Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Frank Horsfall, Jr., Papers, Ms1992-040, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Frank Horsfall, Jr., Papers were donated to Special Collections in three accessions in 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; 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

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.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Faculty and staff
• Horticulture
• Science and Technology
• University History
• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Frank Horsfall, Jr., Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).