Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Morris Jones papers must be obtained from Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Morris Jones papers, c0137, Special Collections and Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Morris Jones in 2004. Morris Jones gave this collection to Katja Hering by when Hering interviewed him for the GMU oral history project in 2004.

Processing Information

Processed by Amy Blake in September 2018.

Biographical Information

Morris Jones was born in Rome, New York, and lived there until he graduated from high school in 1939. He then went to Milton College, Wisconsin, until he was drafted into the army. After being drafted, he went to Camp Upton on Long Island, and then to St. Louis for basic training. Afterwards he went to the ASTP: Army Specialized Training Program. The program put him in the topographic battalion, where he was trained as an engineer. Initially, he stayed in the U.S. for a year, where he went on maneuvers and learned how to work with maps. Then he went overseas with the topographic unit, first to England, and then to Germany. After the war, he went to the University of South Dakota, where he got a B.S. in General Science. After graduating, he passed a civil service examination for topographic engineers. Then, he got a job with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and went to North Dakota to map the field (together with a rod-man). From North Dakota, he went to Texas and to Missouri. On a two-year leave from the USGS, he mapped the ruins of Mayapan, an ancient city in Yucatan, Mexico, for archaeologists at the Carnegie Institute, and he authored "Maps of the Ruins of Mayapan, Yucatan, Mexico" published in 1952. Later, he also mapped the ruins of the ancient city of Tikal, Guatemala, for the University of Pennsylvania. In the 1950s, he returned to Washington, D.C., to work with the USGS. He became the manager of the Map Distribution Branch of the USGS, and became chief of the unit in 1960, where he oversaw more than 100 employees. In 1970, he transferred to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under the Coast and Geodetic Survey unit, with similar responsibilities. After retiring in 1977, he drove a school bus for Fairfax County. Then, he worked for the Virginia State Highway Department as an inspector on Route 66. In 1984, he came to Mason and worked for key control as an assistant locksmith.

Scope and Content

Research materials and correspondence that document Jones' work on mapping the ruins of Mayapan, an ancient city in Yucatan, Mexico, for archaeologists at the Carnegie Institute. Later, he also mapped the ruins of the ancient city of Tikil, Guatemala, for the University of Pennsylvania, and that work is documented in the collection as well.

Arrangement

Arranged by subject, chronologically and type of material.

Related Material

An oral history with Morris Jones is available through the George Mason University Oral History Collection.

Index Terms

Persons:

• Jones, Morris R.

Geographical Names:

• Mayapan Site (Mexico)
• Parque Nacional Tikal (Guatemala)