The John R. Neal papers consist of more than 10,000 separate items including family correspondence, books, memorabilia from Neal's political campaigns, and other related materials. The papers cover approximately 100 years, from around the 1850s to 1959.

The Lillian P. Davis Papers, 1958-1974, consist primarily of manuscript copies of short stories, plays, and books that Davis wrote after her retirement in 1948. Prominently represented are A Member of the Jury, The Tennessee Story, and her unpublished autobiography.

This collection houses correspondence, certificates, textbooks, photographs, and newspaper clippings documenting the Neal and Wheelock families of East Tennessee. It also includes newspaper articles and transcripts showing the Scopes Trial.

This collection houses scrapbooks, photographs, magazines, newspapers, programs, menus, and invitations documenting the life and work of Tennessee journalist Nellie Kenyon.

This collection contains the documents of Robert K. Kyle, a reporter from Culver, Indiana who was present at the Scopes Trial (also known as the Scopes Monkey Trial) in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee. The collection contains articles and photos concerning the trial as well as letters and other correspondence between Kyle and other figures related to this event.

The W. B. Ragsdale Papers, ca. 1952, include a letter entitled "A Few Random Recollections of the Tennessee Evolution Trial" from W. B. Ragsdale, an Associated Press reporter, about the Scopes Evolution Trial in Dayton, Tenn., during the summer of 1925.

This collection houses 104 photographs, two reel-to-reel audio tapes, and two cassette tapes (content is identical to the reel-to-reel tapes) documenting the Scopes Trial of 1925.