works, and the village of Arlington, Missouri.

Ralph C. Bedell Papers, 1929-1986 (C2543)
50.25 cubic feet, 36 audio tapes, 2 films, 1 filmstrip

 Finding Aid

Papers of educator and psychologist. Bedell directed NDEA Counseling and Guidance Institutes, taught at the Universities of Nebraska and Missouri, and served as secretary-general of the South Pacific Commission. Collection includes materials from Counseling and Guidance Institutes, counseling case files, and papers of South Pacific Commission.

Ralph C. Bedell Papers, 1940s-1980s (CA5084)
14.9 cubic feet, oversize

 Finding Aid

Addition of papers relating to the South Pacific Commission, the National Defense Education Act, U.S. Naval Flight Preparatory Schools, the University of Missouri, and other topics. Includes photos and slides.

W.F. Bek Notebook, no date (C1456)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

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Synopsis of a geography written in German and used by Bek in the early 1860s when he taught in St. Charles, MO.

J. Calvin Berry Letter, 1842 (C1461)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

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Berry, immigrant to Missouri from Illinois, wrote his brother about a tour of Missouri and compared opportunities in Missouri and Illinois. Countryside, markets, Southern market route to Europe, fertility of soil, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, administration of land in Missouri, and business affairs in Illinois.

Berry-Thomson-Walker Family Papers, 1830-1893 (C0074)
0.2 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Biography of David Thomson, founder of Georgetown and Sedalia, MO; correspondence of his son, Milton T. Thomson, in Pettis County and California gold fields; James T. Walker and Charles W.C. Walker in Boonville, KY, and North Carolina; William and Thomas Berry's California gold mining expense accounts; and miscellaneous papers.

"Bibliography of Library Sources for the Study of the Place Names of Missouri," Allen Walker Read, no date (C2103)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Annotated bibliography on Missouri place names.

William W. Biddle Papers, 1930s-1971 (CA3960)
30 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Correspondence, publications, and miscellaneous files of a professional in community development, active in teaching and in the field. Biddle was long associated with Earlham College.

Ronald Goggin Papers, 1936 (RA1644)

Blount Family Papers, 1861-1947 (C0047)
4 cubic feet (246 folders, 82 volumes), 15 oversize volumes

 Finding Aid

Business papers recording farming, mining, and mercantile activities in southeast Missouri, particularly Potosi and Washington County. The collection contains family correspondence, legal and financial records, as well as medical notebooks from Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.

Bertha Booth Papers, 1837-1953 (C3195)
0.1 cubic feet (5 folders)

 Finding Aid

Papers of John Boon; plat map and notes concerning Far West, MO; typed copies of evidence given in Joseph Smith's trial, and "Mormon Names in Caldwell County and Salt Lake," article written by Bertha Booth, n.d.

"Boundary Line Between Cape Girardeau Co. & New Madrid Co., 1800 to 1813," Stephen B. Hunter, no date (C2173)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains a history of changes in the counties' boundary line.

Bradford Family Papers, 1722-1998 (R0647)
8 cubic feet (160 folders, 9 oversize folders, 2 oversize maps)

 Finding Aid

These are papers collected by Dr. Vance A. Bradford while conducting genealogical research on the Bradford family. Included are six boxes of correspondence with and about descendants of Samuel Bradford of Snow Hill, Maryland, and two boxes of papers from the Duncan homestead in southern Phelps County, Missouri.

Thomas E. Breckenridge Papers, 1894, 1950 (C0691)
0.1 cubic feet (5 folders)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The papers contain Breckenridge’s petition for a pension in 1894; "The Breckenridge Memoirs,” consisting of a typed account of Breckenridge’s expeditions with John C. Fremont, and a term paper by University of Missouri history student, John Mitchell, in 1950, where he argues the importance of the Breckenridge manuscript.

Mary J. Briscoe-Riesberg Papers, 1993-2015 (CG0030)
0.8 c.f.

 Finding Aid

The Mary J. Briscoe-Reisberg Papers includes papers, maps, photographs, and audio cassettes related to the Missouri Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association from 1994 to 2015.

William Ferrell Broadhead Letter, 1913 (C1944)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

To Mrs. Arthur McCluer from Clayton, MO, June 27, 1913. Reminiscence about Boonslick Road from St. Louis to Fulton, MO.

James Raymond Browne Papers, 1919-1966 (C3479)
0.7 cubic feet (21 folders)

 Finding Aid

Manuscript by an American lawyer who lived in Asia. Correspondence pertaining to Browne's estate. Articles written by Browne's brother-in-law, Henry Kinyon.

B.B. Cannon Journal, 1837 (C1946)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

A day-by-day account of the journey of a band of Cherokee being forced West by the U.S. government, written by the conductor of the party, October 13-December 30, 1837.

George W. Carvill Letters, 1834-1868 (C2697)
0.17 cubic feet (8 folders)

 Finding Aid

Sixty-four letters written by Carvill, his wife and daughter to relatives in London from various places in the South, describing family and economic matters, Mexican War, Civil War, Oregon and Maine boundary disputes, and slavery.

Terence W. Cassidy Collection, 1879-1991 (K0302)
95 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Collected materials of Cassidy, librarian and historian, concerning the history of street railway systems, interurbans, and buses in the Midwest, particularly the Kansas City area. Includes Cassidy's personal and research files: printed materials, publications, articles, and photographs. Also administrative records of the Kansas City Street Railway Company, the Kansas City Public Service Company, and the Kansas City Area Transit Authority.

Centerville, Missouri, Plat, no date (C1486)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection consists of positive Photostats of a plat map with a description by W.M. Davidson, surveyor.

Carl H. Chapman Papers, 1944-1984 (CA4619)
61.3 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Papers of a prominent archaeologist and professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Includes correspondence, research, and teaching materials.

Chicago and Alton Railroad Plat Map, 1880-1890 (K0195)
1 MR

 Finding Aid

Plat maps of towns and cities in Illinois and Missouri through which the Chicago and Alton Railroad ran. They are mostly hand drawn and show the area of the community where the tracks and depots were located.

Daniel B. Cleghorn Family Papers, 1848-1892 (C0252)
0.12 cubic feet (6 folders)

 Finding Aid

Diary kept by Cleghorn, 1863, on prospecting trip from McGregor, IA, to Black Hills of Dakota Territory; accounts in back. Letters, accounts, receipts, mining claims. Correspondence concerning "Cleghorn Springs," Rapid City, Dakota Territory.

William C. Cole Papers, 1942-1947 (C0013)
8 cubic feet (1,400 folders)

 Finding Aid

Correspondence of a Republican congressman from Missouri's 3rd District dealing with topics as varied as World War II, agriculture, legislation on labor and the atom bomb, education, foreign relations, immigration, flood control, labor, housing, socialized medicine, politics and the postal service.

Columbia, Missouri Charter Commission Papers, 1948-1949 (C0085)
0.6 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Papers of a commission established by a special election on May 4, 1948.

Community Development Society Records, 1969-1995 (C3880)
15.0 cubic feet, 3 audio cassettes

 Finding Aid

Records of a professional association of academics and practitioners of community development in the United States and Canada, which promotes the effective practice of community development through advancement of education and research in the field.  The records consist of correspondence and memoranda of officers; board meeting minutes; committee records; annual meeting materials; issues of the Journal of the Community Development Society and other publications; membership brochures, directories, newsletters, and surveys; and other assorted organizational records.

Community Development Society Records, 1964-2019 (CA5728)
19.3 cubic feet, 13 rolls of microfilm, 14 computer discs, 2 flash drives

 Finding Aid

Addition of publications, correspondence, financial records, board meeting minutes, committee materials, annual meeting materials, handbooks, photographs, and miscellaneous material.

Corder-Thomas Family Papers, 1867-1961 (C3697)
11 rolls of microfilm (9 folders, 56 volumes), 1 oversize item

 Finding Aid

The Corder-Thomas Family Papers consist of the diaries of Leslie Walker Corder, a Waverly, Missouri, farmer and civic leader; his wife Nellie Perry Buck Corder; and her aunt Susan Buck Cooper Thomas. The diaries contain routine entries about life in Waverly; weather statistics; farm and rental accounts; expense records; genealogies; and comments on building roads and railroads. The papers also include family letters, news clippings, and miscellaneous items.

Carl Crow Papers, 1913-1945 (C0041)
6 cubic feet (354 folders, 22 volumes), 6 oversize volumes

 Finding Aid

Bills, accounts, speeches, notes, correspondence and book and article manuscripts on a wide range of subjects. Crow was a resident of China for a number of years and most of his writing was about China or related subjects. The collection includes a diary of a trip over the Burma Road, the diary of a Japanese soldier, and notes and articles on the Japanese opium trade.

James Adam Davis Papers, 1937-1975 (C3666)
23.5 cubic feet (1293 folders)

 Finding Aid

Papers of a state labor leader. State CIO Industrial Union Council, State Labor Council, Political Action Committee, Missouri Valley Authority, Governor's Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation, United Labor Committee of Missouri, State Environmental Improvement Authority and Executive Review Committee materials. Personal records.

Joseph Davis Diary, 1825 (C1096)
0.03 cubic feet (1 volume)

 Finding Aid

Diary, September 30-October 25, 1825, of a member of the party appointed by President John Quincy Adams to survey and mark a road to Santa Fe. Gives account of return trip from the Mexican border. Negative and positive copies.

John T. Delich Collection, 1914-2001 (K0592)
4 c.f.

 Finding Aid

Architectural drawings, maps, photographs and aerial photos, and job specifications, primarily concerned with the Muehlebach Hotel, the Empire Theater, Gayety Theater, and other buildings in Kansas City, MO area.

Arthur Hugh Denney Papers, 1960s-1970s (CA4980)
15.4 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The papers of a University of Missouri professor of community development and consultant on economic planning include correspondence, publications, and research materials, including material regarding Missouri post offices and Postmasters. Also includes genealogy client files containing correspondence, family charts, and other research materials related to Missouri families.

Hugh Denney Photograph Collection, 1932, no date (P0103)
0.42 linear feet

The bulk of the collection is aerial photographs of Missouri towns by the Missouri National Guard, from the 1960s and 1970s. Also includes six 3 1/2x5 inch photographs taken by the donor picturing cartoonist Daniel R. Fitzpatrick during a fishing trip on the Current River near Denney's Blue Spring Lodge, ca. 1956-1957. The guide, Dow Knuckles, is also shown in four of the photographs.

William R. Denslow Collection, 1841-1929 (C0822)
0.4 cubic feet (21 folders)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains materials collected by William R. Denslow, including his father’s memoirs, articles on local history, letters dated 1859-1861 written by a young boy working on a whaling ship, and a typescript copy of an 1898 diary describing the Yukon gold fields.

Draper-McClurg Family Papers, 1838-2009 (C3069)
5.2 cubic feet (199 folders), 5 rolls of microfilm, 24.6 MB of digital files

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The Draper-McClurg family papers are comprised of correspondence, photographs, Civil War diaries and records, and other personal papers of the families of Philander Draper and Joseph W. McClurg. The papers document the families' involvement in politics, farming and orchards, lead mining and smelting, the Civil War, and frontier life in Missouri, the Dakota Territory, and several western states.

Waldemar M. Dressel Papers, 1946-1986 (R1490)
0.5 cubic foot (19 folders)

 Finding Aid

The Waldemar M. Dressel Papers contain publications, photographs, and maps from his years working for the U.S. Bureau of Mines based in Rolla, Missouri.

Dunlap Family Papers, 1780-2002 (C4004)
1.9 cubic feet (91 folders)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The papers of the Dunlap family include genealogical records, a Civil War journal, photographs, maps and land surveys, and other research materials compiled to produce histories of the Dunlap and Kofahl families of Licking, Missouri.

Dwyer, Huntington and Company Letter Book, 1887 (C0645)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The letter book contains orders for supplies, dynamite, tools, clothing, and food. Reports on progress and financial problems of a construction company doing work for the Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Paul Railroads.

Jos. Earley Land Survey, 1784 (C2438)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains field notes made by Jos. Earley during a land survey, January 9, 1784. The collection includes a note that patent was issued May 22, 1785.