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Amherst College Buildings and Grounds Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MA.01005

Abstract

This collection includes documentation of the history and development of Amherst College physical plant, its campus, buildings, features and owned properties. THIS COLLECTION IS CURRENTLY BEING REPROCESSED.

Dates

  • Creation: 1820 - 2019

Conditions Governing Access

There is no restriction on access to the collection for research use. Particularly fragile originals may be restricted for preservation purposes.

Conditions Governing Use

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be directed to the Archives and Special Collctions. In most cases, individuals retain copyright to their own work. Requests for permission to publish from their work should be directed appropriately.

Extent

38 Linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

THIS COLLECTION IS CURRENTLY BEING REPROCESSED. The only parts of the finding aid available to the public are:

  1. Series 1: Campus Buildings
  2. Series 2: Fraternity Houses and Student Rooms

Separated Materials

20th century duplicates were largely discarded. 19th century duplicates were retained pending reappraisal.

Additional Research

The following resources could be consulted for additional context:

  1. Springfield Republican
  2. Daily Hampshire Gazette, and other local Hampshire, Hamden and Franklin County newspapers
  3. Amherst Student
  4. Amherst Graduates' Quarterly
  5. Amherst Magazine
  6. Harper's Weekly
  7. RG 001-001 Amherst College Board of Trustees. Meeting Minutes

Processing Information

Finding aid first created by Ralph C. McGoun (AC 1927), Emeritus Professor of Dramatic Arts, and L. Ann Hopkins, 1985-1987. Updated by Janet Poirrier and Briana Cahill, 1995-1997. Revised and updated by Elaine Trehub and Mariah Leavitt, 2000-2017. Rewritten by Jennifer Bolmarcich, Chris Barber, and Rachel Jirka: 2018-2023.

Professor Emeritus Ralph C. McGoun (AC 1927), working as a volunteer in the Archives, created this artificial collection between 1984-1987 by gathering Amherst College records, correspondence, documents, ephemera and images from College departments—Facilities, the President's Office, the Office of Public Affairs, and others—as well as from existing collections and subject files in Archives and Special Collections.

Numerous small donations and transfers of associated materials were incorporated into the collection over the past thirty years (1987-2017). From 1997-2002, additions included Amherst College records from the Physical Plant/Facilities department. From 2003 onward, incoming College records from Physical Plant/Facilities have been kept separate to maintain their provenance.

In anticipation of Amherst College's 200th anniversary, this frequently-used reference collection was chosen for a full reprocessing to bring its arrangement and description in line with current standards. Substantial changes to prior arrangement include the following:

Wherever possible, Amherst College records identified during reprocessing have been returned to their record groups of origin. This includes College records from the Amherst College Campus Operations: Facilities Department from its creation in 1925 to the present day.

Status
Under Revision
Date
2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Robert Frost Library
61 Quadrangle Drive
Amherst MA 01002-5000
(413) 542-2299