Harry E. and Kathryn Ash Carlson Collection of Arthurdale Photographs and Other Material
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 3649
Photographic negatives and prints documenting the facilities, people, and activities at Arthurdale, West Virginia, the first of many New Deal planned communities established under the administration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Also includes an oral history transcript, blueprints of Arthurdale homes, a scrapbook of photographs, and mounted photographs of Arthurdale facilities and local coal mining. Most or all of the photographs were created by Harry E. Carlson. There is also a reel of motion picture film of Arthurdale shot by Carlson in 1934 which includes footage of a meeting of women in the community center building, farming, digging of foundations for Hodgson homes, and a progressive school in action with a class of children in the woods "learning by doing"; the original metal film can is in the collection, and a new plastic film can contains the original film after cleaning and digitization; a digital user copy and digital archival copy are available.
English
No special access restriction applies.
Researchers may access digitized materials by visiting the link attached to each item or by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Harry E. Carlson was born in 1906. He attended Illinois College and received a B.A. from the University of Louisville, KY. He taught for two years (1929-1931) in Illinois and for three (1931-1934) at the Rogers Clark Ballard Memorial School in Louisville. In 1934-5 and 1935-6 he taught at Arthurdale (Reedsville). He and his wife, Kathryn Ash Carlson, were heavily involved in the overall planning and program development for Arthurdale and the school during these two years. Kathryn Carlson grew up in Brooklyn, NY and received a B.A. from Vassar. She and several friends were attracted to the Ballard School and to its head mistress Elsie Clapp in the early 1930s. Harry and Kathryn met at Ballard, marrying in 1932. In 1934-5 they shared a house in Masontown, near the Greer coke ovens with the George Beecher family. In 1935-6 they lived in one of the project houses. Harry made furniture, silver, and copper utensils when at Arthurdale.
0.9 Linear Feet (Summary: 11 1/2 in. (two document cases, 5 in. and 2.5 in.; one flat storage box; one folder))
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository