Horace L. Scott was born on April 15, 1885, in Brattleboro, Vermont, the son of Freeman and Lizzie Ann Adams Scott. Scott's sister Minnie was born in 1878. During the late summer or early fall of 1910, Scott came to Montana and quickly secured work with the United States Reclamation Service as a junior engineer. He served in this position until his promotion to assistant engineer in 1915. Scott's employment with the Reclamation Service continued until the mid-1920s. In writing to his parents, nearly one letter a week, Scott revealed a devotion to family and a keen interest in photography. An avid photographer, Scott was eclectic in his choice of subjects, ranging from Glacier National Park scenery, to horses, hunting, and automobiles. Developing many of these photographs himself, Scott sent examples to his parents and older sister. Scott returned to Vermont in either 1924 or 1925, where on February 12, 1925, he married Edith Marion Knight. Following his wedding, Scott went to work for the Sherman Construction Company at Bellow Falls, Vermont, as an engineer. Scott never returned to Montana. He died in the early 1970s.
Papers. 1910-1924. 0.5 linear foot. The collection consists of five series: Outgoing Correspondence, Incoming Correspondence, Miscellaneous Correspondence, Reports, and Miscellany. The Outgoing Correspondence (1910-1918; most of 1912 is missing) for the most part are letters Scott wrote to his parents in Brattleboro, Vermont, describing the Glacier National Park area--including Saint Mary, Babb, Fletcher, Browning, and Family, Montana--weather conditions, hunting trips, holiday and social activities, travel through Glacier Park, the early automobiles and how they fared on Montana's roads, daily meals, living conditions, and personal concerns. Although employed by the Department of the Interior, U.S. Reclamation Service, Scott rarely made mention of it in his letters. The remaining outgoing correspondence is composed of letters (1912-1915) from Scott to his sister, Minnie Ann Scott, a resident of Brattleboro, Vermont, and a single letter (1918) from Scott to a Captain Heath in Bozeman regarding Scott's applications for admission to an artillery training camp. The Incoming Correspondence (1918-1924) includes letters from the United States Indian Service, Blackfeet Agency supervisor regarding Scott's successful bid on the allotment of Steals-in-the-Daytime Stabs-by-Mistake; the chief engineer of the Chicago and North Western Railway Company answering Scott's inquiry about a job; a friend with the First Army, American Expeditionary Force during World War I; and letters of reference for Scott. The Miscellaneous Correspondence (1913) consists of a form letter from the general agent of the Great Northern Railway Company to Minnie Scott regarding publications about Glacier National Park, round trip rates, accommodations, touring the park, and many of the interesting points in the park. The collection also contains Reports (circa 1919, 1924, undated) prepared by Scott in his capacity as an engineer for the U.S. Reclamation Service, on the Blackfeet Project, Fisher Canal, the Four Horns Supply Canal, the Milk River Project, and the Two Medicine Canal. The Miscellany series contains employment applications (1910-1920) and a notebook (undated) with notes regarding parcels of land in or near the irrigation projects. Photographs were transferred to the Photograph Archives.
Arrangement by series. Some material housed in Archives Map Case. See inventory below for more information.
Collection open for research.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. The Library & Archives does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. Helena, Montana.
Acquisition Information available upon request.
Maps separated to Library. Photos separated to Photo Archives. See inventory below for more information.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.