Finding aid of the Irene S. Vickrey Papers (1935-1941)

Tracy Brown

Autry Library

Autry National Center of the American West

4700 Western Heritage Way

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Phone: (323) 667-2000 ext. 383

Email: cmiller@autrynationalcenter.org

URL: http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/institute.php/

Finding aid of the Irene S. Vickrey Papers (1935-1941)

Collection number: IT2002-210

Autry Library

Autry National Center of the American West

Los Angeles, California

Processed by:: Tracy Brown
Date Completed:: 2002
Encoded by:: Cheryl Miller

Descriptive Summary

Title: Irene S. Vickrey Papers (1935-1941)

Dates: 1935-1941

Collection number: IT2002-210

Creator: Vickrey, Irene S.

Collection Size: .8 linear feet

Repository: Autry National Center. Institute for the Study of the American West

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Abstract: The papers in the Irene Vickrey collection reflect, for the most part, her work on the Besh-Ba-Gowah archaeological project.

Physical location: Autry Library

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Collection is open for research. Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/research_application.php or contact library staff at (323) 667-2000.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Library, Autry National Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

[Item identification] Irene S. Vickrey Papers (1935-1941), IT2002-210. Autry Library, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA

Acquisition Information

Donated by Linn Skinner.

Biography / Administrative History

Irene S. Vickrey (1911-1946) was the Works Progress Adminstration supervisor at the archaeological project at Besh-Ba-Gowah, near Globe, Arizona.

Vickrey was born in Hume, Illinois, on April 4, 1911. She first studied archaeology at the University of Indiana, where she met and married Parke E. Vickrey. Both of them were selected to attend University of Arizona summer archaeology camps, directed by Dr. Emil Haury. Vickrey went on to study at the University of Arizona for an additional year, including two summers of field work.

In 1935, Vickrey was one of three people elected to the Board of Directors of the newly formed Gila County Archaeological Society. She began a formal excavation of the prehistoric ruins near Globe, Arizona. The area had first been surveyed by Dr. Adolph Bandolier in the 1880s, and further explored by amateur archaeologist William Davenport. During the Depression, Dr. Emil Haury of the University of Arizona organized a statewide archaeological project as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA project funded the excavation at Besh-Ba-Gowah as well as providing for a museum to house the excavated items. Since federal policy prohibited married women from holding government jobs, Vickrey was appointed 'sponsor supervisor' instead of 'foreman' of the project. Picking up where Davenport had left off, Vickrey named the site "Besh-Ba-Gowah," an Apache word meaning "place of metal" or "metal camp." She directed the project from 1935 to Oct. 4, 1940.

The site is located just south of Globe, Arizona at the confluence of Pinal Creek and Ice House Canyon Wash. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site was occupied as early as 550 AD, with continuous occupation through approximately 1450 AD by the Hohokam and then Salado cultures. During the Salado period (1150-1450), the site functioned as a ceremonial, redistribution and food storage complex since it was located on a major trading route from Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico to the Salado River. The activities of the Besh-Ba-Gowah project included excavation and repair of significant ruins, and the preparation of any collected materials. It ended abruptly in 1940 with the death of the director of the project. Between 1935 and 1940, all of the surface rooms at the site were completely excavated and 350 burials were located.

Unfortunately, Vickrey had many health problems and she died very young, at age 25 in Jan. 1946. After she died, her extensive field notes for Besh-Ba-Gowah were set aside for 40 years, until archaeologists returned to the site. Today, the ruin is part of a city park. Parts of it have been bulldozed.

Scope and Content of Collection

The papers in the Irene Vickrey collection reflect, for the most part, her work on the Besh-Ba-Gowah archaeological project.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series: Besh-Ba-Gowah Project Records; Personal Papers; and Photographs. The Besh-Ba-Gowah Project Records are largely comprised of Vickrey's field notes concerning ceramics and other objects found at the site, as well as graves and rooms that were excavated. Since the project was carried out between 1935 and 1940, all material found in this series is dated "1935-1940" except where more exact dates could be located in the notebooks or files themselves. There is only a small amount of material in the Personal Files. All of the material is listed in the container list. The Photographs are arranged by subject (i.e. "landscapes," or "Ceramics and Implements Displays"). Many appear to be of the Besh-Ba-Gowah excavation site. Few are dated or numbered. Thus, like the Besh-Ba-Gowah Project Records, they are all assigned the date "1935-1940."

The Grave Record and photographs of graves and burials are restricted.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Vickrey, Irene S.

Indians of North America -- Arizona -- Globe Region -- Antiquitites

Indians of North America -- Arizona -- Gila County -- Antiquitities

Women archaeologists -- Southwest, New

Excavations (Archaeology) -- Arizona

Photographs

Journals

Ethnographic photographs

Salado Culture -- Arizona

Women who made a difference / by the Arizona Federation of Business and Professional Women

Container list

Box 1: Besh-Ba-Gowah Project Records

Field Notebook no. 1, [1935-1940] Numbered list of objects found at the excavation site and their locations.

Field Notebook no. 2, [1935-1940] Numbered list of objects found at the excavation site and their locations.

Field Notebook no. 3, [1935-1940] Numbered list of objects found at the excavation site and their locations.

Field Notebook no. 4, [1935-1940] Pocket-size notebook with miscellaneous information about pottery and other materials found at the excavation site, and burial data.

RESTRICTED: Record, 1937-1940: Detailed information on burial data of graves numbered 201-268.

Grave Record binder Three-ring binder that housed the Grave Record.

Miscellaneous Excavation Notes, [1935-1940] Notes containing information on room excavations and pottery.

Room Excavation and Ceramic Analysis Notes, [1935-1940] Detailed information on pottery types found at the excavation site and excavated rooms (such as room dimensions, height of walls, wall construction, floor and floor perforations and fire pits).

Room Excavation binder Three-ring binder that housed the Room Excavation and Ceramic Analysis notes.

WPA Project Proposal, July 22, 1936 Project proposal submitted to the Works Progress Administration by Dr. Byron Cummings to continue to fund the project.

Box 2: Personal Papers and Photographs

Personal Papers, [1937-1941] Undated registration card for a correspondence course at Indiana University, undated newspaper clipping about archaeological findings in Mexico, a letter dated April 8, 1937, from the National Rifle Association attempting to identify a gun owned by the Gila County Museum (?), and a May, 1941 copy of "The Mountain Canary"- a newsletter published by the Globe Business and Professional Women's Club (of which Vickrey was a member).

Photographs: Besh-Ba-Gowah Excavation Site, [1935-1940] Thirteen photographs of the excavation site. Three are numbered "Picture #4, W.P. 516," "Picture #5, W.P. 516," and "Picture #6, W.P. 516."

RESTRICTED Photographs: Besh-Ba-Gowah Graves, [1935-1940] Six photographs of graves with skeletons unearthed during excavation. The last two are labeled "Burial no. 19, R48," and "R6, Burial no. [unreadable]." The third photograph is labeled "Center Patio showing 4 burial plots and cremation."

Photographs: Besh-Ba-Gowah Room Excavations, [1935-1940] 32 photographs of room excavations. Many are numbered according to room (nos. 4, 5, 16, 18, 20, 21, 51, 56, 65, 95, 121, 123, 130, 144 are represented) and have descriptive information about the type and location of walls. Two photographs are labeled "Picture #1, W.P. 516" and "Picture #2, W.P. 516"; one is simply labeled "Room A." There are also eight unnumbered photographs.

Photographs: Landscapes, [1935-1940] 15 photographs of landscapes. Six are of a decrepit log cabin. None of the photos appear to be of the Besh-Ba-Gowah site.

Photographs: Ceramics and Implements Display - Gila County Museum, [1938?] 29 photographs, mainly of whole pots and pottery shards. It is not clear if any of the pottery or implements photographed are from the Besh-Ba-Gowah site. Only one photograph is labeled: "Gila Co. Museum, Gila Arizona. Showing archaeological, geological and historical displays." A second is labeled "Picture #8 W.P. 516." Several are stamped with the number 21.

Photographs: Ceramics Processing - Gila County Museum, [1938?] 24 photographs showing women working with ceramics. Only one photograph is clearly labeled with a Works Progress Administration stamp that indicates date photo was taken (11/9/38), project number (1102), city (Globe, Arizona), county (Gila), title (Gila County Museum), and descriptive caption ("Pottery being reconstructed and mended. The completed olla at right is one of the largest found at Besh-Ba-Gowah.").

Photographs: Vickrey (?) at Excavation Site, [1935-1940]

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