Collections by Subject: Agriculture in Maryland
A Selected List of Holdings in Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries
For more information about how to access materials in this guide, please visit the Maryland Room web page or fill out an information request.
Additionally, the University of Maryland Libraries have compiled two bibliographies of historical agricultural literature:
- Bibliography of Maryland Agriculture, 1820-1945. As part of the USAIN-NEH sponsored National Program for the Preservation of Agricultural Literature (NPPAL), staff at the University of Maryland Libraries compiled a bibliography of the literature of agriculture and rural life in Maryland, published from 1820 through 1945.
- The Riversdale Bookshelf: Recreating the Library of the Calvert Family. To complement the restoration of the library at Riversdale Mansion in Riverdale, Maryland, home to two generations of Calverts, descendants of Maryland's founding family, this project identifies reading materials that George and Rosalie Calvert may have read while living at Riversdale from 1803 to 1838.
Please note that not all titles listed in these web-based bibliographies are available at the University of Maryland.
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Maryland Agricultural
Experiment Station records, 1852-1983. 34.50 linear
feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Established in College Park in 1888, the purpose of the experiment station was to use the resources of science to improve the practice and profitability of agriculture. The M. A. E. S. records cover administrative, university, and national activities of the station with the majority of the records documenting departmental research projects. See also corresponding University Publications.
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Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics records, 1952-1990. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Established at the University of Maryland at College Park in 1922, the main objective of the department was to provide its students with decision-making abilities in the allocation and use of agricultural and natural resources. The records cover curricula and student enrollment in the department. See also corresponding University Publications.
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College of Agriculture records, 1916-1973. 20.75 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The teaching of agriculture at the University of Maryland began with the opening of the Maryland Agricultural College in 1859. Agriculture remained a primary element of the curriculum when the Maryland General Assembly created the University of Maryland in 1920 by merging the campuses in Baltimore and College Park. The new University of Maryland in College Park was originally divided into thirteen educational units, including the College of Agriculture. The records of the college primarily document the tenure of Gordon M. Cairns as dean and consist of correspondence, reports, committee information, appointment books, budget files, financial ledger books, and photographs. See also corresponding University Publications.
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Alpha Gamma Rho records, 1924-1969. 2.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The Alpha Theta chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho was founded at the University of Maryland in 1928 as an agricultural fraternity. The collection contains the operating records of the fraternity, including correspondence, reports, minutes, financial and budgetary records, publications, and legal documents. Access is restricted to fraternity members only.
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William L. Amoss papers, 1884-1936. 14.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Amoss, as director of the Department of Farmers' Institutes of the Maryland Agricultural College, organized Farmers' Institutes in each county in Maryland. One of his responsibilities included the creation of the display of Maryland agriculture at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
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Department of Animal Science records, ca. 1900-1969. 25.5 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The records include correspondence, reports, publications, and budget reports of the Department of Animal Science. This collection is unprocessed. See also corresponding University Publications.
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Ronald Bamford papers, 1921-1967. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Bamford was professor and chair of the Department of Botany at the University of Maryland. He also served as Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture from 1949 to 1950 and as Dean of the Graduate School from 1950 to 1966.
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William Bickley papers, 1949-1975. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Bickley was a professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland. The materials include correspondence, publications, photographs, and autobiographical notes. This collection is unprocessed.
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Theodore L. Bissell papers, 1910-1982. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Bissell taught entomology at the University of Maryland from 1947 to 1969. He was also an entomologist for the United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Entomology and the Georgia Experiment Station. The bulk of the collection documents Bissell's interest in the history of the University of Maryland campus and its surrounding community between 1916 and 1979 and his scholarly interests in hickory aphids.
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Department of Botany records, 1898-1980. 14.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The department dates back to the founding of Maryland Agricultural College in 1856. Topics of concern to the department include: tulip pollinations and fixations, gladiolus fixations, the growing of tomatoes, and administrative issues. See also corresponding University Publications.
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Brooke Family papers, 1750-1980. 13.00 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Brooke Family was a large family of landowners in Maryland whose records relate to farm activities and family life. In particular, the papers document two plantations owned by several branches of the Brooke Family near Sandy Spring in Montgomery County, "Falling Green" and "Brooke Grove." Financial records, in addition, trace tobacco sales made by Roger Brooke IV (1734-1790), and the nineteenth-century diaries of women in the family shed light on women's and girls' farm work and daily chores.
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Paul Dennis Brown Family papers, 1879-1973. 6.50 linear feet and 4 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
P. D. Brown was a County Extension Agent for Charles County, Maryland. He also served as a tobacco specialist for the University of Maryland Extension Service. His papers include pamphlets on tobacco culture, articles on the American forest, and a landscape plan for the beautification of La Plata, Maryland.
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David Edward Brown papers, 1903-1972. 8.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
David Edward Brown began his career in agriculture as a special field agent for the U. S. Department of Agriculture. In his 43 years of service, Brown specialized in improving the breeding and culture of tobacco.
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Charles S. Burns papers, 1870-1911. 0.25 linear feet (129 items).
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
Charles S. Burns (1846-1937) was a teacher in Maryland during the late nineteenth century; he also worked for the Customs House in Baltimore, Maryland. The Charles S. Burns Papers consist of correspondence, both letters and postcards, from family members, friends, and organizations to which Burns belonged. The subject matter includes notices for membership dues owed the Order of the Golden Chain, news of family events, crop output, and solicitations from former students seeking Burns's help at the Baltimore Customs House. In addition, there is correspondence pertaining to the Sun Mutual Aid Society of Baltimore.
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Ruth Lawless Busbey papers, 1922-1990. 1.50 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
This collection documents the education and career of Ruth Lawless Busbey, who was a chemist for the United States Department of Agriculture. Her papers consist of academic records, personnel files, correspondence, biographical information, and publications. Of particular interest are files documenting Busbey's 1966 information exchange tour of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). As a representative of the US Agricultural Research Service, she visited many institutes engaged in pesticide research and established relationships with several researchers, keeping in contact with them after her return to the United States.
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Chapman Family papers, 1816-1895. 2.00 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
John Grant Chapman, an affluent citizen and plantation owner in Charles County, Maryland, was active in state and national politics for over twenty-five years. A member of the Whig party, he served in the Maryland House of Delegates and then advanced to the Maryland Senate. From 1845 to 1848, Chapman served in the U. S. House of Representatives. Marshall Chapman, the second of John Grant Chapman's sons, inherited the Chapman estate upon his father's death in 1856. Much of the personal correspondence in this collection concerns this branch of the Chapman family. The financial papers detail Marshall's agricultural work as a producer of tobacco and wheat.
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Julian Chisholm II Collection, 1939-1945. 1.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Chisolm was an instructor in entomology at the University of Maryland from 1943 until 1949. He also acted as the unofficial campus photographer during his tenure at the university. The collection contains images and negatives depicting crabbing and the stages in the shedding of a hard crab's shell, snakes, and amphibians, among other topics.
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Charles Wallace Collins papers, 1915-1972. 13.50 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
Charles Wallace Collins had a long career as a lawyer, writer, and librarian in Washington, DC. Following his retirement in 1927, Collins devoted himself to restoring and renovating his home, an eighteenth-century estate known as "Harmony Hall," and other properties he owned in Prince George's County, Maryland. Areas of emphasis in the collection include the restoration of Harmony Hall and the daily maintenance of the surrounding farm.
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Colt and Donaldson archives, 1825-1848. 0.25 linear feet (48 items).
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The collection contains the correspondence and financial records of the mercantile firm Colt and Donaldson which provided Baltimore and Philadelphia with agricultural and other general merchandise. The firm was involved in supplying grain, meat, dairy, and other farm products and by-products. Included in their inventories were grains and seed, such as wheat, oats, barley, corn, and clover.
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Cooperative Extension Service (CES) records, 1914-1972. 4.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
This agency was founded in 1914 to improve community life. Among its areas of concentration are: agricultural profitability, natural resources, and agricultural technology for urban audiences. The C. E. S provides off-campus education for many Maryland farmers and supports agricultural research programs through public service publications and reports. See also corresponding University Publications.
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Davis Family papers papers, 1784-1967. 4.50 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Davis family owned a Frederick County, Maryland, farm for several generations, and their records document financial activity and dairy farm operations, including blueprints for a new barn.
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Department of Entomology records, 1893-1986. 29 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The department dates back to the founding of Maryland Agricultural College in 1856. The first courses in entomology were taught by Townend Glover, the first entomologist of the United States. Topics included in the department's records are: crop protection, nursery and orchard inspections, quarantines, the European corn borer, Japanese beetles, and mosquito control. See also corresponding University Publications.
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Epsilon Sigma Phi records, 1928-2011. 5.75 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The Tau Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi was organized at the University of Maryland in 1928. This chapter of the honorary fraternity for agricultural extension agents has emphasized the attainment of professional excellence and the encouragement of 4-H programs, among other goals. The files of the Tau Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi include reports, publications, photographs, financial records, and documentation of members' achievements.
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Farmers' Institutes records, 1896-1910. 5.25 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Created by Maryland state legislation in 1896, Farmers' Institutes made information on agricultural subjects available to all farmers throughout the state. A scrapbook contains programs, notices, bills, broadsides, syllabi, and miscellaneous material related to the institute. The records also include correspondence, inventories, lists, indices, newspaper clippings, and a history of the institute from 1896 to 1910. See also corresponding University Publications.
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Gahan Family papers, 1905-2003. 1.00 linear foot and 55 items.
Location: University of Maryland
Arthur B. (Burton) Gahan (1880-1960) received a master's degree from the Maryland Agricultural College in 1906, and remained in the Department of Entomology as Assistant Entomologist until 1913. In 1913, he accepted an appointment as Assistant Entomologist in the Division of Cereal and Forage Insect Investigations of the then U. S. Bureau of Entomology, with assignment at the National Museum in Washington. Included in the collection are a full run of publications spanning Gahan's career, dealing primarily with the study of the Chalcidoidea (one of the largest groups of parasitoid wasps).
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Kenneth Grace papers, 1913-1973. 1.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Grace was a 1916 graduate of the Maryland Agricultural College and later an employee of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. His field books and fishing diaries record environmental conditions and life on the Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay. Grace's papers also include numerous photographs of the Eastern Shore and memorabilia relating to Grace's years as a fisherman on the Chesapeake Bay.
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Robert Lamar Green papers, 1959-1976. 4.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Green was professor and chair of the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Maryland at College Park. He was appointed coordinator of the university's Water Resources Research Center upon its organization in 1965, served as acting director of the Agricultural Experiment Station for several years, and was active in a number of state organizations concerned with the protection of water resources.
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Grimes Family papers, 1821-1902. 3.25 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
Thomas Grimes and his family maintained a farm in the Oxon Hill area of Prince George's County, Maryland, throughout the nineteenth century. Grimes and later his son Richard kept daybooks in which they recorded daily work on the farm, including amounts of each crop planted and reaped, time spent on different task, and the amount of work done by different hired hands. The daybooks also mention the weather and compare the harvests at the Grimes farm to those of other farmers.
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Hamilton Family papers, 1803-1923 and undated. 1.25 linear feet (109 items).
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The papers of the Hamilton family of Charles County, Maryland, document family members as well as other contemporary leading figures of Charles County. The collection consists primarily of correspondence and addresses such topics as tobacco and agriculture, family matters, slavery, and the Civil War.
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Hepburn Family papers, 1739-1813. 18 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Hepburn Family Papers consist of legal documents, public notices, and land records primarily related to Prince George's County, Maryland. Included is a three-party prenuptial agreement between Philip Thomas, John Hepburn, and his soon-to-be wife Mary Chew, regarding the disposition of Mary Chew's property, including 30 named slaves; bonds of credit that John Hepburn extended to named local citizens; and accounting receipts for tobacco deliveries. Also included is a deed of gift for a slave that Samuel Hepburn gave to son John Muir; and a broadside that names Samuel Hepburn as the executor of Samuel Leche's will. The remaining documents include property records for Prince George's County land owned by various Maryland personages; a circular notice by London merchant William Molleson; and a letter of estate administration.
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Department of Horticulture records, 1888-1971. 25.25 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The Department of Horticulture was formally established in 1863 to provide classroom instruction, empirical fieldwork, and research opportunities in horticulture for students and faculty at the Maryland Agricultural College and at the University of Maryland, as well as to provide extension service for the residents of the state of Maryland. The collection consists of the administrative, research, and teaching records of the department. See also corresponding University Publications.
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Hyattsville Horticultural Society archives, 1912-1982. 7.50 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Society, one of the oldest garden clubs in America, was founded by H. M. Connelly, V. K. Chestnut, W. B. Ballard, and J. B. S. Norton during the winter of 1916-1917. The Society was involved in a number of activities in the surrounding community, including garden competitions, exhibitions, shows, children's competitions, and social events.
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Morley Jull papers, 1921-1959. 4.00 linear feet and 418 items.
Location: University of Maryland
Morley A. Jull was the Head of the Poultry Science Department at the University of Maryland from 1936 until his retirement in 1956. Poultry breeding, particularly as it pertains to chickens, is the subject covered in most depth in the collection, although there are also materials concerning the poultry industry and poultry education. The collection also includes copies of many of Jull's articles as well as his annotated 1951 copy of Poultry Husbandry.
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Livestock Sanitary Board records, 1888-1934. 1.0 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Board, created in 1889, was mainly involved in livestock inspections and disease control. The records consist of minutes, charts, and publications documenting inspections and medical issues relating to livestock.
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Romeo Mansueti papers, 1922-1963. 21.25 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Mansueti was a biologist and research professor at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory and the University of Maryland. Among his papers are files documenting his research on fish migration, bionomics of freshwater and estuarine fish populations, and the taxonomy and ecology of fish eggs.
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Maryland 4-H Center records, 1919-1960s. 76.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The Maryland 4-H Center's programs for youth and families are affiliated with the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service and the University of Maryland. The records document the history of Maryland 4-H and its activities such as camping, fair displays, competitions, and judging of horticulture, dairy, and livestock projects. Materials include reports, correspondence, legal and financial records, publications, and photographs. This collection is unprocessed, but a preliminary inventory is available.
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Maryland Association for Family and Community Education (MDAFCE) Achives, 1912-2001. 12.75 linear feet, 2881 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Maryland Extension Homemakers Council (MEHC), now the Maryland Association for Family and Community Education (MDAFCE), is a federation of rural homemakers' clubs. The records consist of publications, minutes, reports, handbooks, programs, financial records, slides, photographs, and newspaper clippings documenting council operations. The materials provide a record of the home demonstration programs and the annual Rural Women's Short Course offered by the council in conjunction with the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. The collection is processed.
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Maryland Home Economics Association archives, 1913-1998. 27.00 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Maryland Home Economics Association was founded by Edith Thomas in 1917 at Hood College to publicize the value of home economics. Important subjects among the records include the Mary Faulkner Scholarship, administration of the association, legislation regarding the Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Future Homemakers of America. Document types include histories, reports, correspondence, newsletters, minutes, clippings, and radio scripts.
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Maryland Horse Breeders Association archives, 1929-1979. 18.00 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Maryland Horse Breeders Association (MHBA) was founded in 1929 with the goals of promoting, protecting, and educating the Maryland horse industry. The MHBA archives cover such subjects as horse sales, shows, and racing; registration of Maryland-bred horses; Maryland fund bonus payments; and the syndication of stallions.
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Maryland State Board of Agriculture Report of Leaf Tobacco Sold archives, 1929-1961. 4.25 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
These reports document the price, quantity, wholesaler, and dates of tobacco sales in the state of Maryland in the years 1929-1961.
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Maryland State Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry archives, 1873-2000. 17.00 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The first grange in Maryland was established in 1873 as an organization which supported agriculture and causes affecting agriculture. The Patrons of Husbandry especially encouraged participation in youth granges.
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Maryland Tobacco Improvement Foundation archives, 1950-1968. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
This organization was established to improve the quality of Maryland leaf tobacco and encouraged better sales and greater export of the crop.
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Maryland Veterinary Medical Association archives, 1886-1995. 4 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
One of the oldest state veterinary medical associations, Maryland's organization actively advocates state and federal legislation for the advancement of veterinary science. This group is also responsible for establishing standards of veterinary practice within the state.
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Jacob Elry Metzger papers, 1915-1938. 0.25 linear feet (1 bound vol.).
Location: University of Maryland
Jacob E. Metzger came to the Maryland Agricultural College in 1914. He was a professor of agronomy and head of the Department of Agronomy, supervisor of the Agricultural Department of the Maryland High Schools for the State Department of Public Instruction, Agronomist of the Maryland Experiment Station, and acting director and director of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station from 1937 to 1939. Metzger also established and directed the university's first summer school in 1914. Metzger took part in research and experiments which led to development of "beardless" barley, conducted research on a special type of turf grass for golf courses, and was a noted author of bulletins and articles on soil research and other related fields. His papers consist of speeches, research papers, and recollections on subjects related to his career. Topics include agriculture in Maryland, agricultural education in college and secondary schools, alfalfa, soils, and corn production in Maryland.
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National Extension Homemakers Council Voices of American Homemakers Archives, 1980-1986. 2.5 linear feet, 366 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The records of the National Extension Homemakers Council consist of audio tapes and transcripts of oral history interviews with Maryland homemakers conducted in preparation for the publication Voices of American Homemakers. The collection also contains a bound copy of seminar proceedings from the 1983 NEHC National Conference as well as a copy of the book, Voices of American Homemakers, published as a result of the oral history project. The collection is processed.
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J. B. S. Norton papers, 1895-1959. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Norton was appointed State Plant Pathologist for Maryland and served as a professor of botany and plant pathology at the Maryland Agricultural College.
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Paint Branch Garden Club records, 1948-2009. 12.0 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Paint Branch Garden Club began in 1948 with a group of women living in College Park and University Park who were interested in gardening and flower arranging. The current emphasis of the club is on visiting historic garden and home sites; volunteerting at a local nursing center; and providing programming on garden and enironmental topics. The records mainly consists of scrapbooks that detail the history of the club from 1948-2009. These scrapbooks contain photographs, invitations, newspaper clippings, and other pieces of ephemera. The collection also includes memorabilia items, certificates, membership records, meeting minutes, invitations, and other correspondence.
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Harry Patterson papers, 1886-1945. 9 lin. in..
Location: University of Maryland
Patterson gave fifty years of service to the University of Maryland at the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station. His main area of interest was chemistry's relation to agriculture. Through his research, new varieties of tobacco and strawberries were developed and he was instrumental in raising awareness throughout the state of the value of research work in agriculture for the improvement of the state's economy and its tax base. Patterson also served as president of the University of Maryland from 1913 to 1917.
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Phi Mu Fraternity, 1923-1945. 5.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Initiates to this engineering honor society were required to prepare a research paper on an engineering topic of their choice. Among the papers are a number which focus on various aspects of agriculture, such as the construction of aqueducts, beekeeping and entomology, wool, and the history of land acquisition.
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Poultry Science, Department of, 1930s-1960s. 34.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The Department of Poultry Science was founded in 1906 through the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station. The undergraduate program in Poultry Husbandry began in 1923; the first graduate degrees were awarded in 1940. In 1965, the poultry science curriculum became a course of study within the Department of Animal Science. The records include administrative files, Experiment Station reports, correspondence, research notebooks, photographs, and publications of the department. This collection is unprocessed, but a preliminary inventory is available. See also corresponding University Publications.
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Prince George's Community Council archives, 1919-1940. 0.75 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
This federation of community organizations concentrated on solving local problems in many areas, including agriculture. Of particular interest to the group was finding solutions to problems encountered by tobacco growers.
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James Reveal papers, 1965-2000. 18.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Reveal was a professor in the Department of Botany at the University of Maryland from 1969 to 1999. Reveal served as director of the Norton-Brown Herbarium of the University of Maryland between 1979 and 1999. He was a member of the Smithsonian Institution's Endangered Species Committee from 1974 to 1982.
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Edward M. Rider papers, 1937-1998. 1.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Much of the material in this collection--including broadcast transcripts (radio), clippings, correspondence, press releases, programs, publication drafts, and speeches--relates to the Maryland Conservation Field Day event held in Frederick, Maryland on August 18, 1948. In a single day, the internationally-recognized agricultural demonstration accomplished the equivalent of four to five years' worth of improvement work to the soil, buildings, and grounds of Nellie Thatcher's dairy farm. Also included in the collection are magazines, newsletters, pamphlets, and reports from various agricultural organizations, such as the UMD Extension Service, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the American Association of Agricultural College Editors.
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William Sands papers, 1860-1880. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
One of the first two graduates of the Maryland Agricultural College (MAC), William B. Sands was editor and publisher of the leading agricultural journal of the time, American Farmer. He was vitally interested in the relationship between agriculture, education, and government. The papers, however, relate more to his private life and years as a student. They include facsimiles of his correspondence to his future wife, Florence Murray Jessop, the records of the MAC literary society, the Calvert Fraternity, and copies of photographs of William B. and Florence M. Sands.
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Leland Scott collection, 1900-1920. 5.5 linear feet (456 items).
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Leland Scott Collection consists of nearly 500 images of the University of Maryland's Department of Horticulture, horticulture, and horticultural subjects, primarily relating to Maryland. The collection also includes a number of photographs which capture early history of the city of College Park. B.W. Anspon, an associate professor of floriculture and landscape gardening in the Department of Horticulture from 1913 to 1918, was the primary photographer. A smaller number of photographs are attributed to E. P. Walls, who was also a member of the faculty of the Horticulture Department.
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Sellman Family papers, 1828-1908. 1.50 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Sellman Family Papers span the years 1828 through 1908 with the bulk of the material dating between 1850 and 1865 and document the lives of a landowning family in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The collection contains family and business correspondence; bills and receipts; guardianship documents; handwriting exercises; and household and farm account books and diaries. Subjects covered include daily life; farm management; the cholera epidemic in Grand Gulf, Mississippi; treatment of slaves; sale of crops in Baltimore; and the education of the Sellman children at home and at St. John's College in Annapolis.
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Clyne S. Shaffner papers, 1938-1947. 1.25 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Clyne S. Shaffner (1914-1984) was a professor of Physiology and Genetics in the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Maryland from 1947 to 1977 and head of the department from 1955 to 1971. His papers consist of materials from his graduate work in farm management and poultry science at Michigan State College, the University of Missouri, and Purdue University. The collection contains extensive notes from Shaffner's doctoral research on the preservation of chicken sperm, a subject that he pursued throughout his career.
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E. Roderick and Arthur Shipley papers, 1901-1975. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
E. Roderick (1915-1984) and Arthur M. (1878-1955) Shipley, were members of an old land-owning family in Maryland; both pursued medicine as a professional career. The Shipley collection consists primarily of a materials documenting late nineteenth and early twentieth century life in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore, Maryland. Included in the collection are 570 picker's checks, tokens used to pay seasonal laborers for harvesting crops, other farm-related artifacts, World War II memorabilia, playbills from the 1901-1902 theater season in Baltimore, and photographs.
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Mark Shoemaker papers, 1920-1971. 8.75 linear feet and 6 oversize items.
Location: University of Maryland
Shoemaker was a professor of horticulture at the University of Maryland, a campus planner, and a landscape designer. Shoemaker's papers document his landscape design work for the university and various agencies of the United States government. The collection also includes some of the personal papers of A. S. Thurston, who was the university's landscape designer before Shoemaker.
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Mary S. Shorb papers, 1910-1971. 16.75 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
From 1942 to 1944, Shorb was a bacteriologist for the Bureau of Human Nutrition of United States Department of Agriculture, followed by a two-year stint at USDA's Bureau of Dairy Industries. During the years 1947 to 1949, she was the Merck Post-Doctorate Fellow in Poultry Husbandry Nutrition at the University of Maryland. Shorb was a research professor in the Poultry Husbandry Department at the university from 1949 to 1972. The Shorb papers include correspondence, scientific articles, laboratory notes, charts, and photographs. Important subjects include Dr. Shorb's research on vitamin B12, L. lactis, L. bifidus, Trichomonas, chickens, animal nutrition, animal growth, Thalidomide, and pernicious anemia.
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Francis C. Stark papers, 1936-2002. 5.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Francis C. Stark (1919-2003) was a professor in the Department of Horticulture at the University of Maryland. His papers include photographs of students, student grade books, and miscellaneous research materials relating to Horticulture. Also included are his own memoirs and a speech about the history of the University of Maryland.
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State Board of Agriculture records, 1916-1958 (31 items). 0.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The Board was founded in 1916 as an authority to enforce the laws of the state of Maryland relating to agriculture. It was responsible for supervising the production and distribution of agricultural products with particular attention to sanitation. Some concerns of the Board were: the use of fertilizers and chemicals, seed control, the elimination of animal and plant diseases, soil preservation, and insect control.
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Orman E. Street papers, 1928-ca.1981. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Street was a professor of agronomy at the University of Maryland from 1949 to 1969. Professor Street taught courses in tobacco production, tobacco anatomy, and tobacco chemistry and received numerous awards and honors for his work in this field. His papers include publications, biographical material, photographs, and reports and administrative records of the Agronomy Department. Subjects include the history of the Agronomy Department, tobacco, tobacco curing, and information on the Maryland Tobacco Extension Station in Upper Marlboro. The collection is unprocessed.
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Thomas B. Symons papers, c.1910-1969. 9.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
Thomas Baddeley Symons (1880-1970), a 1902 graduate of the Maryland Agricultural College, served the University of Maryland for almost seventy-five years. Symons's many offices included state entomologist, dean of the School of Horticulture, director of the Cooperative Extension Service, and dean of the College of Agriculture. He was active in numerous agricultural organizations, including the Maryland Horticultural Society, Maryland State Soil Conservation Committee, and both the National and Maryland State Grange. Symons was acting president of the University of Maryland for nine months in 1954, then a memeber of its Board of Regents from late 1954 until 1970. Subjects covered in the collection include 4-H activities, the Maryland and National Granges, the Board of Regents of the University of Maryland, the Rotary Club, the Beta Kappa Corporation, and the State Soil Conservation Committee.
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Thomas Family papers, 1793-1816. 17 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The papers include eleven letters and six documents from three generations of the Philip Thomas family of Cecil County, Maryland. Major topics include family concerns and farming.
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Reginald Truitt papers, 1919-1977. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
A graduate of the Maryland Agricultural College, Truitt was professor of zoology at the University of Maryland from 1925 to 1941. He founded the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory and directed this facility until his retirement in 1954. This collection documents Truitt's involvement in the Chesapeake Biological Lab, his interest in Worcester County history, relations between university faculty and administration, and zoology curriculum development.
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United Farm Workers Collection, 1963-1974. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
This collection includes an incomplete run (circa 1960s and 1970s) of the English-language edition of El Malcriado, a newspaper published by the United Farm Workers. The collection also contains miscellaneous newspaper clippings and two publications regarding agricultural labor issues.
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Vansville Farmers Club papers archives, 1898-1994. 1.50 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The Vansville Farmers Club was active in the inspection of farm buildings, animals, and crops and in the development of state system of Farmer's Institutes. Subjects covered in the collection include: farm inspection meetings, animal and crop diseases, land and herd improvements, and the application of innovations to agriculture.
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Fletcher Pearre Veitch papers, 1890-1938. 1.00 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
A graduate of the Maryland Agricultural College, Fletcher Veitch (1868-1943) was a chemist and soil physicist for the college, the Agricultural Experiment Station, and the United States Department of Agriculture. The collection, consisting of correspondence, publications, proxy records, and speeches, documents Veitch's active involvement in the alumni affairs of the Maryland Agricultural College and the University of Maryland.
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Weems-Reynolds Family papers, 1713-1940. 1.50 linear feet.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
This collection contains the papers of the Weems Family, one of the oldest families in Maryland, and of the Reynolds and Petherbridge families, who were related to the Weems by marriage. The collection documents the shift in the roles they played from slave-holding farmers to mercantilist store and ship owners, and finally to urban professionals. The correspondence between male family members is often related to agriculture or business. The women's letters, on the other hand, often express nostalgia for the family plantations.
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John T. Whalen papers, 1917-1919. 58 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
The papers of John T. Whalen (1898-1980) consist of fifty-five letters written by Whalen to his mother in Mt. Hebron, Maryland, between 1917 and 1918, when Whalen was in the U. S. Army during World War I. Whalen inquires in his letters about family matters, such as the condition of the family farm. Also included are two photographs of the farm, which was located in Howard County, Maryland.
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Richard White Collection, 1905-1920. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
The papers document the addition of the Ridgely Sub-station to the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station in 1914. Important subjects pertaining to agriculture documented in the collection include wages, farm crops, and harvesting. The collection also contains the grade reports and monthly progress reports of Herbert James White, a graduate of the Maryland Agricultural College.
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William W. W. Wood papers, 1879-1881. 26 items.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
William W. W. Wood served in the U. S. Navy for thirty-five years. He was the owner of "Jutland," a farm in St. Mary's County, Maryland. In his letters to his overseer, A. L. Taveau, he expresses a desire to conduct fertilizer experiments utilizing oyster shells and "blue sand" found on his property. Wood also investigated the possibility of growing sugar cane and producing sugar for profit.
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Bertha (Gerneaux) Davis and Albert Fred Woods papers, 1878-1944. 3.50 linear feet.
Location: University of Maryland
As assistant pathologist in the Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, Albert Woods did pioneer work in virus research. He also served as president of the University of Maryland and as an assistant secretary of the U. S. D. A.
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Work Projects Administration in Maryland records, 1933-1943. 29.50 linear feet + 50 reels microfilm.
Location: State of Maryland and Historical Collections
This collection consists of administrative and project records of the Maryland WPA and several of its predecessor agencies. Among these materials is an extensive run of notes, newspaper clippings, and draft articles and essays used or produced by the Maryland Federal Writers' Project between 1935 and 1939. Among these subject files are ones on topics relevant to agriculture, including various farm crops, pest control, and agricultural statistics.
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E. P. Young papers, 1952-1963. 3 linear feet and 44 oversize items.
Location: University of Maryland
Young was a professor of Animal Science at the University of Maryland from 1958 to 1989. The papers document Young's research, writing, advising, and outreach activities during his early career as a professor. He conducted studies primarily related to the nutrition and general health of swine, particularly Hereford and Yorkshire breeds. Research files include data on the components of food rations for swine (such as hay, corn, barley, copper sulfate, or antibiotics) and the incidence of roundworm infections in swine. Materials consist of lab notes, data charts, research proposals, manuscripts, correspondence, association files, photographs, field day handouts, and judging materials from hog shows. Subjects covered in the collection include departmental activities, hog production, animal nutrition, agricultural conferences, breeder associations, and livestock competitions.
University Publications
For more information, visit the University Archives
The university publications collection consists of a wide variety of printed materials produced by and about the various administrative units, academic departments, and student groups on the College Park campus. Within this grouping are a number of headings and particular documents which are excellent sources of information on agriculture in Maryland. In the listing below, headings under which items may be located have been italicized and are followed by relevant individual titles within that category.
Additional, uncataloged University Publications are available in the Backlog. Please see the University Archivist for assistance.
Agricultural Affairs, Office of. (University Publications A64) Annual reports and copies of the newsletter "Excel" describe the Office's activities.
Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for. (University Publications A29) A prospectus and an annual report, both from the 1990s, provide background information on the center.
Agricultural Economics, Department of. (University Publications A30) The Agricultural Economics Information Series and the Agricultural Economics Mimeo Series were published in conjunction with the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. Topics of these publications include agricultural statistics by county, farm business and family living, farm labor, Maryland granges, marketing, drought damage, price trends for various agricultural products, and departmental dissertation abstracts.
Agricultural Education, Department of. (University Publications A31) The department published pamphlets, course suggestions, and a program proposal.
Agricultural Engineering, Department of. (University Publications A32) The materials include studies of aquatic environments and marine life, program proposals, and a report on studies of the Chesapeake oyster industry.
Agricultural Experiment Station. (University Publications A33) Annual reports from 1888 to 1984 offer department news and project descriptions. Bulletins produced between 1888 and 1982 explain the results of studies on produce varieties and livestock and provide practical advice for farmers. The station also publishes scientific articles (arranged by contribution number), special bulletins, news releases, faculty and staff minutes, and miscellaneous publications. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Agricultural and Natural Resources Programs. (University Publications A39) The programs published a 1998 report by M. F. Smith, entitled "Nutrient Management Practices of Farmers in Pocomoke River Watershed - 1996."
Agriculture, College of. (University Publications A37) Reports, strategic plans, faculty assembly minutes, the "Coll-O-Ag" newsletter, alumni news, and college prospectus brochures provide an overview of college activities. Maryland-Delaware Crop Report Service publications document development in livestock, grain, produce, and dairy operations. This category also includes bound volumes of reports from the Resources Study Committee for Southern Maryland and the "Agriculture '76" reports. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Agriculture and Extension Education, Department of. (University Publications A23 and A69) Reports and studies cover topics such as demographics for metropolitan and rural Maryland counties, farm machinery, farm labor, adult education, service and training, and policy issues. "Maryland Vo-Ag News," published in coordination with the State Department of Education, featured articles by professors, executive board members of the Maryland Vo-Ag Association, and high school teachers of agriculture.
Agriculture and Life Sciences, Division of. (University Publications A25) Included are annual reports, the departmental plan of governance and bylaws, pamphlets on international programs, and a series of publications entitled "Agriculture '76."
Agriculture and Natural Resources, Vice Chancellor for. (University Publications A27) The vice chancellor sent out a news release in 1991, entitled "Maryland Agriculture Still Strong in Spite of Urban Pressures."
Agriculture and Resource Economics, Department of. (University Publications A28) The Agriculture and Resource Economics Information Series (AREIS) published reports on various topics, for instance, dairy farms, food controls, solar heating, artificial breeding, fuels, irrigation, Agricultural Census data, agricultural cooperatives in Maryland, organic food production, and Chesapeake Bay fisheries. AREIS no. 3 contains a bibliography of all University of Maryland agriculture publications between 1923 and 1971. The publications "Maryland Agricultural Outlook Activities," "Maryland Farm Manpower Activities," and "Proceedings of Maryland Farm and Land Brokers Institute" consist of conference proceedings. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Agronomy, Department of. (University Publications A40 and C51) Reports on "Research, Teaching, and Service Programs," "Crops and Soils Research" progress reports, and miscellaneous reports collect information on various departmental projects. "Agronomy Mimeo" published departmental news. "The Agronomist" newsletter, from 1964 to 1987, provided information on soil, crops, seeds, lime, fertilizers, herbicides, and turf.
Animal and Avian Science, Department of. (University Publications A70) The department produces miscellaneous reports.
Animal Science, Department of. (University Publications A49) This category contains miscellaneous reports and an incomplete series of Maryland Nutrition Conference Proceedings from 1954 to 1992. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Applied Agriculture, Institute of. (University Publications A51) The institute published newsletters, handbooks and manuals for students and faculty, and program overviews.
Bee Keepers Association. (University Publications B1) The first three annual reports issued by the association, from 1909 to 1911, and the proceedings of the 21st International Apicultural Congress, held at the University in August 1967, are included.
Board of Agriculture Reports. (A36) The reports, published biennially and triennially, collect information on the departments, Cooperative Extension Service projects, teaching, students, and facilities at the University of Maryland.
Botany, Department of. (University Publications B6) Lab manuals, the "Botany Chronicle" newsletter, teaching reviews, departmental self-evaluations, and technical bulletins illustrate departmental activities. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. (University Publications C21) Since its beginning in 1925, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory has been affiliated with the University of Maryland. In 1961, it came under the direction of the Department of Research and Education, later called the Natural Resources Institute. In 1975, the institute was renamed the Center for Environmental & Estuarine Studies, and in 1997, it became the Center for Environmental Science. The laboratory published reports, studies, contributions, and reference series in cooperation with the Conservation Department of Maryland and the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station. Miscellaneous publications cover 1927 to 1954, and "The Chesapeake Bay in Maryland: An Atlas of Natural Resources" was issued in 1973.
Chesapeake Research Consortium, Inc. (University Publications C22) Reports of research findings and literature reviews provide information on water quality, storms, sewage, and pollution affecting the Chesapeake Bay. Annual reports and proceedings of the Bi-State Conference on the Chesapeake Bay in 1977 document the consortium's projects.
Coastal and Environmental Policy Program. (University Publications C27) An environmental leadership report provides information on this program.
Coastal Research, Lab for. (University Publications C28) A pamphlet describes the lab's research projects.
Cooperative Extension Service. (University Publications C51) The Service published a wide variety of publications that correspond with its diverse programs. Annual reports, Emis Narrative progress reports, press packs, news releases, and news/features describe the Service's activities and projects. Publications sent to farmers, housewives, youths, and other Maryland residents illustrate the kinds of information the Service sought to disseminate. Titles include the "Maryland Poultryman," the "Maryland Fruit-Grower," the "Maryland Nurserymen's News," "Farm Notes," the "4-H Cloverleaf," the "4-H Voice," "Ag Engineering Topics," the "Homemakers Newsline," "College Week for Women," "The Golden Years," and an assortment of bulletins, circulars, programs, county extension newsletters, and miscellaneous publications. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Dairy Husbandry, Department of. (University Publications D1) The department published "Advanced Registry News" from 1922 to 1925.
Dairy Science, Department of. (University Publications D2) The department produced "Maryland Dairy Production News" from 1945 to 1970. Miscellaneous publications are included as is a history of the department written by C. Walter England in 1985.
Entomology, Department of. (University Publications E18) "Antennae," "The Enlightening Bug," Entomology leaflets, and miscellaneous publications provide information on insects and insecticides. Theodore Bissell wrote a "History of Entomology at the University of Maryland" that appeared in June 1960. Reports from a comprehensive review conducted in 1977 also provide information on the department. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Environmental and Estuarine Studies, Center for. (University Publications E19) The Center issued "Chesapeake Science" between 1960 and 1977. Reference series and study reports describe research conducted at the various labs under the center's direction, including the Appalachian Environmental Laboratory, the Horn Point Laboratory, the Inland Laboratory, and the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. The center published status reports and results of studies on the Power Plant Sitting Program. Forerunners of the center include the Department of Research and Education and the Natural Resources Institute; the center became known as the Center for Environmental Science in 1997.
Environmental Science, Center for. (University Publications E19 and E28) Forerunners of the center, which was established in 1997, include the Department of Research and Education, the Natural Resources Institute, and the Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies. The center administers three laboratory sites: the Appalachian Laboratory in western Maryland, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in southern Maryland, and the Horn Point Laboratory on the Delmarva Peninsula. Reference series and study reports describe research primarily on water quality and the Chesapeake Bay. Publications from 1997 to 1998 are located under E19; publications since 1999 are located under E28.
Farmer's Institute. (University Publications F10) Bulletins, reports, and programs illustrate the activities at Farmer's Institutes held by the Maryland Agricultural College and the Agricultural Experiment Station in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Food, Nutrition, and Institution Administration, Department of. (University Publications F21) The department's proposal for a Ph.D. program received approval from the University Senate in September 1981.
Food Science Teaching Program. (University Publications F22) This category contains a review of the program.
Horticulture, Department of. (University Publications H15) The department produced the "Maryland Florist" with the Growers Division of Allied Florists of Baltimore and Greater Washington between 1953 and 1980. The department also published miscellaneous newsletters and reports, as well as a report of the comprehensive review of the department conducted in 1977. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Livestock Sanitary Service. (University Publications L8) The Maryland State Board of Agriculture organized this service whose regulations and reports cover the 1930s and 1940s.
Maryland Agricultural College. (University Publications M5) Annual reports from 1869 to 1895 trace the college's history. The college also published bulletins from the Extension Service, circulars, and programs for training schools for rural teachers and for short courses in horticulture, poultry, and other agricultural topics. The "MAC Quarterly," published between 1898 and 1923, often printed articles related to farming in Maryland.
Maryland Department of Research and Education. (University Publications M14) The department published reports with the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, a unit it directed. The department was the forerunner of the Natural Resources Institute, which began in 1961. The institute was renamed the Center for Environmental & Estuarine Studies in 1975 and the Center for Environmental Science in 1997.
Maryland Nutrition Conference for Feed Manufacturers. (University Publications M22) The departments of Animal Science, Dairy Science, and Poultry Science organized the annual conference. Proceedings were published from 1953 through 1982.
Maryland State College of Agriculture. (University Publications M23) Annual reports and programs for short courses in agriculture, among other topics, reflect college activities. The College published "Instructions to Patrons of Maryland Livestock Sanitary and Biological Labs" in August 1919.
Natural Resources Institute. (University Publications N6) The institute published a Reference Series and an Educational Series that included reports, meeting proceedings, and plans for Maryland waterways, forests, and fisheries. Progress reports, "Biological and Geological Research on the Effects of Dredging and Spoil Disposal in the Upper Chesapeake Bay," include charts and statistics. The institute also compiled an index to its publications. The institute directed three laboratory sites: the Appalachian Environmental Laboratory in western Maryland, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in southern Maryland, and the Horn Point Environmental Laboratory on the Delmarva Peninsula. The Natural Resources Institute became the Center for Environmental & Estuarine Studies in 1975; it became the Center for Environmental Studies in 1997.
Nutritional Science Program. (University Publications N8) The University Senate received a proposal for an interdisciplinary graduate program in nutritional science in 1967.
Poultry, Department of. (University Publications P21) This category contains handbooks and miscellaneous publications. Two histories of the department, one from 1932 and another from circa 1973, are included.
Poultry Science, Department of. (University Publications P22) Reports for the comprehensive review conducted in 1977 as well as other miscellaneous reports provide information on the department. See also corresponding University Archives Record Group description.
Plant Pathology, Department of. (University Publications P34) A 1943 report on apple scab spore development in Maryland gives an example of the department's publications.
Rural Women's Short Course Programs. (University Publications R21) Programs for courses, lectures, and commencement exercises detail the activities at the annual Rural Women's Short Course. The Cooperative Extension Service organized the course for rural homemakers from 1923 through the 1960s, when the new program "College Week for Women" began.
Veterinary Medicine, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of. (University Publications V1) Brochures describe the college's research programs, students, and projects and the Avrum Gudelsky Veterinary Center.
Veterinary Science, Department of. (University Publications V2) One plan describes a veterinary college under the auspices of the university, while another plan discusses a shared regional college. A 1956 report on common respiratory diseases of poultry provides an example of departmental research. The reports for the 1977 comprehensive review offer an overview of the program.
Water Resources Research Center. (University Publications W1) The center produced special and technical reports on Maryland's waterways.
Zoology, Department of. (University Publications Z1) Annual reports describe a project at the seafood-processing lab. The department published "Index to Catalogue to Russian, Central and Eastern European, and Chinese Literature in Medical Entomology" in eleven volumes with six supplements, printed between 1963 and 1968.
Maryland Manuscripts
For more information, visit Historical Manuscripts
The Maryland Manuscripts grouping consists of a wide variety of materials, such as letters, diaries, printed ephemera, and business ledgers, which have been described individually. Among these items are a number that relate to agriculture, including premium lists, annual fair regulations, farm ledgers, constitutions and by-laws of agricultural associations, farm prospectuses, and exhibit catalogues.
The Maryland Manuscripts have been entered into a database that is available in the Maryland Room and divided into several broad categories. Subjects that include the bulk of the items related to agriculture are "Business and Other Financial Records," "Civil and Social Organizations' Records," "Land Records," and "Legal Records." Print versions of the Subject Categories listings are also available in the Maryland Room. The Maryland Manuscripts database allows for keyword searching through a feature called "Search 'Notes' by a Text String." Keyword searches that produce a number of relevant items include "agricultural" and "agriculture," "farm," "tobacco," "barn," "account book," "horse," "cow," "dairy," and "chicken."
There are also several items of special importance:
- MDMS 63--Constitution of the Farmers League of Maryland
- MDMS 880--Southern Maryland Immigration Commission: Pamphlet, description of farms in Southern Maryland with owner, agent, and price listed, 1920
- MDMS 893--Farmers' Alliance of St. Mary's County: Pamphlet, "Concise history of the resources and natural agricultural advantages of Southern Maryland," 1891
- MDMS 1265--Letter to Randall Moale from John Mercer, commenting on plight of the farmer and price of wheat [Baltimore City], 1812
- MDMS 1306--The Negro Agriculturist Bulletin of the Normal and Agricultural Institute Extension, Number 1, Volume 1 [Montgomery County], 1909
- MDMS 1538--Charles Benedict Calvert: Address delivered at the third annual exhibition of the Frederick County Agricultural Society, October 26, 1855; 25-page pamphlet advocating the founding of a National Agricultural College and one for each state [Frederick County], 1855
- MDMS 1648--Martin Jean Elbert: Account books, records for housekeeping, market expenses, eggs, chickens, threshing, hay sold, washing of clothes, miscellaneous expenses and receipts, 1910
- MDMS 1669--Barnsley, Jonathan: Daybook. Individual accounts for merchandise in general store; some pages used as a scrapbook, newspaper clippings on farms, farming; two articles written by Caroline M. Farqubar, 1872
- MDMS 1935--Account book from Woodbourne Farm, July 1882-April 1888. Includes wages and board for farm hands, sundry expenses, individual accounts for hay, butter. When Michael Murphy died, his wife took over the running of the farm
- MDMS 5430--Account ledger, unknown grain, hay, feed, and lumber merchant, Rising Sun, Cecil County, Maryland, 1889-1891
Photographs
Among the departmental photographic holdings are a variety of agricultural images, from the 19th century to the present, with the bulk from the 20th century. Images capture farms, barns and farm buildings, animals, plants, agricultural exhibits, demonstrations, farm labor, and agricultural science laboratory work. Collections with photographs that significantly feature agricultural themes include:
- Archives of the Maryland State Grange and Patrons of Husbandry
- Farming/Orchards Photograph Collection
- Glass Slides and Negatives Collection
- Papers of William L. Amoss
- Papers of Theodore L. Bissell
- Papers of Paul D. Brown
- Papers of Morley A. Jull
- Papers of Leland Scott
- Papers of T. B. Symons
- Records of the Agricultural Experiment Station
- Records of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Records of the Cooperative Extension Service
- Records of the Department of Botany
- Records of the Department of Entomology
- Records of the Department of Horticulture
- Records of the Department of Poultry Science
- Records of the Division of Buildings and Grounds
- Records of the Maryland Agricultural College
- Slide Collection
- The Subject Files include photographs under headings such as agriculture, Rural Women's Short Course, farm scenes, farm labor camps, and University farms.
Memorabilia
Memorabilia consists of historical artifacts that are housed separately from textual records and photographic materials. The memorabilia collection includes a variety of objects such as badges, ribbons, plaques, trophies, locks of hair, articles of clothing, and souvenirs. Many memorabilia items relate to agricultural history.
- The Maryland State Grange and Patrons of Husbandry produced blue velvet sashes, badges, gavels, charters, by-laws, and other items (#1-27, #733, #762, #763, and #1377-1381).
- Memorabilia from the Papers of E. Roderick and Arthur M. Shipley consists of brass pickers' checks (#969, #970, #972, and #973) that were used as payment system for farm laborers in Anne Arundel County in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
- The Animal Science Department retained trophies from the Maryland Jersey Cattle Club and award ribbons from livestock shows in the state, including the Eastern National Livestock Show in Timonium, Maryland (#191-196).
- The Maryland Horse Breeders Association produced charts, trophies, a map, and drawings related to their organization (#326, #327, #392, #414, #424, #425, and #650).
- The memorabilia collection also contains a sample of tobacco seed, of the Catterton Medium Broadleaf variety, from the Maryland Tobacco Improvement Foundation (#772).
- The Horticulture Department donated prize ribbons from Maryland State Vegetable Show (#353-357) and two glass milk bottles (#102).
- Three glass, half-pint, milk bottles (#1097a-c) and two milk cartons (#1213) from the University of Maryland Dairy, are clearly marked with the name of the dairy.
- The Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station issued a button, a certificate, and a medallion that are now included in the collection (#782, #793, and #920).
- A measuring device for poultry belonged to professor Morley A. Jull (#933), and an "Eastern National Livestock Show Member 1958" pin belonged to professor T. B. Symons (#1122).
Exhibit
Maryland Agriculture Exhibit! (November 2002) This exhibit highlights four themes in the history of Maryland agriculture with materials selected from the Archives and Manuscripts Department of the University of Maryland Libraries.
- The University of Maryland's Extension Service hosted the Rural Women's Short Course from 1923 through the late 1970s. Every summer, farm women from throughout Maryland would gather for a week of courses, demonstrations, and events.
- Another program organized by UM's Extension Service is Maryland 4-H, a program to educate youth in practical matters such as agriculture, home economics, and citizenship.
- Three Maryland families are showcased in Family Farms: The Brooke Family of Baltimore County, the Shipley Family of Anne Arundel County, and the Davis Family of Frederick County.
- The Maryland State Grange and Patrons of Husbandry began with 110 granges across the state in 1874, and the group remains active today.