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A. Randolph Shields Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS-2124

  • Staff Only

This collection contains slide photography of the Great Smoky Mountains region and the Arizona desert, professional association membership information, professional research, writing and publications proofs, Shields family genealogical information, and personal correspondence. The collection is contained within seven archival storage boxes and a single archival tube. The original organizational patterns have been maintained wherever possible, including titles of folders and notebooks and the alphabetical categorization of the slides. The personal/general correspondence has been chronologically organized, as there was no observable organization upon assessment of the collection. Shields marked the majority of the slides, but these identifiers are not noted within this finding aid.

Dates

  • 1930s-1990s

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

8.75 Linear Feet

Abstract

This collection contains slide photography of the Great Smoky Mountains region and the Arizona desert, professional association membership information, professional research, writing and publications proofs, Shields family genealogical information, and personal correspondence. The collection is contained within seven archival storage boxes and a single archival tube. The original organizational patterns have been maintained wherever possible, including titles of folders and notebooks and the alphabetical categorization of the slides. The personal/general correspondence has been chronologically organized, as there was no observable organization upon assessment of the collection. Shields marked the majority of the slides, but these identifiers are not noted within this finding aid.

Biographical/Historical Note

Born in Cades Cove in 1913 in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, Arthur Randolph Shields was deeply committed to the landscape of the mountains he grew up in. He attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as an undergraduate student studying the biological sciences. Ultimately, he received his PhD and taught and mentored at several universities, including Emory & Henry and, most notably, Maryville College, at which he spent the vast portion of his career and from which he received emeritus status in 1984. As a professor of biology at Maryville College, he worked diligently with the Mid-Appalachian College Council Incorporated (MACCI) and was influential in the planning and construction of the Biological Field Station that MACCI built in the mid-1960's in Maryville, Tennessee. Shields served as an appointed member of the Tennessee Historical Commission and the Southern Regional Education Board in the mid-1980's. An avid writer and photographer, he published The Cades Cove Story (1977), considered one of the authoritative texts on the Cove, The Families of Cades Cove, 1821-1936 (1981), and a compilation of his photographs of the Cove, Cades Cove Photos: A Pictorial Record of the Place and the People (2001). Shields unexpectedly passed away in April 1996.

Arrangement

This collection consists of seven boxes divided into eight series.

Missing Title

  1. Series I: Slides
  2. Series II: Personal Papers (Tennessee Historical Commission)
  3. Series III: Professional Materials
  4. Series IV: Correspondence/ Personal Materials
  5. Series V: Academic Materials
  6. Series VI: Oversize Pictures and Ledgers
  7. Series VII: Mid-Appalachian College Council Incorporated (MACCI) Materials
  8. Series VIII: Oversize Ledgers and MACCI Facility Blueprints

Acquisition Note

The collection was donated by the Shields Family to the Great Smoky Mountains Research Project, University of Tennessee Libraries, in 2002.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480