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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 49.5 linear feet feet of linear shelf space (approximately About 49,000 items items) |
| Abstract | Willis D. Weatherford of Black Mountain, N.C., was president of the Blue Ridge Assembly, Black Mountain, N.C., 1906-1944; president of the Y.M.C.A. Graduate School, Nashville, Tenn., 1919-1946; trustee of Berea College, Berea, Ky., 1916-ca. 1962; faculty member of Fisk University, 1936-1946; director of the Southern Appalachian Studies Project, 1956-1968; and lifelong student of race relations in the South. The collection includes correspondence, financial records, printed material, reports, writings, speeches, photographs, and other material relating to the professional and personal life of Willis D. Weatherford. Many items are records, 1917-1944, of the YMCA Graduate School and of the Blue Ridge Assembly. Other papers document Weatherford's involvement, 1911-1943, in the YMCA at the regional and national level; his tenure, 1936-1946, as a professor at Fisk University; his involvement in the Commission for Interracial Cooperation and other interracial organizations, 1923-1969; his position on the board of trustees and as assistant to the president of Berea College, Berea, Ky., 1924-1969; his role as initiator and director of the Southern Appalachian Studies Project, 1956-1968; his membership on the North Carolina Governor's Coordinating Council on Aging; and his service on the board of directors of the American Cast Iron Pipe Company of Birmingham, Ala., which supported the Blue Ridge Assembly. Individuals important in the collection include Thomas Elsa Jones, president of Fisk University; William J. Hutchins and his son Francis S. Hutchins, both presidents of Berea College; playwright Paul Green; Tennessee congressman John Sparkman; writer and Weatherford biographer Wilma Dykeman; individuals involved with the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, including director Will W. Alexander, secretary James D. Burton, women's work director Jessie Daniel Ames, educational director Robert B. Eleazor, Arthur F. Raper, and Howard W. Odum; Roy Rowe; North Carolina Governor Dan K. Moore; and Fletcher Sims Brockman of the YMCA. |
| Creator | Weatherford, Willis D. (Willis Duke), 1875-1970. |
| 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
| 1 December 1875 | Born in Weatherford, Tex., son of Samuel L. and Margaret Turner Weatherford |
| 1895 | B.S., Weatherford [Junior] College, Weatherford, Tex. |
| 1899 | B.A., Vanderbilt University |
| 1900 | M.A., Vanderbilt University |
| 1907 | Ph.D., Vanderbilt University |
| 1902-1919 | International student secretary of YMCA |
| 1903-1907 | Married Lula Belle Trawick |
| 1906-1944 | President, Blue Ridge Assembly (later known as Blue Ridge College, Inc.) |
| 1907 | Set up the Southern Summer School for Social Science and Christian Workers of Blue Ridge |
| 1907 | Author: Fundamental Religious Principles in Browning's Poetry; College Problems |
| 1910 | Author: Negro Life in the South |
| 1911 | Author: Introducing Men to Christ |
| 1912 | Author: Present Forces in Negro Progress |
| 1912 | Served on Standing Committee on Negro Problems of the Southern Sociological Congress |
| 1914-1957 | Married Julia McCrory |
| 1915 | Served on Board of Governors of the Southern Sociological Congress |
| 1916 | Author: Christian Life, a Normal Experience; Personal Elements in Religious Life |
| 1916-circa 1962 | Trustee, Berea College, Berea, Ky. |
| 1917 | Editor: Report on Law and Order Conference |
| 1917 | Organized a law and order conference dealing with the lynching problem in the South, held at Blue Ridge, N.C. |
| 1919 | Attended organizational meeting of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, Atlanta, Ga. |
| circa 1919 | Took part in forming the Interracial Commission in Tennessee from the Tennessee Law and Order League |
| 1919-1936 | President, Southern College of the YMCA (later known as the YMCA Graduate School), Nashville, Tenn. |
| 1920 | Editor: Interracial Cooperation |
| 1924 | Author: The Negro from Africa to America |
| 1925 | Chair, Tennessee Commission on Interracial Cooperation; member, Board of Directors, Atlanta University |
| 1927-1970 | Member of the Board of Directors of ACIPCO |
| 1932 | Editor: Survey of the Negro Boy in Nashville |
| 1934 | Editor: Survey of Negro Boy Life in Nashville, Tenn. |
| 1934 | Author: Race Relations (co-authored with Charles S. Johnson, President, Fisk University) |
| 1935 | Author: Life Sketch of James Brownson Dunwoody DeBow |
| 1936 | YMCA Graduate School closes |
| 1936-1946 | Head, Department of Religion and Humanities, Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn. |
| 1945 | Blue Ridge Association sold to the Southern Region Headquarters of the YMCA |
| 1946 | Accepted position at Berea College dealing with instructional development and student recruitment |
| 1948 | Author: Analytical Index of DeBows Review |
| 1954-1957 | Organized and directed the development of the outdoor pageant, Wilderness Road |
| 1955 | Editor: Religion in the Appalachian Mountains; Educational Opportunities in the Appalachian Mountains |
| 1955 | Author: Pioneers of Destiny |
| 1956-1968 | Organizer and director of the Southern Appalachian Studies Project |
| 1957 | Author: American Churches and the Negro |
| 1962 | Author: Life and Religion in Southern Appalachia (co-authored with Earl D. C. Brewer); Studies in Christian Experience |
| 1962 | Editor: The Southern Appalachian Region: A Survey (co-edited with Thomas R. Ford) |
| 1965-1967 | Served on the Governor's Council on Aging |
| 21 February 1970 | Died |
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Scope and Content
Correspondence, financial records, printed material, reports, writings, speeches, photos, and other material relating to the professional and personal life of Willis D. Weatherford. Many items are records, 1917-1944, of the YMCA Graduate School and of the Blue Ridge Assembly. Other papers document Weatherford's involvement, 1911-1943, in the YMCA at the regional and national level; his tenure, 1936-1946, as a professor at Fisk University; his involvement in the Commission for Interracial Cooperation and other interracial organizations, 1923-1969; his position on the board of trustees and as assistant to the president of Berea College, Berea, Ky., 1924-1969; his role as initiator and director of the Southern Appalachian Studies Project, 1956-1968; his membership on the North Carolina Governor's Coordinating Council on Aging; and his service on the board of directors of the American Cast Iron Pipe Company of Birmingham, Ala., which supported the Blue Ridge Assembly. Individual important in the collection include Thomas Elsa Jones, president of Fisk University; William J. Hutchins and his son Francis S. Hutchins, both presidents of Berea College; playwright Paul Green; Tennessee congressman John Sparkman; writer and Weatherford biographer Wilma Dykeman; individuals involved with the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, including director Will W. Alexander, secretary James D. Burton, women's work director Jessie Daniel Ames, educational director Robert B. Eleazor, Arthur F. Raper, and Howard W. Odum; Roy Rowe; North Carolina Governor Dan K. Moore; and Fletcher Sims Brockman of the YMCA.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. YMCA Graduate School and Blue Ridge Association, 1917-1944.
Chiefly records of the YMCA Graduate School and the Blue Ridge Association during the years in which Willis D. Weatherford was the president of each of these organizations: 1919-1936 for the Graduate School, 1917-1944 for Blue Ridge. The material consists primarily of incoming and outgoing correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, lists, applications, and printed material. It covers all aspects of managing these institutions: fundraising, administration, recruitment of students and staff, Christian leadership training, student work assignments, student projects, relations with the Southern Region Headquarters of the YMCA, cooperation between the YMCA Graduate School and other Nashville schools including Vanderbilt University, Scarritt College, and Fisk University, relations between Blue Ridge and Black Mountain College, and conferences held at Blue Ridge. The papers also include material pertaining to Lee School for Boys and attempts to establish Cragmore School for Girls at Blue Ridge during the winter months.
This series also contains a substantial amount of material relating to Weatherford's other professional interests. Material on the American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO) of Birmingham, Ala., relates to Weatherford's responsibilities as a member of the board of directors and of the wage committee, labor relations at the plant, and the involvement of many of the company's executives on the Blue Ridge board of directors and their financial support for Blue Ridge. The papers also reflect Weatherford's interest in race relations; problems presented by interracial participation in conferences in an era of legally mandated segregation constitute an important topic. Correspondence concerning Weatherford's courses on race relations at the YMCA Graduate School is also included. Material pertaining to research for Weatherford's books and projects as well as personal financial material and correspondence with close friends is included in this series.
The arrangement of this series adheres closely to the order of the material as received. The files consist of subject folders arranged by year. Within each year, the YMCA Graduate School material precedes that of Blue Ridge, with the files for each institution filed alphabetically. Users should note that Weatherford's filing system contained many inconsistencies, and there is a great deal of overlap between the YMCA Graduate School and the Blue Ridge material. Most folder headings are those used by Weatherford and his staff, except for some folders and titles added or altered for consistency and in order to make the material more accessible.
During processing, much routine material was discarded or sampled. Material discarded includes routine bills and receipts, requests for transcripts, equipment catalogs, notices of board meetings, recommendation letters, copies of form letters, and requests for information at the Blue Ridge grounds. Folders containing samples of the original correspondence are so labeled.
This series overlaps in part with other series. For more extensive material on race relations, users should consult Series 5. Race Relations and Series 3. Fisk University. Material on the YMCA and its Southern Region Headquarters, which supervised Weatherford in his roles as a president of the YMCA Graduate School and Blue Rige, is filed in Series 2. National YMCA. Finally, Series 6. Other Papers includes personal material and papers relating to the American Cast Iron Pipe Company, 1943-1969.