Frederick L. Rath, Jr. papers

Series 1: Education, 1926-1998 (1.50)

This series contains diaries, correspondence, educational records, writings, ephemera, pamphlets, publications, clippings, writings, and memorabilia from Rath's secondary, undergraduate, and graduate education. The series is divided into three sections: High School, Dartmouth, and Harvard. Rath's index and summary materials are filed at the beginning of the series. Arrangement of subsequent folders is alphabetical by subject, and items within folders are arranged chronologically.

Series 2: National Park Service, 1917-1997 (4.00)

This series includes correspondence, diaries, reports, drafts, ephemera, clippings, autobiographical notes, publications, oral history transcripts, research notes, and bibliographies related to the historic sites where Rath was employed as a historian by the National Park Service (NPS) from 1937 to 1949. Items located under the heading "Early History and General" consist of clippings, publications, and correspondence pertaining to the NPS in general and sites where Rath did not work.

Subsequent sites, listed alphabetically by name, include Chalmette National Historic Park, New Orleans, Louisiana; Fort Pulaski National Monument, Savannah, Georgia; Morristown National Historic Site, Morristown, New Jersey; Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, Hyde Park, New York (including the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Vanderbilt Mansion, and the Eleanor Roosevelt home); and Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi. Each section contains Rath's indexes and summaries, diaries, correspondence, administrative documents, drafts, reports, ephemera, publications, and notes that date to Rath's period of employment. Included in addition are clippings, writings, bibliographies, correspondence, and articles Rath gathered later in his life during research of these sites and their regional and historical contexts.

Also included in this series is one folder from 1938 and 1939 relating to Rath's employment at Prentice-Hall in New York City as an assistant editor. There is a chronological gap for the years 1942 to1945, when Rath went overseas during World War II. This period is covered in Series III: World War II.

Material under the "Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites" heading includes voluminous notes and writings relating to the preparation of the site and its earliest operations. Transcripts and project notes from the Roosevelt home oral history project are included, as well as a lengthy article Rath wrote about this project, published in 1993. Original drawings and drafts of the book Franklin D. Roosevelt's Hyde Park (1949) are also included under this heading, as well as a typescript of Roosevelt's own recollections of the home.

Much of Rath's correspondence is comprised of his own letters to family, friends, and colleagues. Prominent correspondents include Eleanor Roosevelt, Charles Hosmer, Ronald Lee, and Charles Peterson. Further information about the individuals and subjects in the National Park Service is located in Series VIII: Other Work.

Arrangement is alphabetical.

Series 3: World War II, 1939-1998 (2.00)

Series III includes correspondence, research notes, autobiographical writings, diaries, notebooks, publications, postcards, ephemera, artifacts, clippings, periodicals, and maps related to Rath's service in the American Field Service (AFS) and the United States Army between 1942 and 1945 and to the World War II-era in general.

The American Field Service folders relate to Rath's time as a volunteer ambulance driver in North Africa stationed with the British Eighth Army, Second Division, dating from his initial application late in 1941 to his return to the United States in March 1943. The bulk of the files concern the allied forces in North Africa and are especially detailed and thorough on the subject of the battle of El Alamein, to which Rath was an eyewitness.

The bulk of material within the U. S. Army heading consists of correspondence, orders, and publications related to Rath's training at Fort Upton in New York, the University of Indiana at Bloomington, Camp Ritchie in Maryland, and Camp Campbell in Kentucky. Rath's brief service in France and Germany (February to May 1945) is reflected in his correspondence, clippings about V-E day and European Theater Operations, and intelligence reports concerning the "Colmar Pocket" area of Germany.

Arrangement is alphabetical by folder heading and chronological within each folder.

Series 4: National Council for Historic Sites and Buildings/National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1937-1997 (3.50)

This series includes correspondence, writings, publications, reports, clippings, pamphlets, and ephemera relating to Rath's period of employment with the National Council for Historic Sites and Buildings (NCHSB) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). As the first executive secretary of the NCHSB and first director of the NTHP, Rath produced and gathered a wealth of documentation of the origins and evolution of the organization, its activities, and its mission in this series.

Following Rath's index and summary are daily logs that brief daily entries made by Rath from his entire period with the NCHSB/NTHP. Administrative files contain quarterly reports, charter and by-laws, organizational charts, and budget information. , the series is arranged alphabetically under seven headings: Administration, Chronological Files, People, Personal, Subject Files, and Talks. Chronological Files consist of correspondence, monthly reports, memos, clippings, notes, publications, and ephemera produced and/or collected by Rath and his staff and arranged by the year to which the documents relate. People files contain images, correspondence, publications, clippings, and ephemera relating to significant individuals in the two organizations. Personal Files include correspondence and official documents. Publications consist of pamphlets and other printed matter produced by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The subject files contain writings, memos, by-laws, publications, notes, pamphlets, and ephemera relating to fundraising and development, the National Trust of England and Scotland, and NTHP-owned properties.

Prominent correspondents include General Ulysses S. Grant III, David E. Finley, Louise du Pont Crowninshield, Weeks Hall, Eleanor Roosevelt, Horace Albright, Newton Drury, Charles Peterson, Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, and Helen Clay Frick.

Series 5: New York State Historical Assocation (NYSHA), 1934-1997 (7.50)

This series contains correspondence, writings, notes, research, clippings, publications, daily logs, reports, pamphlets, and ephemera relating to Rath's employment, from 1956 to 1972, as vice director of the New York State Historical Association (NYSHA). The NYSHA is a state historical organization that sponsors programs in historic preservation, folk art and culture, local history, and museum studies.

Following Rath's index and summary, daily logs, and datebooks, this series is divided into eight sections by type of material, arranged alphabetically: Chronological Files, Clippings, Cooperstown Graduate Program Files, Graphics, Publications, Research, Subjects, and Writings. Chronological Files contain correspondence, notes, writings, transcripts of talks, and other material documenting the work of the NYSHA, its various folk museums and collections, and its educational programs. Also included in the Chronological Files are reports on other preservation projects in Cooperstown and around the country for which Rath provided consultation and correspondence relating to Rath's presidency of the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) from 1960 to 1962. The Clippings Files contain articles on various subjects including the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The Cooperstown Graduate Program (CGP) and Cooperstown Graduate Association files contain teaching materials and notes for a course entitled "Administration of Historical Museums," as well as newsletters, correspondence, pamphlets, clippings, and ephemera related to the program.

The Publications section contains serial publications produced by the NYSHA, to which Rath was a frequent contributor, as well as pamphlets about the historic sites and collections of the NYSHA and bulletins documenting the activities of the staff in detail. The Research section consists of notes, drafts, transcripts of talks given, and research materials collected by Rath on the topics named in the folder headings. The Subjects section contains articles about NYSHA and other topics. The Writings folder includes published writings of Rath from this period. Arrangement of items within each folder is chronological.

Series 6: New York State Office of Parks and Recreation, 1969-1998 (3.00)

This series contains daily logs, datebooks, correspondence, ephemera, notes, clippings, publications, and unpublished reports related to Rath's period of employment as Director of the New York State Division of Historic Preservation from 1972 to 1978.

Following Rath's index and summary, logs, and datebooks, this series is broken into eight sections, arranged alphabetically: Chronological Files, Clippings, Expenses, Graphics, Notes, Publications, Reports, and Subjects.

Chronological Files comprise the largest portion of this series and consist of correspondence, clippings, reports, notes, transcripts of talks given, ephemera, and administrative memos regarding historic sites, mostly in New York State. Included among the chronological files is information about the state preservation initiative, "Heritage '76" (1974), and editorial notes on Charles Hosmer's book Preservation Comes of Age (1975). The reports section includes two folders of regular progress reports written by Rath containing detailed information about the activities of the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation, Division of Historic Preservation, from its inception in 1973 through 1977. Significant correspondents include Orin Lehman, Mark Lawton, Alexander Aldrich, and Charles Hosmer. More information on state preservation agencies with which Rath was involved during this period can be found in Series VIII: Other Work. Arrangement within each folder is chronological.

Series 7: Eastern National Parks and Monuments Association (ENPMA), 1947-1995 (3.50)

This series contains correspondence, pamphlets, reports, logs, date books, memoranda, notes, publications, clippings, and memorabilia relating to Rath's period as Chief Executive Officer (1979-1987) and Chairman of the Board of Directors (1977-1978) of the Eastern National Parks and Monuments Association (ENPMA), a non-profit organization that publishes interpretive materials relating to the national parks. Following Rath's index, daily logs, and date books, this series is arranged alphabetically under five headings: Administration, Chronological Files, Projects, Publications, and Subjects. Administration files contain correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, notes, reports, personal and organizational records, and clippings relating to the business of the ENPMA and its Board of Directors. Chronological files contain clippings, correspondence, pamphlets and notes. Subjects folders contain notes, writings, and documents gathered in Rath's research of the organization's history. An inventory of materials at the Harper's Ferry Center, the records center for the ENPMA is also in this section.

Significant correspondents in this series include Herbert Kahler, Robert Utley, Michael Kammen, Charles Peterson, and Charles Hosmer.

Series 8: Other Work, 1940-1998 (7.50)

This series consists of correspondence, writings, clippings, notes, minutes, reports, memoranda, memorabilia, ephemera, oral histories, and pamphlets relating to Rath's involvement in historic preservation outside of his primary jobs. Rath produced and gathered most of these materials following his retirement from Eastern National Parks and Monuments Association in 1987, but the activities documented in these records date from 1960. This series is divided into four sections: Organizations, People, Subjects, and Writings. The section for organizations includes materials relating to Rath's professional role as a board member or trustee of national and local historical agencies. The section for people contains materials gathered from and about persons with whom Rath had some professional contact, or whom Rath considered important to the field of historic preservation. Two general files created by Rath with the headings "Women of Influence" and "Men of Influence" are also included. The writings section contains research, writings, notes, and transcripts for articles, book reviews, consultancy reports produced for historic sites, publications, and talks written by Rath.

Significant correspondents include Conrad Wirth, Orin Lehman, Charles Peterson, Nelson Rockefeller, Berndt Foerster, Bill Murtagh, Amy Bess Miller, Michael Kammen, and Horace Marsden Albright. Arrangement within folders is chronological, except for the people section, which is arranged alphabetically by person's name or organizational affiliation, following "Index and Summary," "Men of Influence," and "Women of Influence."

Series 9: Photographs, 1933-1985 (154 items)

This series contains black and white and color photographic prints, with several sets of miniature real photo postcards transferred from Series I through VIII. Included are images from Rath's time at Dartmouth, his service overseas during World War II, the various historic sites at which he worked, and images of people he knew and places he visited. Of particular note are a formal portrait of David E. Finley, inscribed to Rath by Finley; a series of photographic prints of the Cooperstown Farmer's Museum taken and printed by photographer Milo Stewart; and two pieces of correspondence written on real photo postcards, one from Louise duPont Crowninshield and one from Weeks Hall of Shadows-on-the-Teche in Louisiana. Arrangement follows the order of the series, boxes, and folders from which the photographs originated.

The box inventory for this series is not currently available online. Please refer to the series description above for a broad description of the materials or contact the department for more information.

Series 10: Audiovisual and Electronic Materials, 1979-2001 (10 items)

This series consists of seven audio cassettes, three 90-minute tapes and four unmarked tapes, removed from Series I, II, and VIII; one 5-1/4 inch floppy disk with text files, removed from Series II; and one CD-ROM with text files, also trasnferred from Series II. The audio cassettes include two recordings of reunions made by the Dartmouth Alumni Association; oral histories from the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites Oral History Project documenting life at the Roosevelt home in Hyde Park, New York, transferred from wire cartridges; two oral histories made by Rath while researching the history of the National Park Service, one of Elbert Cox and the other of Virginia and J. C. "Pinky" Harrington; and a recording of a talk Rath gave at a Hyde Park volunteer luncheon. The floppy disk and CD-ROM are both from the Hyde Park Oral History Project and contain text files of transcripts of oral history interviews. No specific permissions for reproductions from these recordings or transcripts are included in the materials. Researchers should consult the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites Curatorial Facility for information about the Hyde Park oral history project. In his papers, Rath states his intention to deposit his oral history interviews on the history of the National Park Service in the National Park Service History Collection at the Harper's Ferry Center Library. Researchers should consult with a librarian at Harper's Ferry for information on intellectual property rights.

Arrangement is by format.

Series 11: Memorabilia, 1941-1945 (3 items)

This series contains a pair of spectacles in their original case from Rath's period in the American Field Service, a German cross, and Rath's identification bracelet. These items have been removed to the Archives and Manuscripts Department Memorabilia collection, item numbers 1728, 1729, and 1730.

The box inventory for this series is not currently available online. Please refer to the series description above for a broad description of the materials or contact the department for more information.