Frank Hubert Rose was born in Cherokee County Kansas on April 18, 1886. He attended the University of Oklahoma and the University of Colorado where he studied range management. After graduating from college, Rose worked as a United States Forest Service district ranger in Colorado, Wyoming, and eastern Montana. In 1923, at the age of 37, he was appointed superintendent of the National Bison Range in Moiese, Montana.
In 1930, Rose left the National Bison Range and moved to Missoula, Montana. He lived in the lower Rattlesnake Valley where he owned and operated a native plant nursery and seed collection business titled Northern Rocky Mountain Native Evergreens. As part of his business activities, Rose collected partially processed seeds and whole plants that were then sold to pharmaceutical companies or in the horticulture trade. He travelled throughout the western Montana region to collect native plants including the Lewis and Clark Pass, the Blackfoot River, Packers Meadow, around Dillon, and the Big Hole Valley. In addition to collecting plants to support his business, Rose also created significant personal collections of native plants. Beginning in the 1950s, between 2000 and 2500 of Rose’s specimens were acquired by the University of Montana Herbarium, representing a significant contribution to the Herbarium’s collection of native plant species.
Rose married Alma Brashear Cooper in 1915. The couple had three children, Robert, Rachel, and Hubert. They divorced in 1930. Rose married Louise Ewan, a botany student he had hired to assist in his seed collection activities, in 1951. The married couple collected seeds and plants together, with Louise supplementing their income by teaching poetry at the University of Montana. Frank Rose died in Missoula on December 27, 1969.
The collection consists of materials produced and collected by Rose from the late 1920s until his death including writings, correspondence, notebooks, financial records, research materials, and plant descriptions. The bulk of the collection consists of personal and business related correspondence.
The collection is divided into four series:
Series I: Writings, 0.3 linear feet, 1926-1956
Series II: Correspondence, 1.7 linear feet, 1931-1968
Series III: Financial Records, 0.3 linear feet, 1936–1941
Series IV: Research Materials, 0.5 linear feet, 1968 and undated
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright transferred to the University of Montana.
[Name of document or photograph number], Frank H. Rose Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
Materials were in custody of Robert Rose until donation to the Archives in 2000. An additional donation of research materials was made in 2015 by the UM Herbarium.
Original order of collection consisted of writings organized alphabetically by subject and correspondence organized chronologically. A series arrangement was created based around this original order. Materials were received un-foldered and new folder titles have been created to reflect folder contents. Fungi research materials in Series IV were removed from a broken binder and placed in several folders based on original groupings. Un-annotated published materials have been removed.
The Bison Range Oral History Project (OH 149) at the Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections contains audio recordings and transcripts of an interview with Frank H. Rose. Additionally, the James R. Habeck research collection (MSS 817) contains materials about Frank H. Rose.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
This series consists of writings on various subjects, arranged alphabetically. The bulk of the writings are on plant and animal subjects, including writings that were published as articles in regional and national gardening society publications.
This series contains correspondence between Rose and various individuals on both personal and business matters. The bulk of the correspondence consists of exchanges with customers of Rose’s Northern Rocky Mountain Native Evergreens business.
This series consists of two bound notebooks containing handwritten documentation of business related financial transactions.
This series consists of research materials compiled by Frank Rose including field notes, descriptions, observations, and plant comparisons.
Images appear to be sourced from print publications, including United States Department of Agriculture publications.