Western State College Special Collections
Purpose
The Western State College Special Collections preserves and makes available manuscript collections and photographs donated by members of the Gunnison and campus community. The collections focus on activities or subjects that support disciplines within the college curriculum. The Special Collections also includes a small collection of rare books that document the history of Colorado and the West.
Selected Collections
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The Clarence T. Hurst Collection: C.T. Hurst (1895 - 1949), noted Colorado archaeologist and co-founder of the Colorado Archaeological Society, was Western’s first faculty member teaching archaeology. The collection consists of personal papers, field notes, correspondence, and slides.
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The Charles Conklin Collection: Charles Conklin was the assistant director to the Public Land Law Review Commission chaired by Wayne Aspinall. The collection contains minutes of meetings and study reports.
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The Lois Borland Collection: Lois Borland (1877-1967), Professor of English and literature at Western State College, was involved in academics on campus from 1914 until she retired from teaching in 1942. The collection includes personal papers and correspondence, articles from local newspapers pertaining to the history of the area, English class short stories, and letters from well-known authors.
Slide Collections
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The Endner Collection: A collection of slides taken by Harry and Bill Endner, ca. 1920’s, 1930’s, and possibly later. The slides depict scenes from the Gunnison area and South America.
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The Bradford Collection: These slides depict Colorado wildflowers.
Access and Services
Manuscript materials may be used by appointment only. Contact Nancy Gauss, ngauss@western.edu, 970.943.2278 to make arrangements.
The rare books are included in the library’s online catalog. They may be used in the library building during regular library hours. Ask at the Circulation or Reference Desk for access.
Updated July 2006
Send Comments to Nancy Gauss, ngauss@western.edu
