Winthrop P. Haynes papers, 1880-1981

The Winthrop P. Haynes papers, 1880-1981, contain material related to oil exploration and production in oil fields around the world for Standard Oil Company. Haynes’ travels and experiences are well documented through field notes, reports, journals, expense books, maps, and more than 5,000 photographs. A large amount of personal correspondence also describes these travels, in the form of logs and diaries sent to his family weekly back in the U.S.

Haynes’ U.S. Army Air Service files contain several hundred photographs (some very graphic in nature) taken before, during, and after World War I in France. They depict French and German front lines, trenches and dugouts, camouflage, aerial reconnaissance photos and maps, airplanes, and the destruction of France’s villages, cities, and forts after the war. Of very important note are some photos of German soldiers in their own camps, which were printed off captured German film. There are also photos and plans for front line emplacements and photos of a Balloon Company launching its balloons.

Geology course outlines, notes, exams, and other miscellaneous items illustrate Haynes’ student years at Harvard as well as his teaching career at Radcliffe, Kansas University, Wellesley, and Harvard. The 1908 Shaler Memorial Expedition to Brazil is well documented through photo albums, diaries, and reports, as are the summer school field expeditions to Montana, Colorado, and Canada. Manuscripts and other publications included in the collection are Haynes’ Ph.D. dissertation entitled, “A Contribution to the Geology of the Region About Three Forks, Montana,” as well as other articles written by him, his son Edward, and other colleagues.

A notable item contained in the Haynes Papers is correspondence from a Jewish geologist friend who wrote to Haynes about post-World War II conditions in Central Europe, mainly hunger, as well as about the Nazis during war time. This man and his family attempted to flee from Austria to England but were unsuccessful. They lost everything they owned, but they did survive.