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Collection Overview
| Size | 10.0 linear feet feet of linear shelf space (approximately About 8,000 items items) |
| Abstract | John C. Campbell was a missionary-teacher in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia; secretary of the Southern Highlands Division (based in Asheville, N.C.) of the Russell Sage Foundation; author of the Foundation's survey of conditions in the Southern Appalachians; and organizer of the Conference of Southern Mountain Workers. Olive Campbell assisted her husband; founded and directed the John C. Campbell Folk School and related cooperatives at Brasstown, N.C.; and participated in the formation of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Papers include correspondence; articles, speeches, writings and reports by the Campbells and others; clippings, pamphlets, and near-print material; and a large number of photographs. Also included are diaries, 1908-1909 and 1922-1924, of Olive D. Campbell, the former during her travels in the mountain regions of Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee; the later during her stay in Denmark to study Danish folk schools, and her travels in Sweden, Scotland, and England; and notebooks on American history and on words to folk songs and ballads from eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. The writings series includes a 1923 article on Midwifery in the Kentucky Mountains by Mary Breckinridge. The reports series includes materials from the Annual Conference of Southern Mountain Workers, the Council of Southern Mountain Workers, the John C. Campbell Folk School, the Mountain Valley Cooperative, Inc., the Southern Highlands Handicraft Guild, and Southern Highlanders, Inc. |
| Creator | Campbell, John C. (John Charles), 1867-1919.
Campbell, Olive D. (Olive Dame), 1882-1954. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
John C. Campbell (1867-1919) was born in La Porte, Ind., on 14 September 1867 to Gavin and Anna Barbara (Kipp) Campbell, and grew up in Steven's Point, Wisc. He graduated from Williams College in 1892 and received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Andover Theological Seminary in 1895. That same year, he married Grace H. Buckingham of Stevens Point, Wisc., who died in 1905. He married Olive Arnold Dame of West Medford, Mass., in 1907.
Campbell was a missionary teacher in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. He was principal of a mountain school academy in Joppa, Ala., 1895-1898; taught in public school in Stevens Point, Wisc., 1898-1899; was principal of a mountain academy in Pleasant Hill, Tenn., 1900-1901; and was superintendent of secondary education (1901-1902), dean (1902-1903), and president (1903-1907) of Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga. Campbell received a research grant from the Russell Sage Foundation to study the mountain regions of the South in 1909 and soon became an expert on the economic and social conditions of the Appalachians. He was secretary of Southern Highland Division of the Russell Sage Foundation in Asheville, N.C.; author of the Foundation's survey of conditions in the Southern Appalachians; and organizer of the Conference of Southern Mountain Workers.
Olive Dame Campbell (1882-1954) assisted her husband; founded and directed the John C. Campbell Folk School and related cooperatives at Brasstown, N.C.; and participated in the formation of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. While working with her husband, she collected mountain ballads and, after his death in 1919, prepared the report of his survey for publication.
Through the Conference for Southern Education, the Campbells became interested in the Scandinavian folk school as an alternative to the church and independent settlement school. After her husband's death, Olive Campbell continued his work with the conference and visited Denmark and other Scandinavian countries to study folk schools, 1922-1923. Upon her return, she opened the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C.
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Scope and Content
Papers include correspondence; articles, speeches, writings and reports by John C. Campbell and Olive D. Campbell and others; clippings, pamphlets, and near-print material; and a large number of photographs. Also included are diaries, 1908-1909 and 1922-1924, of Olive D. Campbell, the former during her travels in the mountain regions of Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee; the later during her stay in Denmark to study Danish folk schools, and her travels in Sweden, Scotland, and England; and notebooks on American history and on words to folk songs and ballads from eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. The writings series includes a 1923 article on "Midwifery in the Kentucky Mountains" by Mary Breckinridge. The reports series includes materials from the Annual Conference of Southern Mountain Workers, the Council of Southern Mountain Workers, the John C. Campbell Folk School, the Mountain Valley Cooperative, Inc., the Southern Highlands Handicraft Guild, and Southern Highlanders, Inc.
Note that both Series 1 and Series 5 contain letters. General correspondence, 1865-1962, is filed in Series 1. Carbon copies of letters written by John C. Campbell, 1909-1919, including correspondence with John M. Glen of the Russell Sage Foundation and Cecil J. Sharp with whom Olive Campbell collaborated with on a 1917 publication on English folk songs of the Southern Appalachians is filed in Series 5. Because these materials are extremely fragile, letters in Series 5 have been microfilmed; researchers are asked to use the microfilm instead of the originals.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence, 1865-1962.
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence of John C. and Olive D. Campbell. Letters after 1919 are to Olive and deal primarily with the John C. Campbell Folk School. See also Series 5.
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Series 2. Writings, 1895-1965.
Arrangement: chronological.
Articles, speeches, writings, reports, and other materials relating to publications by John C. and Olive D. Campbell and others. Included are materials pertaining to Campbell's work on the Appalachian people and the region and to his studies for the Russell Sage Foundation
Materials in folders 162-169 relate to Harry M. and June Cary, staff members of the Campbell Folk School. Harry Cary was publicity and extension agent, September 1938-May 1942. papers are chiefly press releases, brochures, and newsletters relating to the school. Also included are pages from a scrapbook compiled by Cary with reviews of Campbell's book The Southern Highlander and His Homeland.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
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Series 3. Organization Reports, 1913-1952.
Arrangement: chronological.
Reports, minutes, lists, programs, bulletins, and agendas for meetings from the Annual Conference of Southern Mountain Workers, 1913-1925; the Council of Southern Mountain Workers; the John C. Campbell Folk School and Mountain Valley Cooperative, Inc., 1935-1952; and the Southern Highland Handicraft.
| Folder 170-184 |
Southern Mountain Workers Conference #03800, Series: "3. Organization Reports, 1913-1952." Folder 170-184Folder 170Folder 171Folder 172Folder 173Folder 174Folder 175Folder 176Folder 177Folder 178Folder 179Folder 180Folder 181Folder 182Folder 183Folder 184 |
| Folder 185-196 |
John C. Campbell Folk School #03800, Series: "3. Organization Reports, 1913-1952." Folder 185-196Folder 185Folder 186Folder 187Folder 188Folder 189Folder 190Folder 191Folder 192Folder 193Folder 194Folder 195Folder 196 |
| Folder 197-200 |
Southern Handicraft Guild #03800, Series: "3. Organization Reports, 1913-1952." Folder 197-200Folder 197Folder 198Folder 199Folder 200 |
| Folder 201 |
American Youth Commission #03800, Series: "3. Organization Reports, 1913-1952." Folder 201 |
| Folder 202-208 |
Miscellaneous #03800, Series: "3. Organization Reports, 1913-1952." Folder 202-208Folder 202Folder 203Folder 204Folder 205Folder 206Folder 207Folder 208 |
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Series 4. Clippings, Printed Material, and Ephemera, undated.
Clippings and articles by and about the Campbells and John C. Campbell Folk School; about the Danish Folk High School idea; about Cecil J. Sharp and others; about the mountain region in general; and other items, including catalogs of colleges attended by the Campbells, programs, Gavin Campbell's obituary notice (1894), and diplomas of both Campbells.
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Series 5. Microfilmed Letters, 1909-1919.
Arrangement: chronological.
Carbon copies of letters written by John C. Campbell, including correspondence with John M. Glenn of the Russell Sage Foundation and Cecil J. Sharp with whom Olive Campbell collaborated with on a 1917 publication on English folk songs of the Southern Appalachians. See also Series 1
NOTE: Because these materials are extremely fragile, these papers are too delicate to handle. Please use microfilm (M-3800/1).
| Folder 229 |
1909-1910 #03800, Series: "5. Microfilmed Letters, 1909-1919." Folder 229 |
| Folder 230 |
1911-1912 #03800, Series: "5. Microfilmed Letters, 1909-1919." Folder 230 |
| Folder 231-232 |
1913 #03800, Series: "5. Microfilmed Letters, 1909-1919." Folder 231-232Folder 231Folder 232 |
| Folder 233 |
1914 #03800, Series: "5. Microfilmed Letters, 1909-1919." Folder 233 |
| Folder 234-236 |
1915 #03800, Series: "5. Microfilmed Letters, 1909-1919." Folder 234-236Folder 234Folder 235Folder 236 |
| Folder 237-240 |
1916 #03800, Series: "5. Microfilmed Letters, 1909-1919." Folder 237-240Folder 237Folder 238Folder 239Folder 240 |
| Folder 241-244 |
1917 #03800, Series: "5. Microfilmed Letters, 1909-1919." Folder 241-244Folder 241Folder 242Folder 243Folder 244 |
| Folder 245-247 |
1918 #03800, Series: "5. Microfilmed Letters, 1909-1919." Folder 245-247Folder 245Folder 246Folder 247 |
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Series 6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Diaries, school books, and notebooks of John and Olive Campbell.
| Folder 248 |
Volume 1: 1896-1897, 27 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 248Printed form-book for keeping class lists and attendance records used at Joppa, Ala., for several classes. |
| Folder 249 |
Volume 2: 1899-1900 #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 249Tennessee Teacher's Register for keeping class lists and attendance records for several classes. |
| Folder 250 |
Volume 3: October 1908-January 1909, 500 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 250Diary of Olive D. Campbell with descriptions and observations from her travels and experiences in the mountain region of Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee. |
| Folder 251 |
Volume 4: January-March 1909, 180 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 251Diary of Olive D. Campbell continued. |
| Folder 252 |
Volume 5: October 1908-March 1909, 134 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 252Typescript copy of the two diary volumes (not an exact copy). |
| Folder 253 |
Volume 6: August-December 1922, 300 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 253Olive D. Campbell while in Denmark learning about Danish folk schools and other educational matters. The diary covers her travels through Sweden, Scotland, England, and New York; tells of her activities; contains study notes and information gathered; and mentions conversations, lectures, and ideas. |
| Folder 254 |
Volume 7: January-March 1923, 200 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 254Continuation of Olive D. Campbell's diary. |
| Folder 255 |
Volume 8: April 1923-November 1924, 250 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 255Continuation of Olive D. Campbell's diary. |
| Folder 256 |
Volume 9: May-July 1906, 100 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 256Unidentified diary, possibly of John C. Campbell, containing slight memoranda on trips from Boston to Nova Scotia and Boston to Scotland with visits to Campbell relatives in Scotland. |
| Folder 257 |
Volume 10: Undated, 50 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 257Address book possibly of John C. Campbell. |
| Folder 258 |
Volume 11: Undated, 176 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 258Notebook, partially Olive D. Campbell's notes, possibly for teaching an American history course. |
| Folder 259 |
Volume 12: 1917, 72 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 259Folk songs and ballads collected in 1917 in eastern Tennessee and Kentucky by Cecil Sharp and Maude Karples. |
| Folder 260 |
Volume 13: Undated, 150 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 260Long narrative and other items in Olive Campbell's handwriting. Original volume is closed due to fragility. Please see staff for access to the digitized facsimile. |
| Folder 261 |
Volume 14: Undated, 250 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 261Commonplace book, possibly belonging to John C. Campbell, containing short essays, notes on reading, travel and geography, and fragments. One page lists topics for as account of life in Joppa. |
| Folder 262 |
Volume 15: Undated, 50 pages #03800, Series: "6. Volumes, 1886-1906 and undated." Folder 262Notebook of Ruth Dame Cooledge containing notes on American history books and sources. |
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Series 7. Pictures, 1855-1950.
Arrangement: topical.
Photographs of John and Olive Campbell and their family and friends, the towns and schools where John Campbell taught, rural Appalachia, and the John C. Campbell Folk School. The latter two categories comprise the bulk of the pictures, and include nine oversize images and 21 picture albums.
Many of the photographs that depict life in the mountains of Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina were taken in connection with the Campbells' work for the Russell Sage Foundation, ca. 1908-1918. Subject matter includes the difficulties of traveling over rough mountain roads; farming and house-keeping under primitive conditions; and illegal whiskey-making.
The nine folders and five albums that pertain specifically to the John C. Campbell Folk School and its environs provide visual documentation of a wide range of activities at the school: students and teachers in the kitchen and dairy, as well as in the classrooms; musicians, woodcarvers, and other craftspeople; and social and community events, such as folk dances. Among these photographs are nine signed prints by Doris Ulmann who visited the school in 1933. There are also five images that have been tentatively attributed to her. Her subjects include carvers, children, and older people, many fully identified.
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Series 8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935.
| Photograph Album PA-3800/1 |
Circa 1915-1925, 85 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/1Appalachian mountain scenery, people riding, fishing, or posing in front of their homes. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/2 |
Circa 1907-1910 #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/2"Snapshots from Demorest, Ga. and a few mountain photos (mostly taken on camping excursions.)" Includes photographs of women staffing a "Civic Betterment League" table and many pictures of John C. Campbell and Olive D. Campbell. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/3 |
Circa 1907-1910, 58 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/3"Early Mountain Snapshots." Mostly taken in vicinity of Hindman, Ky., with views of people playing musical instruments, riding horses, and relaxing on porches. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/4 |
Circa 1925-1935, 62 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/4Scenes of and around John C. Campbell Folk School of young men and women carving wooden animals, weaving, working in fields and studying. Images have typed captions. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/5 |
Circa 1907-1938, 104 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/5Scenes of John C. Campbell Folk School with images by Ulmann removed and are in Folder 30. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/6 |
Circa 1902-1903, 28 images #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/6Scenes of people and land in and around Walkers Valley, Tenn., evidently taken by John C. Campbell while teaching there. Images have lengthy captions with extensive commentary on the poverty of the people. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/7 |
Circa 1912, 91 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/7"Demorest, Ga., Kentucky and in between." Scenes illustrating the difficulty of travel on mountain roads, via mule teams, ox-carts, and on horseback in Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/8 |
Circa 1910, 76 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/8Photo-essay on illicit distilling operations in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/9 |
Circa 1909, 132 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/9Scenes daily life in mountains of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee: people playing fiddles and dulcimer, clearing land for houses, doing laundry, etc. Includes several pictures of African-American people who, according to the caption, are descendants of slaves brought into the mountains by "bluegrass families." |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/10 |
Circa 1905-1915: 145 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/10Everyday life and living conditions in mountains of Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Includes pictures of church and school events. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/11 |
Circa 1900-1910, 28 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/11Chiefly pictures of schools and pupils in Demorest, Ga., and Penland, N.C. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/12 |
Circa 1910-1912, 96 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/12Farming and logging operation in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/13 |
Circa 1910-1918, 58 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/13Scenes of women preparing flax: drying, stretching and spinning it; shearing sheep and preparing wool for spinning; weaving; and making baskets. Mostly taken in Kentucky. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/14 |
Circa 1905-1915, 25 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/14Sewing and canning classes through an extension program of the Hindman (Ky.) Settlement School. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/15 |
Circa 1910-1918, 59 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/15Mostly pictures of homes, churches, and schools, in and around Madison County, N.C. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/16 |
Circa 1915-1925, 76 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/16Scenic views of mountains and rivers in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/17 |
Circa 1908-1910, 77 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/17"Ways and Means of Travelling of the Southern Highland Division of the Russell Sage Foundation in the Mountains of the South." Scenes of difficulties of travelling between towns in Kentucky and North Carolina on horseback, in wagons, and on foot. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/18 |
Circa 1907-1910, 251 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/18Pictures of Berea College, Ky., and Hindman (Ky.) Settlement School and surrounding areas: interiors and exteriors of cabins; coal mines; and local people. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/19 |
Circa 1907-1910, 479 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/19John C. Campbell and Olive D. Campbell at their home in Demorest, Ga., and the surrounding area; the Hindman Settlement School; views of rural North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky. Includes pictures of the Campbells with friends on a trip to a beach. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/20 |
Undated, 100 halftones #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/20Possibly a paste-up for a book with scenic views of North Carolina and Kentucky mountains; people logging, making whiskey, tending animals, etc. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/21 |
Circa 1925-1935, 201 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/21Daily life at John C. Campbell Folk School: students participating in Christmas pageant, folk-dancing, socializing. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/22 |
Circa 1925-1935, 234 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/22Construction of a museum (presumably part of the John C. Campbell Folk School); interior and exterior views of a farmhouse; Olive D. Campbell and unidentified friends. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/23 |
Circa 1925-1935, 132 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/23Farming and livestock scenes probably at the John C. Campbell Folk School. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/24 |
Circa 1920-1930, 83 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/24Unidentified views of Appalachia: landscapes, small town scenes, and people, especially children. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/25 |
1922, 537 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/25Snapshots from Olive D. Campbell's trip to Denmark: town and village scenes; landscapes; and people folk-dancing, gardening, and tending animals. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/26 |
Circa 1885-1890, 24 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/26Cabinet cards and cartes de visite, mostly on unidentified people and probably compiled by John C. Campbell. |
| Photograph Album PA-3800/27 |
1892, 65 photographs #03800, Series: "8. Picture Albums, 1885-1935." PA-3800/27Scenes from John C. Campbell's trips to the Southwestern United States. |
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Eben Lehman, March 2006
Processing Note: This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.
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