Ohio River Valley Environmental History Resources

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Ohio River Valley environmental history resources

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The Filson Historical Society holds collections that document human interaction with the Ohio River Valley’s natural resources from the 1700s thru the 2000s. This page highlights some of these collections based on topic, and provides tips on how to identify more in our catalogs and databases.

Under each topic, collections are listed chronologically, oldest to most recent. The call numbers are listed in brackets [ ] after the collection title. Links are provided for collections with scans, finding aids, or longer descriptions.

Contents

Commentary and observations
Identity and meaning
River business and transportation
Agriculture and horticulture
Other businesses
Conservation and activism
Urban planning
Recreation
Natural disasters

Landscape painting of horses in a pasture underneath a tree with no leaves. There is a farm field with rows of crops in the background and a bend in a river with a steamboat. The painting is in very bright neon colors including strong pinks, yellows, greens, purples, reds and blues. The painting was done on treated paper that has been glued onto a painted canvas that borders the scene. The background canvas is a denim blue wash. Signed in the lower left corner of the paper.

Horses and Steamboat on the Ohio River
by Norman Kohlhepp (1892-1986). [2018.13.1]

Commentary and observations

Visitors and residents of the region have recorded their impressions of the environment. Written, visual, and artistic sources document weather, climate, wildlife, land, waterways, and people’s interactions with the Ohio River Valley.

Sepia tone photograph of a man and woman standing in a river, with the water up to their thighs. They are preparing to lean the woman back into the water.

Photograph of an unidentified Black woman being baptized in a river in Pulaski County, Kentucky, ca. 1890s. [021PC50.014]

Travelogues

Travelogues were a popular genre of nonfiction books in the 18th-early 20th century. They varied in purpose, from entertainment for the curious to marketing to entice people to move. Writers describe their travel route and method, the environment, and people they interacted with along their journey. Click on these subjects to browse our library catalog for rare books: Ohio River and Kentucky

Baker, Peter Wager, 1818-1867. Diary and memo book, 1835-1838. 1 volume. [Mss. A B168 Vault] 

Diary and memorandum book of Peter Wager Baker, a seventeen-year-old resident of Philadelphia who keeps an account of a trip west to Courtland, Alabama by train and steamboat in 1835. The diary includes a description of Baker’s travels down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Louisville, Kentucky aboard the steamboat Selma (p. 21-36). 

Keenan family. Papers, 1842-1880. .33 cubic feet. [Mss. A K26a]

Includes James H. Keenan’s daily record of weather conditions in Hardinsburg, Kentucky, from 1871-1880

Louisville Title Insurance Company. Maps, 1779-1906.  [Mss. BO L888a Oversize Folder 1] 

Manuscript map of area adjacent to Ohio River shoreline, from Jackson to Hancock Streets in Louisville, Kentucky. Map shows a series of low water lines, extending northward, from 1830 to 1870. 

Thruston, Rogers Clark Ballard. Mountain Photograph Collection, 1882-1905. [947PC1]

Photographs taken in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. The photographs capture people, structures, natural landscapes, and industry. In 1882, Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston (1858-1946) was hired as a geological assistant under Albert Rogers Crandall of the Kentucky Geological Survey. The Survey’s goal was to explore and record the natural resources in Appalachian counties. Thruston helped survey, photograph, and document the region. For more information, click here.

The Kentucky Caver newsletter, August 1986. The newsletters published detailed surveys of caves in the region. [Mss. A B985 Stuart Butler papers]

Ross, J. Donald. Diary, 1922. 15 pages. [Mss. A R824] 

1922 diary about a canoe trip down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from Louisville, Kentucky, to Luxora, Arkansas. Notes weather conditions, fishing, and camping. Campsites include West Point and Owensboro, Kentucky; Evansville, Indiana; and Cairo, Illinois.

Tracy, Glen, b. 1883. Drawings, 1927-1939. 6 items. [Mss. C T] 

Collection includes six of Tracy’s original landscape drawings that depict scenes from the Ohio and Whitewater rivers. Drawings highlight natural scenery and two of the six depict river life. They portray people and houses along the river as well as shanty boats. 

Naturalist surveys and documentation, 1960s-2000s

Regional conservation-focused clubs have organized bird, bat, cave, and tree surveys and other documentation projects in Kentucky. See the Conservation and activism section for more information.

For other resources in the library catalog, click on the subjects below:

maps with rivers, geological maps, natural resources

For other images and artifacts, click on the subject links below:

cave, creek, forests and forestry, landscape, river, tree

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Photograph of pawpaw trees with fruit in Pike County, Kentucky, taken by Albert Rogers Crandall in 1883. [RCBT-MT-226]

Identity and meaning

Some residents’ expressions of their identity and way of life is enmeshed in their interpretations of the environment.

Hubbard, Harlan, 1900-1988. Collections [2024.36, 024PC34]

The Filson is home to a collection of Harlan Hubbard’s (1900–1988) manuscripts, books, art, and photographs that capture his and Anna Eikenhout Hubbard (1902-1986)’s lives along the Ohio River and his vision of simple, sustainable living. Circa 1970s-80s photographs depict the couple working in their home and on their land, and interacting with nature at Payne Hollow. The bulk of the materials were collected and donated by Vincent Kohler and Debra Sabia. For books by Hubbard, see the library catalog here.

Stepleton, Donald Dufour, 1909-2003. Papers and Photographs [Mss. A S837, 024PC15 ] 

Donald “Don” Dufour Stepleton (1909-2003) lived near the Ohio River in Switzerland County, Indiana, for much of his life. His journals from the Great Depression document his yearning for a shanty boat life (folders 58-59) and his solo boat trips on the Ohio and Mississippi River in 1935 and 1937 (folders 64-67). Photographs document his boating trips on the Ohio River. For a sample of the photographs, click here.

Black and white photograph of a man seated in a rocking chair. He is surrounded by wooden sculptures.

Photograph of Marvin Finn with artwork, taken by Geoff Carr in 1988. [023PC16.13]

Finn, Marvin. Museum collection [2018.50.1-3, 2019.13.3-5, 2025.18.1]

Wildlife sculptures carved and painted by Louisville folk artist Marvin Finn (1913-2007). He grew up on a farm in Alabama before moving to Louisville in 1940. His connection with his roots inspired his depiction of animals in his toys and sculptures. For more information on the objects, click here.

LaFrance, Helen, 1919-2020. Laundry Day, circa 1970-2020. 18×24 inches [2017.20.1]

Oil painting of a laundry day outside in rural Mayfield, Kentucky. African American artist Helen LaFrance grew up on a farm in Graves County, where her mother taught her to paint. LaFrance’s paintings capture scenes of western Kentucky farm life. For more information on this piece, click here.

Landscape with a white farmhouse in the middle ground and trees framing wither side. There are 4 figures working outside on the farm with various animals throughout the landscape. There are also two laundry lines with bright quilts hanging on them. There is a bright blue sky with wispy clouds. Signed

Laundry Day painting by Helen LaFrance (1919-2020), circa 1970-2020. [2017.20.1]

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River business and transportation

Thixton, Lillian Walker. Papers, 1830-1964. 3 boxes, 1 vol. [Mss. A T448 35, page 34] 

A table of distances from Louisville, Kentucky, to New Orleans, Pittsburgh and other destinations by waterway on steamboats. Water routes on the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Cumberland, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, and other rivers are listed.

Louisville and Portland Canal Company. Roll book, 1881-1888. 1 vol. [Mss. BB L888b] 

Roll book of hired men working for the Louisville and Portland Canal Company between 1881 and 1888 providing a monthly breakdown of wages for carpenters, dredgers, drillers, blacksmiths, laborers, water laborers, and water boys. It also lists the wages for the superintendent, clerk, and lock master. 

Dugan, Madison. 1860-1917. Diaries, 1886-1917. 95 vols., 4 r.c. boxes. [Mss. A D866] 

Diaries kept by Madison Dugan, captain of ferries between Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana, record daily events in the two cities and on the Ohio River. River News notes the daily weather and water levels at the canal and on the falls, arrivals and departures, accidents, and descriptions of boats and their cargoes. There are typed transcripts of this collection in the library.

Dugan Family Papers, 1866-1936. .33 cubic feet. [Mss. A D866a]

Collection contains papers relating to steamboats on the Ohio River. Included are U.S. Inspector’s certificates of Madison Dugan from 1888 and 1889; three Dugan date books, 1888-1892, briefly listing his boat, his duties and local and river news; and newspaper clippings and photographs with notes cut from Dugan’s diaries. For more information, click here.

Evan Bone Photograph Collection, ca. 1880-1930 [009PC7]

Includes photographs related to Evan Bone’s job working on Lock and Dam 39 on the Ohio River between Switzerland County, Indiana, and Gallatin County, Kentucky. There are also photographs of Normal, Kentucky, during the 1913 Flood, and Lock and Dam 29 at Ashland, Kentucky, in the 1913 Flood. For sample digitized photographs, click here.

Hatfield Steamboat Fleet Photograph Collection, circa 1900-1940 [989PC30] 

Photographs of steam towboats in the Hatfield Fleet, owned and operated by James T. Hatfield of Covington, Kentucky. For sample digitized photographs, click here.

For other images, click on the subject links below:

ferries, steamboats, locks

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Agriculture and horticulture

The Filson’s collections are particularly strong in 19th-early 20th century agriculture and horticulture, including crop cultivation, animal husbandry, ornamental and vegetable gardening, and trade of agricultural goods.

Color photograph of a woman standing at a specialty table and holding a shovel like tool. To her left, a thick liquid is pouring out of a barrel on to the table.

Skimming Sorghum, ca. 1940s-1950s, by H. Harold Davis. [023PC10 Box 20]

Stow family. Papers, 1820-1923. [Mss. A S891]. 6 cu. ft.

This collection centers on several generations of the Stow family, Methodists and farmers in Switzerland County, Indiana, in the 19th century. Agricultural work is often commented upon in their correspondence and diaries. For a longer description, click here.

Myers, Jacob and Augustine C. Respess. Account book, 1819-1830. [Mss. A M996a] 

Entries by Respess in an account and memorandum notebook describe various transactions relating to farming operations and trade in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Some of the major transactions involved hemp, a major crop on Respess’ plantation. Other transactions include the hiring out of the people he enslaved to neighboring farms. He lists names of the enslaved people, their assignments and income derived.

Miles Family. Records, 1849-1940. 1 volume, 66 items. [Mss. A M643a 1]

Record book kept by Edward L. Miles contains accounts for the operation of his farm at Clifton near Bardstown, Kentucky and then at Sugar Grove near New Hope, Nelson County. Diary entries for the years 1867 and 1870 record his gardening activities. Miles mentions varieties of flowers and plants, and the catalogs from which he purchased them.

Photograph of a reddish brown garden hoe.

Garden hoe used to weed and loosen the soil around ginseng and other small plant crops. [1983.1.38]

Schwartz, Carl Theodore, 1818-1908. Journal, 1854-1871 [Mss. A S399]

Schwartz gives detailed accounts of his Jefferson County, Kentucky, farm lay-out and agricultural activities throughout the journal. He was particularly interested in viniculture and described the types of grape vines he grew, their susceptibility to local climate and disease, and the amount of wine each type yielded.

Jones, Carridder. Collection, 2000-2002. 0.66 cu. ft. [Mss. A J76 Folders 1-2]

This collection contains transcripts of oral history interviews conducted by Carridder Jones from 2000-2002, for a project Historic African American Neighborhoods in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The bulk of the interviews describe Black life in the 1920s-1970s. In the interviews, residents speak about family vegetable gardens, fruit trees, chickens, cows, hogs, and large farms. See transcripts for Minne Alta Broaddus (1911-2009), Laura E. Brooks (1907-2013), and Chester L. Trowel (b. 1919) of Harrods Creek and Prospect; Juanita Pope Bone (b. 1926) and Sarah Jones (b. 1914) of Berrytown; and Diana L. Dow (b. 1950), Lula Bald McCoy (b. 1930), and Robert L. Gaskin, Jr. (b. 1933) of Griffeytown. For the digitized transcripts, click here.

Haldeman, Anne Bruce (1903-1993) Landscape Design Records, 1929-1986. 3.5 cubic feet. [Mss. AR H159] and Papers, ca. 1928-1993. 12 cubic feet. [Mss. A H159c]

The Anne Bruce Haldeman (1903-1993) collections document her and her partner Louise Leland’s 20th century landscape design work in Kentucky. Haldeman designed landscapes that were historically informed and based upon eighteenth and early-nineteenth century gardens, as well as gardens that were of a more contemporary nature. Materials include drawings, detailed information on plants and landscaping materials used by Haldeman, project notes and correspondence, research files, and photographs. For more information, click here and here.

For other images, click on the subject links below:

agriculture, farm, hay, hemp, tobacco

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Other businesses

Records and photographs on the extraction and processing of natural resources for economic gain, and tools for such actions.

Color postcard of a steel making factory along the Ohio River. Fields and hills are visible in the foreground and background.

Postcard for Open Hearth Steel Works in Ashland, Kentucky. [IDS-91]

White Sulphur and Tar Springs Advertisement, 1 April 1841. [Mss. C W] 

Advertisement touts the health benefits of the spring water, the beauty of the scenery, and the “amusements” provided by the resort near Cloverport, Kentucky. Also gives directions to the facility, lists the prices, and notes the names of the proprietors. 

Copper, F. P. Letters, 1899 Oct. 1-1900 Jul. 18. 32 items. [Mss. C C]

Letters from Salem, Kentucky to F. P. Copper, a trustee of a mining company. Has descriptions of mining lead, zinc and spar; reports on veins of these minerals worked by Copper’s company (also others available for purchase); samples of how owners lease land to mining developers; many requests from workers for Coper to visit and advise; and specific mining companies and their letterheads.

Inter-State Investment Company (Louisville, Ky.) Records, 1887-1927.3 cu. ft. [Mss. BB I61 Volume 13]

Records of a land speculation company formed in 1887 by Charles T. Ballard with family and friends as stockholders. Coal was present on some of the Harlan County, Kentucky, land purchased, and the company compiled maps and studied the coal present to determine its commercial value. Actual mining operations were conducted by Keokee Coal and Coke Company of Keokee, Virginia (vol. 13).

Photograph of a black helmet with a light attached to the front.

Miner’s helmet with head lamp worn by Robert Leverne Williams (1919-2009) when he worked as an industrial engineer for Standard Oil/Chevron in eastern Kentucky. [2023.35.7]

Anonymous. Diaries, 1917-1923. 2 vols. [Mss. A A616]

Diaries from 1917-1918 and 1922-1923 examine the day to day events in the life of a coal company employee in a supervisory position. Diaries keep track of the man’s work related travels throughout eastern Kentucky. Mentions going down into the mines, loading trucks, and mining equipment.

U.S. Coal and Coke Company Mining. Photograph album, 1919-1920 [021PC20]

Photographs capturing the breadth of the construction projects in the building of Lynch, Kentucky, between 1919 and 1920. Lynch was a mining company town built by the U.S. Coal and Coke Company (a subsidiary of U.S. Steel) from 1917 to 1925 to supply coal for steel production. For more information and digitized photographs,  click here.

Bartlett Family Papers, 1858-1930. 1 cu. ft. [Mss. A B291 Items 3-6, 8-10]

1922-1923 business correspondence, papers, bills, receipts, and payroll books of Austin G. Bartlett, a quarry operator in Russellville, Kentucky. Of interest are Bartlett’s contracts with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to supply the company with crushed stone.

McTighe, John W. (John William), 1949-2005. Papers, ca. 1845-2005. 2 cu. ft. [Mss. A M175a Folder 25]

This collection includes articles, pamphlets, and a thesis pertaining to the history and development of the Louisville Gas and Electric Company during the late 19th century through the late 20th century. John W. McTighe gathered these materials while writing his dissertation on social and economic power in Louisville between 1897 and 1933.

Louisville Industrial Foundation. Records, 1916-1986. 5.5 cu ft [Mss. BB L888c Volume 103]

A pamphlet published by the Louisville Industrial Foundation detailing the available mineral resources for manufacturers in Louisville. The Louisville Industrial Foundation (LIF) was formed in 1916 by the Louisville Board of Trade. The Foundation worked to attract industry to Louisville from its founding until 1950, when the Chamber of Commerce took over that task. For more information, click here.

For other images, click on the subject links below:

industry, mines

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Sepia tone photograph of a woman standing outside of a wooden house. A wooded mountain is in the background.

Photograph of a woman preparing warp for weaving outside of the Lewis family home in Harlan County, Kentucky, 1884. Taken by Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston. [RCBT-MT-126]

Conservation and activism

Organizational records, personal papers, photographs, and print materials provide a snapshot of environmental advocacy. Areas of interest include preventing and mitigating pollution, conserving public lands and waterways, establishing parks, and links between the environment and the health of people and wildlife.

Four personal collections document the founding and first four decades of activity of the Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club, the first chapter in Kentucky, and its later iteration as the Kentucky Chapter. Through these individual donations, we also have issues of the chapter’s newsletter, The Cumberland, from 1967-2009. These individuals were also involved in other environment groups, advisory councils, and state boards.

Wallace, Tom, 1874-1961. Papers, 1925-1960. 23 cubic feet. [Mss. A W194b].

Tom Wallace was a conservationist and editor of The Louisville Times from 1930-1948. Wallace opposed construction of dams on Green River and Cumberland Falls in Kentucky, and supported the creation of state parks. Conservation advocacy and organizing is present in correspondence, reports, speeches, and ephemera in the collection. Wallace’s photograph collection includes promotional photographs for Kentucky state parks. For more information, click here for the papers and here for the photographs.

Neon green 8x11 paper flyer with black text. The design features an older woman washing a child. The child looks in pain from the hard scrubbing.

Printed flyer for a public hearing on water protection policies held in Frankfort, Kentucky, on May 22, 1995. [Mss. A B985a Stuart Butler added papers]

Tichenor, Carroll and Doris. Collection, 1966-2009. 6 cu. ft. [Mss. A T555].

Correspondence, court documents, organizational records, and ephemera collected by Carroll and Doris Tichenor and related to the couple’s environmental activism, which spanned from the late 1960s through the early twenty-first century. Of particular interest are items related to the early years of the Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club, including material related to efforts to save Red River Gorge in Kentucky from a proposed dam in 1966-1967. The collection also contains newsletters and correspondence related to the national Sierra Club, and material from the Tichenors’ efforts to stop the Eastern Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) from constructing a transmission cable that would cross their property. Also included are a number of environmental reports, compiled by both governmental and private agencies, related to Kentucky and the nation at large. For more information, click here.

Bennett, Betsy Rudd, 1948-. Environmental papers, 1985-1997. 5 cu. ft. [Mss. A B471]

Documents Betsy Bennett’s service in the Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) and the Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club. The papers include EQC meeting notes, memorandum, and minutes; agendas for public forums and EQC meetings; and correspondence between the EQC and other organizations. Newspaper clippings on the topics of the EQC–poultry processing, swine regulation, clean water, drought management, fish kills, waste and waste management, forestry, and local environmental issues pertaining to Kentucky and surrounding states–can be located within their respective folders by month and/or date. For more information, click here.

Butler, Stuart L., 1931-2006. Papers, 1966-2006 [Mss. B985]. Added papers [Mss. B985a].

Papers collected by Stuart Butler while involved in the Sierra Club, Bluegrass Grotto, Buckley Hills Audubon Society, Kentucky River Basin Steering Committee, Lake Cumberland Trust, and local citizens councils. Butler was a resident of Versailles, Kentucky, and active in caving and environmental activism. For more information, click here and here.

Kentucky Society of Natural History. Records, 1939-1994. [Mss. BH K37a]

The Kentucky Society of Natural History Records detail the organization’s finances, member rosters, the annual photograph contest, and board and committee minutes. The society was founded for the purpose of conversation and nature awareness. During the 1970s, the KSNH sponsored educational surveys of trees, wildflowers, and butterflies for elementary and high school students. Newsletters such as the Kentucky Naturalist, chapter newsletters, and monthly bulletins informed members of internal affairs such as the election of officers and meetings, membership dues, and news concerning nature and conservation such as the preservation of the Falls of the Ohio. For more information, click here.

Beckham Bird Club. Records, 1934-2006. 5 cu. ft. [Mss. BK B396], and added records [Mss. BK B396a]. 

The Beckham Bird Club was founded as the Louisville chapter of the Kentucky Ornithological Society. The records of the Beckham Bird Club consist of the minutes of monthly club meetings ranging from the 1935 founding through 2012, and issues of The Observer, the club’s monthly newsletter, ranging from 1968 to 2000. Other materials include newspaper clippings related to the club and to conservation issues; club financial records; birding and bird count records; membership records; and general club correspondence regarding programming special events, committees, and public relations. The Beckham Bird Club was founded as the Louisville chapter of the Kentucky Ornithological Society. For more information, click here and here. 

Barnett, Russell. Tour notes, 2005. 19 pages. [Mss. C B] 

Notes from a tour led in 2005 by Russell Barnett of the Kentucky Institute for the Environment and Sustainable Development. The tour was part of the Filson Historical Society’s 14th Public Conference “A New Look at an Old Problem: Environmental Challenges in the Ohio Valley – Past, Present, and Future.” Barnett’s tour notes examine sites in Jefferson County, Kentucky that are of environmental concern. 

Gathright, Holly H. Scrapbook, 2007-2008. 1 volume. [Mss. SB G259]  

The Holly H. Gathright scrapbook contains collected information from 2007-2008 on surface mining activities in Kentucky, in particular mining projects with an impact on Kentucky’s jurisdictional waters. Included are applications for permits submitted by mining companies to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for approval (in accordance with the Clean Water Act). Also included is a map showing the locations of proposed mining activities, and a summary of applications showing their predicted effect on the state’s waters. 

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Urban planning and parks

Design for Fleming County Cemetery in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, by Benjamin Grove. [991PC1 page 9]

Benjamin Grove Cemetery Design Album, 1856-1897. [991PC1]

Benjamin Grove (1823-1915) designed cemeteries and parks around the eastern United States. The album shows the layout for grave plots, trees, and other landscape elements for cemeteries in Bloomington, Crawfordsville, New Albany, Pennville, Portland, Terre Haute, Union City, and Winchester in Indiana; Ashland, Bowling Green, Danville, Flemingsburg, Frankfort, Lexington, Louisville, Midway, Nazareth, and Winchester in Kentucky; and Gallipolis, Geneva, and Portsmouth in Ohio. For more information and sample scans, click here.

Louisville Parks and Recreation Department. Records, 1890-1956. [Mss. BK L888]

Minute books, letter press books, financial record book, receipt books, park plans, and card file index to the records of the Parks and Recreation Department of Louisville, Kentucky. Also includes a 1916 report on the development, social uses, organizational structure, and management of the properties of the Louisville park and recreation system.

Jones, Carridder. Collection, 2000-2002. 0.66 cu. ft. [Mss. A J76 Folders 2-3]

This collection contains transcripts of 23 oral history interviews, conducted by Carridder Jones from 2000-2002, for a project “Historic African American Neighborhoods in Jefferson County”. Several interviewees speak about the local parks in their neighborhoods. Thurmond Coleman talks about trying to clean up Sky View Park, a park for Black people in Jeffersontown (p. 10-12). Linda Wilson talks briefly about the role of her uncle, James Wilson, in acquiring the land for Sky View Park; the park is now dedicated to him (p. 7, 14). Diana Dow talks about class trips to Chickasaw Park (p. 7). For the digitized transcripts, click here.

Black and white aerial rendering of structures and landscaping along the Ohio River.

Master Plan for Riverfront Park in Brandenburg, Kentucky, February 1999. [Mss. A C561 Folder 42]

Church, Dan. Architectural Drawings, 1977-2016. [Mss. AR C561 / 1-4, 20-22, 34, 56, 59-60, 85] and Church, Dan and Janie. Papers, 1973-2002. [Mss. A C561]

Architectural drawings, proposals, and project files of architect and planner W. Daniel “Dan” Church. A portion of the collections highlights the waterfront planning and urban design work by Church in Brandenburg, Owensboro, and Louisville, Kentucky. The materials range from early conceptual sketches, reference maps, proposals, meeting notes and minutes, finalized master plans, and promotional materials, which illustrate the evolution of these waterfront spaces from initial ideas to completed designs. For more information, click here and here.

For more images, click the subject link below:

parks

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Outdoor recreation

The Filson holds documentation of people enjoying the outdoors. The largest concentration of this subject is in collections on youth summer camps and papers of men active in sportsman’s clubs.

Whitehouse, Jacqueline (1945-2018) KYSOC Collection, 1961-1967 [Mss. A W593] 

This collection consists of documents scrapbooked by Jacqueline “Jackie” Whitehouse, an active member of the Kentucky Society of Crippled Children (KYSOC) Teenage Club. In 1961, KYSOC opened Camp Kysoc in Carrollton, Kentucky, and Jackie documented visits to the camp in her scrapbook. For more information, click here. 

Ethel Hall preparing to swim in Belknap Lake at Camp Chelan near Sellersburg, Indiana, ca. 1917. [015PC18.10]

Young Women’s Christian Association (Louisville, Ky.) Camp Chelan papers, 1925-1929. 5 items. [Mss. C Y] 

Includes four pamphlets for the YWCA’s Camp Chelan dated 1925-1929 and a newspaper clipping featuring a photo of girls at the camp. The 13-acre camp, located on Belknap Lake one mile south of Sellersburg, Indiana, was established to “help girls to learn the joy of living through simple habits, through better understanding of nature, of each other and of God.” Activities included fishing, boating, hiking, tennis, handicrafts, worship, reading, and resting.   

Jewish Community of Louisville. Records, 1896-2022 (bulk: 1980-2020). [Mss. BD J59 / 439-485, 537-538, 552-557]. and photograph collection [022PC1 Folders 19-20]

The Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) and Jewish Community Center (JCC) board and committee minutes from the 1930s-2000s document summer residential camps and day camps in Kentucky, such as Otter Creek, Riccaree, Tall Trees, and Ben F. Washer (439-485). Also of note are a Camp Tapawingo scrapbook from 1931-1940 (537); newsletters and other records related to Camp Riccaree, Tall Trees, and Washer from 1945-1968 (538); and JCC camp programs and materials from the 1960s-2010s (552-557). Photographs of the camps are in folders 19-20 of the photograph collection. For more information on the records, click here.

Grau, Mary. “History of the Pastime Boat Club,” January 1940. 18 pgs. [Mss. C G] 

Covers the founding of the Pastime Boat Club in 1895, describes its various houseboats/ clubhouses, its locations on the Ohio River in Louisville, how members coped with natural disasters such as floods, and general social activities conducted by the club through 1940. The club was created as a place for young men and women to spend their leisure time, and featured, boating swimming and eventually tennis and golf. 

Pastime Boat Club Photograph Collection [016PC29] 

Collection consists of two postcards and seven photographs of the members and clubhouses of the Pastime Boat Club. Incorporated in 1895, the Pastime Boat Club went through various renovations and changes in location, finally landing on a plot down the river from the Louisville City wharf. For sample digitized photographs, click here.

Jones, Carridder. Collection, 2000-2002. 0.66 cu. ft. [Mss. A J76]

This collection contains transcripts of oral history interviews conducted by Carridder Jones from 2000-2002, for the project Historic African American Neighborhoods in Jefferson County, Kentucky. In the interviews, residents speak about hunting and fishing. See transcript for Diana L. Dow (b. 1950) of Griffeytown and Linda Wilson (b. 1950) of Jeffersontown. For the digitized transcripts, click here.

Photograph of a fishing reel.

Silver fishing reel made by B. F. Meek of Louisville, Kentucky, circa 1883-1892. [1947.2]
Bequest of R. C. Ballard Thruston

Rodman, C. D. (Charles Delwyn), 1875-1947. Scrapbook, 1925-1947, 1981. [Mss. SB R693] 

The C. D. Rodman scrapbook documents the social life and activities of a Kentucky family. Charles Rodman was an avid fisherman who participated in fishing expeditions to various lakes. His scrapbook includes images of Harrington Lake and a group expedition on the Kentucky River. Charles Rodman was a life insurance agent for Northwestern Mutual Life in Louisville. He was a member of Louisville’s Juniper Club. 

James G. Stewart Photograph Collection, 1919- ca.1950s [024PC2] 

One box of photographs and a photograph album relating to James G. Stewart’s life as a Louisville business owner and civic leader. Some items, specifically the photo album, are connected to his membership in the Juniper Club, a sportsman club founded by Louisvillians in 1909. There are also personal pictures of James G. Stewart boating, fishing, and hunting with friends. He led a major cleanup of Beargrass Creek. For a sample of digitized photographs, click here.

Butler, Stuart. Photographs, circa 1969-1992 [009PC19]

Collection of photographs taken and compiled by Stuart Butler of various hiking, camping and caving expeditions in Kentucky, including Sierra Club hikes and events. For the finding aid and sample photographs, click here. 

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Scan of an album page. Two photographs of a sail boat are attached to black paper. Text describes the dimensions of the boat.

Scrapbook page on the catamaran called “Iggerson” built by Dupraz and Don Stepleton in May 1932. [024PC15 Folder 50 page 59]

Natural disasters

Flood, wind, tornado, and ice damage have been common in the region over the last 200+ years and are increasing in frequency. Below are some of the Filson’s collections that document major destructive weather events

Compilation of four sepia tone photographs of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, with destruction from a tornado.

Photographs of tornado destruction in Louisville on March 27, 1890. [TOR-1890-16]

1890 Tornadoes

  • The Filson Club (Louisville, Ky.). Tornado of 1890. 1 Box. 13 items. [Mss. BI F489a 1-13] Daviess County, Jefferson County, and Webster County, Kentucky. Click here for more information.
  • Dugan, Madison, 1860-1917. Diaries, 1886-1917. [Mss. A D866 Volume 2]. Jeffersonville, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky. Click here for more information.
  • Mayors of Louisville, Kentucky. Papers, 1870-1909. [Mss. BL M473 Folders 45-49].
  • Subject Photograph Collection. [TOR/1890]. Louisville, Kentucky. Click here for digitized photographs.
  • Louisville Stereocard Collection. [003PC5]. Click here for digitized photographs.
  • Tornado Views of Louisville. Indelible Photographs. Louisville : W. Stuber & Bro., 1890. [Pamphlet 551.55 L888]
  • Louisville, Ky. after the cyclone. March 27, 1890. Louisville, Ky. E. Klauber, 1890. Rare Pamphlet 976.9911 K63 1890

1913 Flood

1937 Flood

1945 Flood

Photograph of trees and debris blocking a road.

View south of Lexington Road looking northeast after the 1974 tornado in Louisville, Kentucky.[995PC41.08]

1974 Tornadoes

  • Tornado of 1974 Photograph Collection. [995PC41]. Louisville, Kentucky. Click here for digitized photographs.
  • Hammon, Neal O. Papers, 1974. 19 items. [Mss. C H]. Henry County and Jefferson County, Kentucky. Click here for more information.
  • Ohlmann, Kyle, 1957-1977. Papers, 1974. 1 item. [Mss. C O]. Louisville, Kentucky. Click here for more information.
  • The Kentucky tornadoes, April 3, 1974. Lubbock, TX : C.F. Boone, Publisher, 1974. [551.55 B724]
  • Tornado!!! : the results of the April 3, 1974 tornado in Breckinridge and Meade Counties. Breckinridge County Herald News, 1974. [551.55 B829]
  • Tornado experiences : transcribed form recording tapes made in 1974. by Underhill, George T. Louisville, Ky. : The Author, 1974. [551.55 U55]

To find references to destructive weather in other collections, use the below search terms:

cyclone, flood, flooding, tornado or tornadoes in the Manuscript Database, at https://filsonhistorical.org/collections/manuscript-database/

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