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Collection Overview
Title: William Goodell Frost Papers
Predominant Dates:1860-1894
ID: RG 03/3.03
Primary Creator: Frost, William G. -- (William Goodell) -- 1854-1938
Other Creators: Hutchins Library
Extent: 21.4 Linear Feet
Arrangement: Arrangement of the collection is in series: Personal; Correspondence; Sermons, Addresses, and Lectures;Writings; Day Law; Reports; Eleanor Marsh Frost; Miscellaneous; and Photographs.
Subjects: African Americans -- Appalachian Region., Appalachian Region, Southern -- History., Appalachian Region, Southern -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- History -- 20th century., Appalachian Region -- Economic Conditions., Appalachian Region -- History, Appalachian Region., Berea, (Ky.), Berea College, Education, higher -- Administration., Education, Higher -- Appalachian Region -- History., Frost, Eleanor Marsh., Frost, Maria Goodell., Frost, William G. -- (William Goodell) -- 1854-1938, Kentucky Day Law., Minorities -- Education -- United States., Oberlin College.
Languages: English
Abstract
Frost, a native of LeRoy, New York, was an 1876 graduate of Oberlin College and taught Greek at him alma materfrom 1876 through 1892. Having refused the presidency of Berea College in 1889, Frost reconsidered theappointment after the resignation of William B. Stewart. Frost was inaugurated in 1892 and served as presidentuntil 1920. Frost is credited with being chiefly responsible for the significant growth of Berea College during thisperiod. His term saw enrollment rise from 350 in 1912 to 2400 in 1920, and the College’s endowment increasefrom $1,000,000 to $3,500,000 over the same period. He was also responsible for re-directing the school'smission from that of coeducation of blacks and whites to one which focused on educating "AppalachianAmericans", a term he is credited with popularizing. This shift took place contemporaneously with passage ofthe Kentucky Day Law (1904) which forbade integration of blacks and whites within single institutions. Thisresulted in removal of black students from the college and the establishment by Berea of the Lincoln Institute inLouisville, a separate school solely for blacks.
Scope and Contents of the Materials
This collection consists of official and personal papers of, William Goodell Frost, who served as BereaCollege's third president from 1892 to 1920. The Frost papers include personal and official correspondence; sermons, addresses, and lectures; manuscript writings; diaries; reports; photographs; and papers of Frost's wife, Eleanor Marsh Frost. The papers provide important documentation of Frost's life, racial issues in Kentucky, and on the history of Berea College.
Collection Historical Note
Third president of Berea College
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Berea College Special Collections and Archives Catalog
Access Restrictions:
Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College.
Use Restrictions:
There are no restrictions on the collection other than federal copyright regulations. Cite all references to the material in this collection.
Preferred Citation:
[Item description], W. G. Frost Papers, Berea College Archives, BCA RG 03/3.03, Berea College Special Collections & Archives, Berea, KY.
Finding Aid Revision History:
The finding aid was updated from previous versions in June 2014 by Lori Myers-Steele, Project Archivist. The box list was created by Katie L. Grindstaff, Student Associate Archivist.
Other Note:
The online version of content from this collection is available on-campus to Berea College students, staff, and faculty through the Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007 database by Adam Matthew.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Personal],
[
Series 2: Correspondence],
[
Series 3: Sermons, Addresses, and Lectures],
[
Series 4: Writings],
[
Series 5: Day Law],
[
Series 6: Reports],
[
Series 7: Eleanor Marsh Frost],
[Series 8: Miscellaneous],
[
Series 9: Photographs],
[
All]
- Series 8: Miscellaneous
- Materials consist of several clippings about William Goodell Frost or Berea College; an annotated set of College catalogs; a copy of remarks made by various speakers at a fundraising dinner for Berea held in Boston in 1894; a guest book from the Berea College president's house (1900-1918); and miscellaneous research notes of Berea Professor Elizabeth Peck (n.d.). Also included are documents and plans for the location of Berea Baptist Church; and records in regard to fundraising dinner speakers including a copy of a speech by Harvard Professor Nathaniel S. Shaler advocating an increasing emphasis on educating Appalachians and opposing the coeducation of blacks and whites. Arrangement is chronological.
- Box 37
- Folder 1: History of Berea - VanWinkle, J.W.
- Folder 2: History of Berea - VanWinkle, I. Lewis
- Folder 3: Burning Springs I
- Folder 4: Burning Springs II
- Folder 5: Cassius Rawlings Correspondence, 1926-1931
- Folder 6: Miscellaneous, 7
- Folder 8: Realty Purchase and Sale
- Folder 8a: Baptist Church Property, 1914
- Folder 9: Biographical /Family Memories
- Folder 10: Berea College - President's Guest Book
- Box 38
- Folder 1: Peck Notes
- Folder 2: Peck Notes
- Folder 3: Berea College Historical Register and Historical Sketch of Berea College 1904, 1904
- Handwritten notes
- Folder 5: Frost's Annotated College Catalogs
- Box 39
- Folder 1: Diplomas signed by Frost (2)
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Personal],
[
Series 2: Correspondence],
[
Series 3: Sermons, Addresses, and Lectures],
[
Series 4: Writings],
[
Series 5: Day Law],
[
Series 6: Reports],
[
Series 7: Eleanor Marsh Frost],
[Series 8: Miscellaneous],
[
Series 9: Photographs],
[
All]
