University Archives Manuscript Collections Book Collection Artifact Collection
	Above: Signature of Thomas Green Clemson, founder of Clemson University

University Archives

Introduction

The University's institutional memory, the University Archives (and the records management program) was created in 1985 as the result of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The Archives documents the activities of the University in order to preserve the history of the institution and to aid in the administration of and planning for the University. It contains the records of offices and departments, student organizations, committees and other organizational entities, as well as University publications.

Records of the Office of the President

The records of the Office of the President date back to the start of the University, although most of the material dates from the 1920's and later. The records of President Enoch Walter Sikes (1925-1940) provide information on University's role during the Great Depression in adult education and literacy, agricultural education and rural electrification, as well as President Sikes' personal interest in religious history. President Robert Franklin Poole's records (1940-1958) illustrate the impact of World War II on the University and chart its post-war development from an all-male military college to a co-educational and civilian one in 1955. The records of the presidency of Robert Cook Edwards (1958-1979) cover a time of great change in the University's history, from the successful 1956-1957 effort to modify the construction of Hartwell Dam to prevent the flooding of a large part of the University (Edwards, the Vice President for Development at the time, played a leading role in this effort) to the admission in 1963 of the University's first black student Harvey Gantt. In 1964 Clemson Agricultural College became Clemson University.

Records of the Board of Trustees, Faculty Senate and the photograph collections The correspondence and minutes of the Board of Trustees document the physical and organizational development of the University from the first meeting of the Board on May 2, 1888 at Fort Hill to the present. The records of the Faculty Senate, which was formed in 1956, illustrate the role of the faculty in University governance and curriculum development. The Archives has photograph collections from a number of departments on campus that record the activities of faculty, staff and students, as well as the University's physical environment. These collections also contain portraits of individuals associated with the University, including administrators, faculty, staff and alumnae.   Left: Minutes of the Board of Trustees

Records of the Cooperative Extension Service

To understand agriculture in South Carolina since World War I and the University's role in agricultural education requires using the records of the Cooperative Extension Service. The records of the service include reports from county, home demonstration and Negro agents, information about the various programs offered by the Service and an extensive collection of photographs showing extension personnel and activities throughout the state.

Biographical Information

For general information about University history and individuals that were part of that history, there are biographical files containing information about administrators, faculty and staff of Clemson University. These were collected by the Office of Public Relations and its precursor, the Clemson News Bureau and consist of personnel records and cards, newspaper articles, news releases, vitae and resumes. The Archives also maintains clippings/ephemera files on over 500 topics relating to University history (athletics, buildings, student life and organizations, etc.) and 400 individuals of importance to University and South Carolina history (including statesmen, politicians, alumnae, trustees, professors and administrators) that date from the beginnings of the University in 1889 to 1992.

University Publications

The University Archives acts as the "repository of record" for University publications, which become part of the book collection. Among the holdings are complete runs of the university catalogs, which provide not only information about course offerings and academic requirements over the years, but information on the University as well; Taps, the student yearbook; and the Tiger, the student newspaper. Record copies of theses and dissertations written by Clemson students are also a part of the book collection.

Manuscript Collections

University History

Since the founding of the University it has received material from administrators, trustees, faculty, staff and alumnae that document the history of the University. Chief among these collections are the papers of Thomas Green Clemson, the founder of the University, who in his will stated that his purpose in deeding the Fort Hill estate to the state of South Carolina was to "establish an agricultural college that will afford useful information to the farmers and mechanics," a "high seminary of learning" that would develop "the material resources of the State by affording to its youth the advantages of scientific culture." The material in the papers documents his interest in mining, geology, scientific agriculture and education, his background as an artist, art collector, linguist and diplomat, and his activities as a plantation owner, businessman, husband and father. The papers contain considerable family correspondence of the Clemson and Calhoun families; Clemson's wife, Anna Maria, was the daughter of John C. Calhoun, statesman and first owner of Fort Hill.

Another good source for University history is the James C. Littlejohn Papers. Littlejohn, registrar and business manager under Presidents Sikes and Poole, collected a great deal of material for a never-finished history of Clemson College. The papers, most of which are arranged as if they were chapters in a book, cover such topics as athletics, buildings, college administration, the founding of the College and student life. The 1,100 images of the University and the city of Clemson in the Visions Photograph Collection were gathered in 1987-1989 by Dr. Alan Schaffer for use in a photographic history to celebrate the University's centennial. The book, Visions: Clemson's yesteryears, 1880s-1960s, was published in 1990 and used 450 images from the Collection. The images came from both the University Archives and private sources.

Agricultural History Collections

Complementing the Cooperative Extension Service series in the University Archives are a number of collections relating to agricultural history. The papers of Wofford B. Camp--farmer, leader in development of American agriculture, conservative and civic leader--document his work with Department of Agriculture and the rise of agribusiness in California's interior valleys. The Farmer's State Alliance of South Carolina Records contain correspondence, printed materials, reports from county alliances and the original minutes that range from its first meeting on July 11, 1888 to 1898, allowing one to trace the activities of one of the early organizations in the farmer's movement; one that influenced Governor Benjamin Tillman's agricultural policies during the early 1890s. The papers of B. O. Williams, a rural sociologist at Clemson College from 1930-1940, consist of speeches, reports and publications regarding agricultural conditions during the Great Depression, particularly in South Carolina; they cover such topics as land tenure, farm tenants, trade agreements and land utilization.

Textile Industry Collections

Textile manufacturing has long been important to the economic vitality of upstate South Carolina, and the University has since its founding maintained close ties to the industry. As the result of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission Special Collections was able to acquire and describe a number of important textile history collections. Among them are the records of the Clifton Manufacturing Company (Clifton Mills), which document the routine operations of its textile plants and, through its employee records, labor relations and related health, safety and community affairs issues. There are extensive records relating to the strikes of 1948-1950 at Clifton as well. The J. P. Stevens and Company, Inc. Records consist of financial records and public relations materials, including plant information files and 300 photographs of buildings, events, portraits and advertising layouts.

Above: Abney Mills. Subdivision for Grendel Plant, Greenwood, SC, 1959

The Alester Furman Company Records document the sale of real estate, primarily residential housing in the mill villages, by textile firms in Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee during the period 1945-1970. The plats and sale information provide a "snapshot" of the villages at the moment of their sale and represent an important turning point in the history of the industry.

Political Collections

A number of University trustees have been political figures, as have been some alumnae, which has allowed Special Collections to amass a significant number of political collections important in understanding the history of the state and nation. Trustee Asbury Francis (A. Frank) Lever's papers (U.S. Representative 1901-1919) reflect his interest in agriculture. They include material on his House career where, with Senator Hoke Smith of Georgia, he was responsible for the 1914 Smith-Lever Act establishing extension services at state agricultural colleges; his work for the Federal Farm Board and the Farm Credit Administration in the 1920s and 1930s; and notes for a proposed biography of noted agriculturalist Dr. Seaman A. Knapp.

The papers of fellow Edgefield County native Strom Thurmond (State Senator 1933-1938, Circuit Court Judge 1938-1946, Governor 1947-1951, U.S. Senator 1954- ) document a long career that has included being a teacher, county superintendent of education, lawyer, and soldier as well as a politician. Correspondence, case files, photographs, audio tapes, cartoons, memorabilia and other material reflect his interests in anti-Communism, civil rights, the economic development of South Carolina, education, military preparedness, his role in the Republican Party, states' rights and women's issues. Campaign files include those of his 1948 States' Rights Party Presidential campaign and 1954 write-in campaign (Thurmond is the only U.S. Senator to have won his seat by a write-in vote). Material reflecting his days as a student at Clemson College and family correspondence is also part of the Strom Thurmond Collection.

The correspondence of the first owner of Fort Hill, John C. Calhoun (U.S. Representative 1811-1817, Secretary of War 1817-1825, Vice President 1825-1832, U.S. Senator 1832-1842 and 1845-1850, Secretary of State 1844-1845) is concerned with family and political matters, mainly for the period 1809-1850. Edgefield County's Benjamin Ryan "Pitchfork Ben" Tillman (Governor 1890-1894, U.S. Senator 1894-1918) was an agrarian populist instrumental in the creation of Clemson Agricultural College, having convinced Thomas Clemson to change his will to provide land and funding for an agricultural and mechanical college and then ensuring the acceptance of the bequest by the state. In addition to material concerning Clemson College and his role as a trustee, his interest in agriculture and Populism, there are papers relating to his creation of the dispensary system, where the state undertook the production of liquor, and material concerning race relations, South Carolina and national politics, the Democratic Party, Winthrop College and the Tillman family.

Above: The first page of the "Southern Exposition" by John C. Calhoun, 1828

The papers of James F. Byrnes (U.S. Representative 1911-1925, U.S. Senator 1931-1941, Supreme Court Justice 1941-1942, Secretary of State 1945-1947, Governor 1951-1955) illustrate Byrnes' close relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his role as the "Assistant President" in shaping World War II economic policy as director of, respectively, the Office of Economic Stabilization, the Office of War Mobilization and the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion. Material relating to the atomic bomb, post-war diplomacy and the beginnings of the Cold War include his Yalta shorthand notes, copies of selected portions of his aide Walter Brown's journal, briefing books, agendas and minutes. The papers also document his involvement with third parties and interest in education, states' rights and segregation, as well as his support for Republican Presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower. The papers are at Clemson as the result of a 1960 invitation from the Board of Trustees to Byrnes for their donation.

National Park Service Collections

Due to the efforts of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Special Collections has obtained the papers of a number of National Park Service (NPS) directors and employees. The Russell E. Dickenson Papers (NPS Director 1980-1985) contain material relating to his career in the Park Service and some personal correspondence, covering such topics as improved morale in the Service, land condemnation, Alaska conservation, plans for Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and the Colorado River Management Plan. Lemuel A. Garrison, a long time Park Service employee (1932-1973) has donated his collection of reference material used in his work with the Park Service or his writing, which has information on numerous parks and programs. The collection also includes correspondence, articles and speeches. The papers of George B. Hartzog, Jr. (NPS Director 1964-1972) contain administrative and management material, much of it relating to legislation on behalf of the Service in such areas as land acquisition and the creation of new parks. The small amount of correspondence in the Papers includes letters from noted photographer and conservationist Ansel Adams.

Other Collections

Other collections of note include the papers of Betsy Byars, an award-winning children's author, which consist of original book manuscripts and galleys, published and unpublished writings. The Benjamin Robertson Papers contain journals from 1923-1943 (just before he died in a plane crash), writings and clippings of columns created by this newspaper reporter and author of Red hills and cotton: an upcountry memory. The Liberty Corporation Archives records the activities of the Corporation, including the Liberty Life Insurance Company, one of the major insurance companies in the United States. It also documents the Corporation's real estate and media holdings, as well as the role of the owners of the Corporation, the Hipp family, in the history and economic development of the city of Greenville and the state. The Adlai Robin Yates Papers are the result of over 50 years of genealogical research in the Southeast, especially Louisiana. It consists of material gathered from family histories, census records, cemetery records and other sources and contains information on over 420 families. Special Collections also holds a collection of over 500 World War II posters, almost all of which were produced by the United States government.

Book Collection

The core of the book collection was founded upon the generous donations of local authors and collectors, funds from the William J. Latimer bequest and other beneficences, and gifts from individuals such as Mrs. Bernard Behrend, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Coker, Mrs. J. Henry Fair, Louis Rubin and the family of Adlai Robin Yates. Some manuscript collections have also included portions of the donor's libraries as well, most notably those of James F. Byrnes, the Pendleton Farmer's Society, Strom Thurmond and Benjamin R. Tillman. Other collections, such as that of noted children's author Betsy Byars, have been augmented by the purchase of numerous domestic and foreign editions of their works.

While the rare book collection runs the gamut from history to social sciences to agriculture, it is particularly strong in the sciences and literature. Among the scientific works in the collection are Audubon's Birds of America (1840-1844) and Quadrupeds of North America (1849-1854), Einstein's explanation of the theory of relativity, Uber die spezielle und die allgemeine Relativitatstheorie (1919) and first editions of Galileo's Dialogo di Galileo Galilei (1632) and Isaac Newton's Opticks (1704). The literature collection boasts a large number of items by William Makepeace Thackeray, including Vanity Fair (1848) and includes the first American edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, with illustrations by the author (1938). South Carolina authors are represented in the collection by works such as Julia Peterkin's Scarlet Sister Mary (1928), William Gillmore Simms' Yemassee (1854) and Ben Robertson's Red hills and cotton: an upcountry memory (1942).

Above: Fox Squirrels by Audubon, Plate LXVIII, Quadrupeds of North America, Volume 2, 1849 edition

The collection also includes pamphlets on the nullification and secession controversies, antebellum women's literature (donated by the Class of 1915 in memory of Clemson college Librarian Katherine B. Trescot) and genealogical works. City, county and family history, as well as volumes on a variety of subjects relating to South Carolina, are also well represented in the collection.

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Artifact Collection

The artifact collection grew out of the Clemson Museum collections that were displayed in the University Library from the 1930s to the 1950s, as well as items that were donated as part of manuscript collections or came from various university departments and offices. Among the over 3,000 artifacts in the collection are Clemson College cadet uniforms from the 1890s-1950s and Clemson University Tiger Band uniforms from the 1950s-1980s. Items from the old Clemson Museum include Native American arrowheads and potsherds from the Southeast and the state of Arizona and mammoth or mastadon bones, a tusk and a tooth found in Alaska in the 1940s. The artifact collection has several items from 4-H Clubs, which are administered by the University's Cooperative Extension Service, particularly a banner made in 1910 by members of the world's first Girls Tomato Club (the predecessor of the 4-H Club) in Aiken County, South Carolina. [see below] Holdings also include textile-related material, such as spindles, tokens and fabric samples from various textile manufacturing companies.

A number of the items in the artifact collection were given by U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond. These include souvenirs of world travels, such as a detailed 1/5th size replica of the Chunma-Chong gold crown from 5th-6th century Korea; an Iraqi rocket-propelled grenade launcher captured during Operation Desert Storm; constituent mail written on blocks of wood and a coconut; a selection of presidential campaign pins and other memorabilia, 1930s-present, including Strom Thurmond's 1948 States Rights Party campaign; and the Clemson Medallion awarded to the Senator by the University in 1981.