Virginia Vincent was born in Evanston, Illinois on September 25th, 1930 and later moved to Missoula, Montana to study natural history at the University of Montana in 1956. Since 1970 Vincent worked almost every summer season as a fire lookout at the Ninemile Ranger District on Stark Mountain near Lolo National Forest and Alberton, Montana. Throughout her time there as well as living in Missoula, Montana she kept records and observed hundreds of different species of flora and fauna. She particularly kept close observations of local bird populations within western Montana. Vincent wrote extensive diaries of her daily life at Stark Mountain. She also participated in multiple local outdoors and birding communities and worked with the University of Montana Herbarium into the early 2000’s. Virginia Vincent passed away in 2020 in Missoula, Montana.
This collection is arranged into four series that primarily contain notes, journals and field journals, as well as diaries of Virginia Vincent’s time on the Stark Mountain Ninemile Ranger District fire watch tower. The majority of the collection is raw collected data and observations of western Montana flora and fauna created by Vincent from the 1950s to the 2010s.
Series I: Journals and Diaries, 1970-2010, 0.5 linear foot
Series II: Observations, 1956-2011, 2.25 linear feet
Series III: Personal, 1931-2011, 0.25 linear feet
Series IV: Artifact, undated, 0.1 linear feet
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. Non-exclusive intellectual property rights are held by the University of Montana.
Virginia Vincent Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
The material in this collection was held by a friend following Vincent's death.
The Virginia Vincent collection was donated to Archives and Special Collections by her sister, Roberta Shupe, in 2021.
The collection processor foldered materials and organized the the raw data chronologically with each region that each material was respectively recorded in. There are some titles such as “Other Than” which are miscellaneous areas from Western Montana where Vincent recorded bird and other observations. "Other Than" was a categorization that Vincent used herself for field journals and other items that were miscellaneous or that didn't hold much organization.
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.
Pocket Journals with daily notes and Observations of wildlife and weather on Stark Mountain
Ninemile Ranger district, typed notes and diaries of Vincent's time alone on Stark Mountain. [Processor note: reads like a novel]
Mostly typed notes and diaries on Stark Mountain
Within this series, folders with 'observations' contain raw data gathered and created by Vincent.
Most material within each folder is chronologically assembled.
Flathead Valley, Browning Lake, and other regions of western Montana
Bird Observations at Stark mountain Ninemile Ranger District Lolo national forest Montana
Observations, Correspondence Single page, Russ Peterson
Quadrangle Map cutout
Utah, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Tahiti, Australia, and New Zealand Birds
Map cutout of Montana Quadrangle Map
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia, Florida, Mexico Beach
Map of Montana, South of Missoula Quadrangle Map
Individual pocket journals and pamphlet that contain multiple regions with bird Observations in Montana
Quadrangle Map cutout
With Dean Moore, Pocket Field Checklists, Mentions of Stark Mountain but there is no Observations from Stark Mountain
Quadrangle Map cutout of West Glacier
Written Observations in Redhill Oregon and a publication on the Bristled Thighed Curlew
Note cards organized into Index's and species by Virginia Vincent
Missoula, Lolo, and Idaho
A Journal and loose typed paper of all the birds observation by Virginia Vincent
A single field journal
Missing Years 1988-1992
Miscellaneous locations around western Montana
Western Montana and Arizona
Maclay Flats, Mount. Sentinel, Bitterroot Valley, State of Montana and State of Utah
With notes of previous snow levels from 1990-2006
Flora observation note cards, miscellaneous, no order
Observations on bird nesting, not in any order, areas covered are Stark Mountain, bitterroot valley, Missoula, and Metcalf Wildlife refuge
Observation Pamphlets concerning bird species ranging from Central Montana, California, Oregon, Alaska, Utah, Colorado
Short Indexes and Inventories of Bird Life in Western Montana, Upper Rattlesnake, and Eastern Montana, Fort Peck Reservation as well as material related to the Five Valleys Audubon Society
Bird Observations across Missoula Montana, campus, residential, etc.
Including letters from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to Virginia
Miscellaneous papers, and a journal with multiple Observations at various places, very few papers that were organized together
Small Date book with nesting dates of different bird species, sparsely written in.
Newsletter published by the fourth grade union congregational church school upper Montclair
Booklets created by Virginia Vincent in Elementary school titled "my lighting book" and "my ship book"
A book published by Virginia Vincent's father
Madison fire, Stark Mountain July 1st, 1988 and a portrait of Bernice Patterson and Molly Morrison (May, June), 1990s
Washington post, Missoulian, and friends of the University of Montana herbarium
A broken compass, presumably owned by Virginia Vincent