John Davidson Letcher, a Virginia native and son of Virginia's Confederate Governor, graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1873 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He joined the staff of the State Agricultural College in 1888 with a double appointment as Professor of Mathematics and Engineering and Professor of Military Science and Tactics. Following the death of President B. L. Arnold, Letcher was named Acting President of the college until the appointment of John M. Bloss later that year. In 1894, Letcher took a position as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oregon. In 1896 he returned to Virginia where he remained until his death in 1938.
The President's Office Records of John D. Letcher contain six letters from Wallis Nash, Secretary of the Board of Regents, to John D. Letcher between February 16 and February 27, 1892. The correspondence pertains to various administrative matters including student enrollment, Letcher's appointment to Acting President, details of a memorial service for B. L. Arnold, the appointment of J.D. Horner as Chair of English, the prohibition of tobacco in campus buildings, and an exhibit at the World's Fair. Additional correspondence from the Letcher administration can be found in the President's Office Records of John M. Bloss, Series I.
In addition to the original paper documents, a partial, microfilmed copy of this collection is available upon request.
The President's Office Records of John D. Letcher are arranged into one series: I: Correspondence, February 1892. All correspondence is arranged chronologically.
The collection is open for research.
The President's Office Records of John D. Letcher (RG 013 - SG 02), Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
These records were transferred to the University Archives by the OSU President's Office. The collection is now held by the Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Research Center.
Reports spanning Letcher's term as acting presidency can be found in Subgroup 12 of the President's Office Records. Additional collections relating to the presidents of Oregon State University include