A Guide to the Frank Horsfall, Jr. Papers, 1917-1973
A Collection in
Special Collections
Collection Number
Ms1992-040
![[logo]](http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/logos/vt.jpg)
Special Collections, Virginia Tech
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
USA
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Email: specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu/
© 2013 By Virginia Tech. All rights reserved.
Processed by: John M. Jackson, Special Collections
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from the Frank Horsfall, Jr. Papers must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Frank Horsfall, Jr. Papers, Ms1992-040, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Acquisition Information
The Frank Horsfall, Jr. Papers were donated to Special Collections in three accessions, dated 1992 and 1995.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Frank Horsfall, Jr. Papers commenced and was completed in June, 2013.
Biographical Note
Frank Horsfall, Jr., son of Frank and Margaret Atwood Horsfall, was born in Missouri on July 7, 1903. By 1910, he was living with his family in Helena, Oklahoma, and the 1920 census found the family living in Monticello, Arkansas. Horsfall was still living in Monticello when he married Louise Richardson on December 22, 1928, and by 1930, the couple was living in Idabel, Oklahoma, where Horsfall was employed as a public school teacher. He obtained his master's (1932) and Ph.D. (1935) in horticulture at the University of Missouri, and evidence suggests that Horsfall remained at the University of Missouri for several years, working at the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station. He also worked at Northwest Missouri State University and is credited with assembling the collection that would become the nucleus of the university's agriculture museum. Horsfall was hired as a professor of horticulture at Virginia Tech in 1947 and served in that position until retiring in 1973. Frank Horsfall, Jr. died in Roanoke, Virginia on March 21, 1988.
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains the papers of Frank Horsfall, Jr., a professor of horticulture at Virginia Tech from 1947 to 1973. The collection includes materials relating to both Horsfall's professional career and personal interests. In addition to Horsfall's University of Missouri thesis (1932) and dissertation (1935), the collection contains published copies of several horticulture-related articles written by Horsfall. The collection also contains awards received by Horsfall and a file devoted to his retirement, including letters from Virginia Tech President T. Marshall Hahn and Virginia Governor Linwood Holton, as well as the text of a retirement speech delivered by Horsfall. Horsfall's interest in barbed wire is represented by various articles, notes, and letters on the subject, as well as a small collection of barbed wire samples. A folder relating to stone tools, another of Horsfall's interests, includes printed materials and a collection of drawings by Horsfall. The collection is completed by an assortment of newspaper clippings, ephemera, and photographs, which includes Horsfall's Boy Scouts of America membership card, Fort Snelling ROTC Infantry Camp pass, Civil Air Patrol certificate, World War II draft classification, and three photos of an unidentified locomotive.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by subject matter.
Index Terms
- Faculty
- Horticulture
- Science and Technology
- University Archives
- Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Subjects:
Contents List
-
"The Unity of Science," 1942[2 copies]
-
"The Effect of Spray Additives and Simulated Rainwater on Foliage Curvature and Thinning of Apples by the Sodium Salt of Naphthaleneacetic Acid," 1962
-
"Observations on Fluctuating Pregnancy Rate of Pine Mice and Mouse Feed Potential in Virginia Orchards," 1963
-
"Horticulture: 18th Century Status Symbol," 1968
-
"Horticulture in Eighteenth Century America," 1969[2 copies and typescript]