Robert George Dunbar was born April 30, 1907 in La Grange, Wisconsin. He married Mary Snell Albertson in 1937 and had two children. He received a B.A. in History with a minor in Spanish from Milton College in Wisconsin in 1929. In 1933 he received his M.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin and earned his PhD in 1935, also from the University of Wisconsin. He taught at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, 1935-1937 and at Colorado State University at Fort Collins, 1937-1947. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy as an instructor at Navy War Orientations Programs in Bainbridge, MD.
He joined the faculty of the History Department at Montana State College in 1947. He was an Associate Professor of History from 1948-1950 and Professor of History from 1950-1973. He served as Director of the Center for Inter-Cultural Affairs from 1968-1973. At M.S.U. he also founded the International Studies Center in 1955, and in 1963, he succeeded in establishing a Peace Corps training program focused on helping agricultural projects in Ecuador.
He was an authority on water rights and irrigation in the Western United States. He was the author of
The Robert Dunbar papers consist of research, drafts, and speeches documenting to his teaching career and academic scholarship. The first series contains Dunbar's teaching files and includes periodicals, pamphlets, maps, lecture notes, and syllabi related to the courses he taught. A professor of history, Dunbar taught on a wide variety of subjects including ancient civilizations, medieval Europe, modern Europe, American foreign policy, the American west, and history of agriculture.
The series two is the most extensive, and features drafts and research for Dunbar's scholarly publications, speeches, and general research on agricultural history. This series contains voluminous files related to his research for the article "The Initiation of the McNary-Haugen Movement in Montana and the Pacific Northwest," which he co-author Marguerita ("Rita") McDonald and focuses on farm relief programs in the mid-1920s. It also contains extensive research for his articles "Economic Development of the Gallatin Valley" and "History of Agriculture." Materials related to Dunbar's speeches included notes, transcripts, and correspondence. Topics of his talks include the Spanish Civil War, European conditions pre-World War II, the United Nations, and the development of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). He also maintained a large array of general research files on topics in agricultural history.
The last three series document to Dunbar's involvement with Montana State College (later Montana State University) activities and professional organizations. They include files related to his work with the Curriculum and Instruction Committee, as his work as Director for the Center for Inter-Cultural Affairs, founder of the International Studies Center, establishment of a Peace Corps program (Ecuador/Heifer), and involvement in the International Farm Youth Exchange program. Files on professional organizations include the Great Plains Foundation, The Montana Farmers Union, and the Agricultural History Society.
The bulk of Robert G. Dunbar's Papers were donated by the Department of History and Philosophy of Montana State University - Bozeman in 2000. Several smaller accessions were incorporated into the collection: Collections 1166, 1168, 1266, 1367, 1402, 2088 were donated by Robert G. Dunbar from 1974-1984, and Collection 1154 was donated by Edward J. Bell and Robert G. Dunbar in 1985.
Robert Dunbar's papers have been organized into five series with his individual files maintained as much as possible as he originally created them. Dunbar frequently reused paper so a great deal of his hand written and typed notes are on the reverse side of other materials. Care has been taken to retain the order and integrity of this material as much as possible. Correspondence was distributed both within relevant files and chronologically in a set of general files.
Series 1: Teaching Files, 1930-1971
Series 2: Research Files, 1936-1983
Subseries 1: Publications Research, 1940-1983
Subseries 2: Speeches, Addresses and Talks, 1936-1969
Subseries 3: Agricultural History and Organizations Research, undated
Series 3: Montana State University Development and Programs, 1948-1972
Series 4: Agricultural Organization mMmbership, 1949-1980
Series 5: Bibliography, Professional and Personal Correspondence, and Ephemera, 1937-1986
This collection was processed 2009 April 22. In 2025, a folder of restricted, confidential, information about students and colleagues was removed and destroyed.
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT
Files containing research notes, term papers, newspaper clippings, brochures, maps, copies of articles, lecture notes, syllabi, lecture outlines, bibliographies, collected subject files resulting from personal history courses taken and history courses taught during Mr. Dunbar' career.
The courses are arranged chronologically by course year. It is unclear whether courses dating from the mid-1930s are classes Dunbar attended as a student or taught. Subject files are arranged alphabetically with the newspaper files and maps finishing up the series.
Series 2 has been arranged in 3 sub-series: 1. Research files identified with publications; "Washington the Farmer," "History of Agriculture," "The Farmer and the American Way," "The Economic Development of the Gallatin Valley," "The Initiation of the McNary-Haugen Movement in Montana and the Pacific Northwest," and "Forging New Rights in Western Waters;" 2. Research files created for speeches, talks and presentations having topics of pre-World War II conditions, the United Nations and the USDA; 3. his remaining files on agricultural history include agricultural organizations, general nature within subject areas related to his professional activities and interests.
This subseries contains research files related to Dunbar's published scholarship. Research files identified with the following publications: "Washington the Farmer;"
Research files for "The Initiation of the McNary-Haugen Movement in Montana and the Pacific Northwest" are the most well represented in this series and feature photocopies of original reports, newspaper articles, correspondence, meeting minutes, and hearings. They also include Dunbar's notes, timelines, and bibliographies. Individuals featured in the research files include E. J. Bell, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight R. Cresap, Chester C. Davis, Hubert Edbert, Frank R. Gooding, Gilbert N. Haugen, Herbert Hoover, George J. Jewett, Edward C. Johnson, Eugene Meyer, Jr., Frank W. Mondell, Charles L. McNary, Walter J. Robinson, James S. Shideler, John W. Summers, O. F. Tate, Henry C. Taylor, Samuel R. Thompson, William L. Thompson, Henry C. Wallace, Frank J. Wilmer and M.L. Wilson. The activities of American Wheat Growers Associated, Inc., the Montana Export Commission League, the Washington Export League, the Portland Chamber of Commerce and reports of the Colfax, Washington meeting, Spokane meeting, and Meyer-Mondell mission are represented in distinct files. The remainder of these papers are research and a draft for an earlier article in 1969 on the McNary-Haugen bill by Rita McDonald, a typed set of notes, chronology of events and table of contents by Rita McDonald, drafts, critiques, footnotes, corrections of the final article, and an extensive exchange of correspondence with some enclosures between the two authors.
There are also extensive research files for his article "Economic Development of the Gallatin Valley." These files contain collected notes on sawmills, flour mills, coal mines, creameries and agricultural businesses; interviews with Elmer Bartholomew, Walter Cooper, Donald Corcoran, C.S. Kenyon, Rex Labertew, C.B. Moore, George Morgan, George R. Porter, George P. Reller, Frank Stone, Norman L. Towne, Charles Vandenhook and Lee H. Williams; papers (Seed Pea industry and lumber industry).
His research on
His files for the "History of Agriculture" chapter on Colorado include research on dry land farming, fruit and melon industries, lamb and sheep rearing, potatoes, migrant workers and immigration, radicalism, suffrage, rural free delivery, and the San Luis Valley.
This subseries contains research files created for Dunbar's speeches or addresses. They include two speeches to unknown audience on the Spanish Civil War and conditions in Europe 1936, a talk to the Rotary Club - 1939; a Farmer-Labor Institute talk, 1958; several talks on the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1964-69; and a United Nations Day address, 1961.
This subseries contains Dunbar's general research files on agricultural history. These files feature bibliographies, notes, copies of journal articles, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, essays, maps, brochures, transcriptions of interviews and correspondence. These files cover research on Montana agricultural history, the Farm Bureau, National Farmers Organization, National Farmers Union, Non-Partisan League, Grange, Equity, Farmers Alliance, the Land Grant College System, water resources, climate, crops and livestock, the American frontier and westward movement, machinery, land policy, snow surveys, and rural sociology. Special topics include the Holland Settlement in Montana, Fairway Farm Project, Kinsey Flats/Case-Wheeler Projects, M. L. Wilson - taped remembrances of Edward Bell and Dr. Robert Dunbar, and the seed pea industry in Gallatin County, Montana.
Transcriptions of interviews include Jack Taylor, Hobart E. Myrick, Mildred K. Stoltz, E. A. Willson, Elmer Starch and John G. Parker; addresses by Roland R. Renne and R. G. Dunbar.
Also included are materials on Napoleonic France, Europe, and sundry topics of historical interest. The files were not identifiable as related to any particular work product of Robert Dunbar's but were used for publications, lectures, talks, speeches and conferences. The files have been arranged alphabetically by topic. * (These items filed with audio/visual materials).
Files associated with Dr. Dunbar's career at Montana State University. These include his role as a member of the Curriculum and Instruction Committee including correspondence with numerous faculty members, Director for the Center for Inter-Cultural Affairs, founder of the International Studies Center, establishment of a Peace Corp program (Ecuador/Heifer) - includes extensive correspondence with Ray and Verena Borton of the Agricultural Development Council, Inc., the International Farm Youth Exchange program, and papers related to these programs.
Included are files for: 1. The Great Plains Foundation where he served as chairman of the committee for its original organization, papers include drafts of proposals, by-laws and correspondence relative to setting up the foundation; 2. The Montana Farmers Union for which he served on the Education Task Force. There is correspondence between Margaret Bucher, Director of Education about talks to the State School program and the Writer's Project, Ralph R. Cook regarding talks at picnics and camps across Montana and Leonard Kenfield as President of Montana Farmers Union. Also, he and Mildred K. Stoltz corresponded extensively about her history of the Montana Farmers Union. Research notes, publications (brochures, pamphlets, etc.) are interspersed in the files. Policy positions of the National Farmers Union and a set of Pioneer, the newsletter of the Educational Dept. complete the papers; 3. The Agricultural History Society where he was on the Editorial Board and later was President (1966-67), included are letters from Everett E. Edwards, Wayne D. Rasmussen, Vernon Carstensen and other editors, copies of reviews he wrote, missives on the hopes of a committee on World Agricultural History at the FAO and letters to authors with critiques and encouragement.
The files consist of lists of books, articles and reviews authored by Robert G. Dunbar, copies of some of the articles (published items present in the library are individually cataloged), a file on the Dead Sea Scrolls, a set of personal and professional correspondence (with some enclosures) chronologically arranged, personal correspondence and loose papers and personal ephemera. Letters of recommendation from students and colleagues for educational institutions, organizations and government agencies are restricted. **