AHJ_ah400038 Inventory of the William Harlow Reed papers, 1897-1961 Reed (William Harlow) papers Processed by D.C. Thompson University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/
2006

University of Wyoming

 Finding aid encoded by D.C. Thompson March, 2006 Finding aid is in English William Harlow Reed Papers, 1897-1961 Collection number: 400038 University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. Publication date: 2005 Contact Information American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/ March, 2006

"©" 2006 University of Wyoming

 Collection Summary Reed, William Harlow William Harlow Reed papers 1897-1961 400038 .10 cubic ft. (1 box) University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. English Correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and printed material created by and concerning William Harlow Reed, a discoverer of dinosaur fossils in Wyoming, who had a prominent career in paleontology at the University of Wyoming and elsewhere.. Biography or History

William Harlow Reed (1848-1915) headed the Department of Paleontology at the University of Wyoming in the early 1900s. He also curated the paleontological museum (1899-1915). Reed arrived in Wyoming as an employee of the Union Pacific Railroad. While acting as section foreman and station agent near Como Bluff, Wyoming, in 1877, he discovered fossilized dinosaur bones in the rocks, which he brought to the attention of famed dinosaur collector O.C. Marsh. Although Reed was a self-taught geologist and paleontologist, his knowledge of the country where dinosaur fossils could be found won him positions with the Peabody Museum at Yale, the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, and the University of Wyoming. In his last years, he engaged in sheep ranching in Shirley Basin, Wyoming, in partnership with George Bird Grinnell.

Reed's children were Oscar (with his first wife, Florence Bovee) and William and Dorothy (with second wife Anna E. Clark). Dorothy married George W. Patterson, a court reporter and prosecuting attorney of Albany County, Wyoming.

 Scope and Content

The William Harlow Reed papers include correspondence of Reed's daughter, Dorothy Reed Patterson, and her husband George W. Patterson with A.S. Coggeshall, Carl O. Dunbar (director of the Peabody Museum), and Dick Brown (director of Alumni Relations at the University of Wyoming) concerning the life of William Harlow Reed; a biographical sketch of Reed written by George W. Patterson (1961); photographs of Reed and the Reed family camping and quarrying dinosaur bones; photographs of the interior of the UW paleontological museum during Reed's tenure (ca. 1899-ca. 1915); and printed material regarding Reed and dinosaurs.

 Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

 Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

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There are no known other archival collections created by William Harlow Reed at the date of processing.

The materials were donated by George W. and Dorothy Patterson from 1961-1964 and Virginia Ann "Clark" Clemons in 2024.

The collection was re-processed by D.C. Thompson in March 2006 and updated by Jamie J. Greene in September 2024.

Item Description, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

 Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at https://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~97~97.

 Access Terms Patterson, George W. Patterson, Dorothy Reed University of Wyoming. Geological Museum Paleontology--Wyoming Fossils--Wyoming Dinosaurs--Wyoming Diplodocus Como Bluff (Wyo.) Laramie (Wyo.) <?xm-replace_text {Title as Subject}?> Education Colleges and Universities Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Science, Technology and Health Wyoming Container List 11 Correspondence 1904-1960 12 Manuscript - "A Very Brief Sketch or Biography of the Life of William Harlow Reed-Pioneer Paleontologist", by George W. Patterson 1961 13 Manuscript - "A Tale of Diplodocus Reed", by George W. Patterson undated 14 Newspaper Clippings 1931-1956 15 Photographs: Camps and Camping 1899, undated 1Photographs: Family, friends, colleagues, and students1910-1929 1Photographs: Fossil Quarries, Fossils, and camps with students, family, and colleagues1910-1929 16 Photographs: Fossil Quarries undated 17 Photographs: Reed Home and Family 1904, undated 18 Photographs: Reed, William Harlow and Coggeshall, Arthur S. 1899, undated 19 Photographs: University of Wyoming Museum circa 1899-circa 1915 110 Photographs: Wyoming Scenery 1897, undated 111 Printed Material 1949-1959, undated