Conservation and Environmentalism Movements in Michigan
Industry and Development
Allen, B.E. (Basil Ernest)
- B. E. Allen papers, 1950-1971.
- 2.5 linear ft.
From press kit (1961): "The Society of American Foresters
is moving a forest to the site of America's first Space Age
World's Fair, Century 21, to open next April in Seattle,
Washington...This artist's conception shows a tree being
injected with a radio active isotope. As the radio active
tracer moves through the tree's root system, its
root structure can be determined with the use of a geiger
counter." Folder "Printed Material and Reports."
B.E. Allen papers, Box 3.
Manager of Woodlands Division of Union Bag-Camp Corporation, Savannah, Georgia, manufacturers of paper, bags, and boxes, and vice president and council member of Society of American Foresters.
Correspondence and other materials concerning forest land use and Allen's activities with Society of American Foresters.
Beal, Junius Emery
Sawing and felling logs. Folder "Lumbering
and Forestry Photos." Junius Emery Beal
papers, Box 13. Click to enlarge.
- Junius Emery Beal papers, 1869-1946.
- 15.3 linear ft.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, businessman, publisher of Ann Arbor Courier, Republican politician, and regent of University of Michigan.
Correspondence, letter books, speeches, newspaper clippings, and photographs; papers (1909-1920) of Michigan Public Domain Commission, of which Beal was a member; papers (1877-1904) concerning Port Huron Gas Light Company; and printed material and miscellanea (1885-1905) concerning League of American Wheelmen and his interest in bicycling.
Bell, Laird
- Laird Bell papers, 1903-1962.
- 1 linear ft.
Chicago attorney, chairman of the board of trustees of the University of Chicago, alternate U. S. delegate to 10th Assembly of the United Nations, 1955.
Correspondence, speeches, articles, and other materials concerning his interest in problems of higher education, post-war Germany, the United Nations, the Timber Conservation Board and timber conservation, and the life of his grandfather, Wisconsin lumberman, W. H. Laird.
Garfield, Charles William
- Charles W. Garfield papers, 1899-1929.
- 50 items and 1 vol.
Charles W. Garfield served as president of the Michigan Forestry Commission and was also a member of the State Board of Agriculture. Garfield was concerned with the preservation of Michigan's timber resources. The collection details his involvement both to conserve timber resources, as well as to forest and reforest portions of the state in his leading role at the Michigan Forestry Commission. Correspondence in the collection reveals Garfield's professional relationships with prominent conservationists and environmentalists of the early decades of the 1900s: Julius C. Burrows, Burke A. Hinsdale, Alfred C. Lane, William B. Mershon, Gifford Pinchot, Hazen S. Pingree, Filibert Roth, and Volney M. Spalding.
Correspondence dealing with the Michigan Forestry Association and conservation and forestation in Michigan; eight drafts of speeches or articles on forestry and conservation, probably written by Garfield; biographical sketch of Garfield; and letter book, 1900-1903, of the Michigan Forestry Commission.
Lee, Joseph T. A.
- Joseph T. A. Lee papers, 1964-1990.
- 2.5 linear feet, 266 oversize drawings, and 1 oversize folder.
Joseph T. A. Lee was an Ann Arbor architect, as well as a professor in the University of Michigan School of Architecture. Lee was one of the driving forces behind the design and construction of the Kerrytown Market; he was chief architect, as well as one of the first owners. Researchers interested in environmentalism topics would be most interested in the "Other Ann Arbor Projects" series, and particularly Lee's involvement in the Geddes-Fuller corridor debates. In the 1960s and 1970s, Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan discussed proposals to widen traffic thoroughfares along Geddes and Fuller to better handle the increasing amount of traffic. Lee participated in citizen action groups that protested the expansion of the Geddes and Fuller Roads, arguing that it would negatively impact the surrounding environment.
His papers include administrative and financial materials on the early development of Kerrytown and clippings and other materials on his involvement in the Geddes-Fuller corridor debates. His papers also include architectural drawings of the Kerrytown Townhouse and Kerrytown Market complexes as well as some photographs of early Kerrytown development. Also included are minutes, notes, and planning materials of the Ann Arbor Area Goals Conference, a conference to discuss and establish goals for the rapidly changing physical environment of Ann Arbor and surrounding area.
Littlefield Family
- Littlefield family papers, 1834-1935.
- .5 linear ft.
The Littlefield Family papers primarily document Josiah Loomis Littlefield's personal and professional life, with other family members' limited appearance in the collection. As Josiah Littlefield became involved in the timber business, he bought land to supply his sawmill, and developed strong conservationist practices, purchasing land to plant seedlings and for forest preserves. Filibert Roth, founder of the School of Forestry at the University of Michigan encouraged Littlefield in his efforts to conserve timber resources. The Littlefield Family papers provide insight into early approaches to reforestation.
Correspondence, typescript of autobiography, and excerpted typescript of University of Michigan student diary, 1867-1871, of Josiah Littlefield, surveyor, lumberman, and conservationist; also letters of other members of the Littlefield and Hall families, with limited material about Michigan agriculture and lumbering, medical practice, women's activities, and surveying and land speculation.
Lunden, Herman
- Herman Lunden papers, 1899-1929.
- 5 linear ft.
Picture postcard of Kneeland-Bigelow employees. Lunden
is said to be the center man on top of the lumber wagon.
Folder "Postcards, ca. 1900-ca.1910." Herman Lunden
papers, Box 1.
Though Herman Lunden was a timber man (a manager for the Kneeland-Bigelow Company, Bay City, Michigan), he was interested in issues of reforestation and conservation of natural resources.
Autobiography; correspondence, 1899-1924 (scattered); Kneeland-Bigelow Company records, 1912 and 1923-1929; subject files relating to his interest in conservation, reforestation, forest fire prevention, local Republican party affairs, road improvement, and the development of the northern Lower Peninsula as a tourist and recreational region.
Mershon, William B.
- William Butts Mershon papers, 1848-1943.
- 47 linear ft.
Stream Diagram and Fish Habitat near Mallett's Creek,
Ann Arbor, MI. Folder "Postcards, ca. 1900-ca.1910."
William Butts Mershon papers, Box 47. Click to enlarge.
A lumberman and businessman from Saginaw, Michigan, Mershon was an avid sportsman. Researchers interested in environmental conservation will find material about logging, mining, fishing, hunting, forestry, as well as state agencies such as Michigan Department of Conservation, the Michigan Forestry Commission, and the Michigan Wildlife Conservation Association.
Correspondence concerning Michigan wildlife conservation, Michigan Sportmen's Association, Michigan Manufacturer's Association, Michigan State Tax Commission, Michigan politics, the Democratic Party, personal business investments, lumbering and mining interests, and personal affairs; four volumes of diaries and a book of notes on hunting and fishing trips, and volumes of business records, including cash books, time books, ledgers, journals, and other business volumes covering his personal accounts, investments, and lumbering business; also photographs.
Wheeler, Frederick
From reverse: "Second growth, bottom cord
result of fire protection." White and Norway
pine, red oak, soft maple, and poplar trees
appear in this ca. 1886 photograph. Folder
"Forest Scenes (1)." Frederick Wheeler
papers, Box 3.
- Frederick Wheeler papers, 1859-1941.
- 2.4 linear ft. and 1 oversize folder.
President of the Michigan Forestry Association, resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Business papers, articles, and correspondence, Wheeler family papers, and other materials concerning family affairs, conservation, Michigan Forestry Association, and the Wheeler genealogy; and twenty-one volumes of miscellaneous notebooks; also photographs.
Developed by Rachael Dreyer, Graduate Reference Assistant, June 2009.