Perry Merrill Papers
Scope and Contents
The Perry Merrill Papers are a collection of documents, photographs, notes, and personal items relating to former Commissioner of Forests and Parks of Vermont, Perry H. Merrill. The collection contains a variety of types of documents from throughout Merrill's life. Personal notes, handwritten and typed, as well as newspaper clippings and photographs are notable inclusions. Originals are noted where possible, some are quite fragile or difficult to read as a result of old ink and penmanship.
The collection is organized by subject area, with each series representing a certain subject. Each series is organized alphabetically, except for the Miscellaneous series, which has been placed at the end as it has no set subject matter. The Miscellaneous series contains items such as newspaper clippings, newsletters, salary letters, and articles. Files within each series are organized chronologically.
Most of the items in the collection are originals or copies made by Merrill.
The Biography series contains personal letters, notes, biographical notes, and personal affects from World War 1, Sweden, and time as Mayor of Montpelier, Commissioner of Forests and Parks, and writer.
The Civilian Conservation Corps series contains notes, surveys, and pamphlets from Merrill's time directing CCC efforts in Vermont.
The collection contains original photographs from work at the Civilian Conservation Corps, United States Forest Service, as well as personal photographs from Merrill. Photographs are organized into their own series.
Merrill's prolific involvement in skiing in Vermont is organized into the Skiing series, which contains plans, flyers, posters, notes, and correspondence relating to ski resorts and activities around Vermont.
Merrill's efforts in nature conservancy are filed under "Nature Conservancy." The Nature Conservancy series holds efforts relating to conservation, including forest service reports, land use reports, historic sites commission notes, Vermont Nature Conservancy Minutes, and environmental articles.
Materials that Merrill wrote or worked on are filed under the "Written Works" series and range from essays to lectures to notes for his books, but not his biography.
Dates
- 1914-1991
Creator
- Merrill, Perry (Creator, Person)
Language of Materials
Vast majority of materials are in English, materials relating to World War 1 are in English with a couple French papers, items from time in Sweden are mostly in English with a Swedish forestry book, Swedish notes and letter heads, and part of another Swedish book.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Manuscripts.
Biographical / Historical
Perry H. Merrill (1894-1993) was born in Westport, N.Y. where he was raised and educated before attending Syracuse University to study Forestry in 1913, graduating in 1917. After graduating from Syracuse, Merrill joined the United States Army and served in France in the American Ambulance Service for the remainder of the war, staying in Europe after the armistice to assist with the Repatriation of Russian Prisoners program until 1919. After the war, Merrill received a fellowship to study forestry at the Royal College of Forestry in Stockholm, Sweden for one year. After his return to the United States, Merrill completed a master's degree in forestry at Yale University, and moved to Vermont.
Merrill began his forester carreer in Vermont in 1924 as an assistant State Forester, before eventually becoming State Forester in 1929 until his retirement in 1966. In addition to serving as State Forester, Merrill was also mayor of Montpelier, Vermont from 1933 to 1935. During his time as State Forester, Merrill assisted the state in developing long term leases for Ski Resort development and developed numerous historic sites and state parks as a member of the Historic Sites Commission. Merrill helped direct Civilian Conservation Corps efforts in Vermont, using their resources to assist in forestry work as well as state development through the building of roads, state park connections and amenities, and reforestation efforts. Eventually, Merrill's role expanded into the Director of Forests and Parks until eventually becoming the Commissioner of Forests and Parks. Upon retiring in 1966, Merrill served in the Vermont House of Representatives and dedicated himself to writing books about Vermont and American history, as well as keeping abreast of current events and participating in social groups as well as staying intimately involved in the ski culture of the state.
[Information taken from materials as well as obituaries from newspapers.com and New York Times newspaper archive.]
Extent
1.65 Linear Feet (1 carton, 1 box)
Abstract
The Perry Merrill collection documents the life and work of Perry Merrill (1894-1993), Commissioner of Forests and Parks of Vermont and Mayor of Montpelier. The collection contains documents, photographs, notes, and personal items relating to Merrill's life from his time in school at Syracuse to his death. Some materials are personal to Merrill's life, some relate to his work or organizations he was affiliated with.
Location
Library Research Annex, contact uvmsc@uvm.edu for access
Source
- Merrill, Perry (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Perry Merrill Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- 2023 November
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Vermont Libraries, Special Collections Repository
Silver Special Collections Library
48 University Place, Room B201
Burlington Vermont 05405 U.S.A. US
(802) 656-2138
(802) 656-4038 (Fax)
uvmsc@uvm.edu
