McDowell, Robert Emmett (1914-1975) and Neal O. Hammon (1925-) Research Collection, 1954-1976
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Robert Emmett McDowell (1914-1975) and Neal O. Hammon (1925 – )
Title: Research Collection, 1954-1976
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for this collection, contact the Curator of Special Collections.
Size of Collection: 1 oversize box, (2.5 cubic feet)
Location Number: Mss./A/M138e
Biographical Note
Robert Emmett McDowell (1914-1975) was born in Oklahoma but adopted Kentucky as his home after attending the University of Louisville. He was a novelist and historian. He contributed works in many genres including: science fiction, detective novels and history. His writings combined his love of Kentucky and history. In 1962 he wrote City of Conflict , a history of Civil War Louisville, Ky. His ancestors were Kentucky pioneers and this fostered in him an interest in pioneer Kentucky and Daniel Boone. He was a contributor to the Filson Club History Quarterly throughout his career and from 1971 to 1975 he edited publications for the Filson Club. In his later years he became involved with promoting Kentucky tourism and partnered with the Kentucky Department of Parks in creating literature to boost tourism. McDowell married Audrea Adams. The couple had one son Robert Emmett McDowell III. McDowell died in Louisville in 1975.
Neal O. Hammon (1925-) is a Louisville architect, writer, and historian. Neal O Hammon spent the early part of his architectural career working with his father, Louisville architect Stratton Hammon. He has always had a keen interest in Kentucky history, particularly the history of pioneer Kentucky and Daniel Boone. He has authored two books, Virginia’s Western War 1775-1786 and Daniel Boone and the Defeat at Blue Licks . He served as editor for two volumes, My Father, Daniel Boone: The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone and Early Kentucky Land Records 1773-1780. Additionally, Hammon has contributed many articles to the Filson Club History Quarterly and the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society .
Scope and Content Note
Collection includes printed and hand-drawn maps, a property survey, an aerial photo, an architectural plan drawn by McDowell and a copy of a newspaper article. The printed maps include: Kentucky Geological Survey Maps, USGS topographic maps of Kentucky, Kentucky highway maps. The drawn maps were created by Neal O. Hammon. Titles include: “Unfinished Map of Kentucky 1785,” “Virginia and the North Carolina Frontier Circa 1780,” and “Central Kentucky 1786.” Some of the maps created by Hammon were printed on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers paper. The drawn maps appear to relate to their research on Kentucky roadways and the history of frontier Kentucky and Daniel Boone. The highway maps are attributed to McDowell’s work for the Kentucky Department of Parks.
List of Folders
Folder 1: Floor plans for a house drawn by Robert E. McDowell; n.d.
Folder 2: “County-Town Kentucky: Map No. 6515,” American Map Co. Inc; n.d.
Folder 3: “Geological Map of KY,” UK KY Geological Survey; 1954 (
Folder 4: “Winslow, W.Va. & Barboursville Quadrangle,” WV and OH (taped together) USGS topographical maps; 1957
Folder 5: Aerial photo of Oxmoor Estate and Sturgis Station, Bowman-Park Aero Co.; n.d.
Folder 6: Photostatic copy of the News and Observer Raleigh , NC 20, October 1935, pg.4; 1968
Folder 7: “State of Kentucky,” USGS; 1976
Folder 8: “Unfinished Map of Kentucky Circa 1785,” January 1969
Folder 9: “Unfinished Map of Kentucky Circa 1785,” with color added; Jan. 1969
Folder 10: “Virginia & N.C. Frontier – 1780,” n.d.
Folder 11: “Central Kentucky 1786,” n.d.
Folder 12: “Composite Drawing from Old Surveys (circa 1800), Franklin Dist. Court,” n.d.
Folder 13: “East-Central U. S. Hist. Map 1750-1790,” by Neal O. Hammon; Nov. 1968
Folder 14: “Boundary Survey of the David Wills Property near Brooks, KY,” by E. A. Gailbreath; 9, March 1972
Folder 15: “Mount Washington Quadrangle, KY,” topo map; 1959
Folder 16: “Shepherdsville, KY,” topo map; 1949
Folder 17: “Brooks, KY,” topo map; 1959
Folder 18: “Samuels Quadrangle, KY,” topo; 1949
Folder 19: Sketches of pioneer roads, forts, and settlements including Wilderness Road; n.d.
Folder 20: “1774-1775 Surveys,” Franklin Co., KY, by Neal O. Hammon; 1974
Folder 21: “Survey at the Falls 1774,” by Neal O. Hammon; n.d.
Folder 22: Kentucky Department of Highways county maps; 1955-1966
Folder 23: Kentucky Tours; n.d.
Subject Headings
Abdullah, Achmed, 1881-1945
Aerial photography – Kentucky – Louisville
Boone, Daniel, 1734-1820
Boone, Daniel, 1734-1820 – Travel
Bowman-Park Aero Company (Louisville, Ky.)
Falls of the Ohio (Ky. and Ind.) – Historical geography – Maps
Frankfort (Ky.)
Franklin County (Ky.)
Frontier and pioneer life – Kentucky
Hammon, Neal O., 1925-
Historians – Kentucky
Indians of North America – Maps
Kentucky – Historical geography
Kentucky – History – 18th century
Kentucky – History – Maps
Kentucky – Maps, Topographic
Kentucky – Maps, Tourist
Kentucky – Surveys
Louisville (Ky.) – History – Maps
Maps
McDowell, Robert Emmett, 1914-1975
North Carolina – History – Maps
Oxmoor (Ky.) – Photographs
Pioneers – Kentucky – Maps
Roads – Kentucky
Roads – Kentucky – Maps
Tourism – Kentucky
Virginia – History – Maps
West Virginia – Maps, Topograpic
Wilderness Road
