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Guide to the Verne E. Chatelain Papers

Colonial National Historical Park

This finding aid describes the Verne E. Chatelain Papers, part of the NPS History Collection. To search this guide for names, places, key words, or phrases enter Ctrl F on your keyboard (command key + F key on a Mac). Request an in-person research appointment or get more information by contacting the archivist.

Man sitting at desk looking towards camera
Chief Historian Verne E. Chatelain. (NPS History Collection, HFCA 1607)

Collection Overview

Collection Number: HFCA 1645 (Series XIV.E)
Accession Number: HFCA-01083
Creator: Chatelain, Verne E.
Title: Verne E. Chatelain Papers
Dates: 1919-1950 (bulk dates: 1929-1936)
Extent of Collection: 2.5 LF
Language of Materials: English

Digital Access: The collection has not been digitized.

Conditions Governing Access: This collection is open to research use. See the NPS general copyright and restricted information here.
Provenance: Donated to the NPS History Collection by Ken Wilhem, grandson of Verne Chatelain.
Processing Note: This material was processed and described by contractors in 2012. This finding aid was updated by Nancy Russell in November 2024. Chatelain’s photos and scrapbooks have not been processed yet and therefore are not included in this guide. For information about that material contact the archivist.

Rights Statement for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation: Verne E. Chatelain Papers, Assembled Historic Records of the NPS (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection
Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

Related Materials:

Biographical Note

Verne Elmo Chatelain was born on July 22, 1895, in Waco, Nebraska. He graduated from Peru Normal School in 1914 and Peru State College in 1917. In 1918 he was drafted into the US Army for service in World War I. Following training at Fort Dodge, he was sent to France with the 88th Division on the Alsace front. A week after returning to the United States, Chatelain married his college sweetheart Celia A. Group on June 7, 1919, in Omaha, Nebraska. They went on to have two children.

Chatelain taught and served as superintendent of schools in Nebraska and, after the war, in Montana. In 1925 he returned to Peru to lead the college’s Department of History and Social Science. While in that position he also served as assistant superintendent of the Minnesota Historical Society. He earned an MA in History from the University of Chicago, and a PhD in History of Political Science from the University of Minnesota. He also held a law degree from Creighton College in Omaha and was a member of the Nebraska State Bar.

In 1931 Chatelain saw an advertisement for a new National Park Service (NPS) historian position in the Omaha World Herald. He applied and was interviewed by NPS Director Horace M. Albright at the train station in Omaha when Albright was passing through on a trip west. Chatelain obviously did well as he was hired as the first NPS chief historian on September 15, 1931.

Chatelain was hired to oversee the NPS historical program within the new Branch of Research and Education. Chatelain supervised the first two field historians, Floyd Flickinger and Elbert Cox, who were stationed at Colonial National Monument in Virginia. He was a strong proponent for interpreting the history of sites to the public and advocated for interesting and informative brochures as a public introduction to park sites. Throughout his career with the NPS, Chatelain strove to achieve academic respect and professionalism in the wider academia for the research, education, and interpretation done by his branch for the NPS. He also actively evaluated the historical potential of new NPS sites and created a set of criteria for site selection. He advocated for the separation of management of eastern and western parks and fought for more trained historical staff at various park sites. Chatelain was heavily involved with interpretation and preservation work at Wakefield, Morristown, and Colonial National Monument.

Chatelain’s work, along with the support of Director Albright, helped to create the new Branch of Historic Sites and Buildings in 1935, which was better able to provide leadership and guidance of the interpretation and educational program for historical and archeological areas. Chatelain served as Acting Assistant Director of the Branch until he resigned in September 1936. Towards the end of his NPS career, he consulted with the city of Monterey, California on their plans to develop the historic areas of the city.

Chatelain went to work for Remington and Rand as a research consultant. He developed a new museum storage case and worked with several non-federal museums. He also worked for the Carnegie Institution and later became a Professor of History at the University of Maryland. In 1945 he joined the University of Maryland faculty as a history professor. He was also active in the history department of the Army Education Center in Germany from 1949 to 1950. He taught history until his retirement from the University of Maryland in 1965.

In retirement, Chatelain lectured frequently on the history of Maryland in the Civil war to local groups. He belonged to many professional organizations, including the American Historical Association; Mississippi Valley Historical Association; Nebraska History Teachers Association; and the Minnesota Historical Society. He was a prolific public speaker and wrote several books and articles on historical interpretation and conservation.

Chatelain died on October 19, 1991, in Maryland, aged 96.

Scope and Content Note

Working documents of Chatelain in the NPS Historical Division, including correspondence, reports, notes, plans, abstracts, brochures, and photographs. Correspondence and memoranda with park sites, Horace M. Albright, and historical societies features prominently. Handwritten notes regarding potential park sites, staffing issues, and reviews of historical materials are included. The final plan of the Monterey Historic Site development and correspondence related to work after the NPS is present.

Arrangement

Arranged Alphabetically by subject.

Container List

BOX 01
Folder 01: Abstracts, undated [1 of 2]
Folder 02: Abstracts, undated [2 of 2]
Folder 03: Annual Report of the Director of the NPS, 1930
Folder 04: Army War College Battlefield Studies, 1934-1935
Folder 05: Examinations, undated
Folder 06: General Plan of Administration for the Educational Division,
1929
Folder 07: Historical Branch, NPS Office Records, 1935-1936, undated
Folder 08: Historical Division: Administration, 1932-1935, undated [1 of 2]
Folder 09: Historical Division: Administration, 1932-1935, undated [2 of 2]

BOX 02
Folder 01: Historical Division: Article Drafts and Chapter Notes, undated
Folder 02: Historical Division: Correspondence, 1931-1932
Folder 03: Historical Division: Correspondence, 1933
Folder 04: Historical Division: Correspondence, 1934-1935
Folder 05: Historical Division: Correspondence, 1936
Folder 06: Historical Division: Correspondence, undated
Folder 07: Historical Division: Historic Sites General Information and
Notes, 1933, undated

BOX 03
Folder 01: Historical Division: Memoranda, 1931-1936, undated [1 of 3]
Folder 02: Historical Division: Memoranda, 1931-1936, undated [2 of 3]
Folder 03: Historical Division: Memoranda, 1931-1936, undated [3 of 3]
Folder 04: Historical Division: Personnel Correspondence, 1931-1936,
undated [1 of 2]
Folder 05: Historical Division: Personnel Correspondence, 1931-1936,
undated [2 of 2]
Folder 06: “The Historical Museum as Administered by the Government of
the US,” undated
Folder 07: Historical Program Correspondence and Memoranda, 1929-
1932, undated [1 of 2]
Folder 08: Historical Program Correspondence and Memoranda, 1929-
1932, undated [2 of 2]

BOX 04
Folder 01: Historical Research, 1932, undated
Folder 02: Jackson Hole Memorandum, 1933
Folder 03: Meeting and Conference Notes, 1931-1932
Folder 04: Military Parks Transfer, 1926-1929, undated
Folder 05: Morristown, 1932-1935, undated
Folder 06: Morristown: Creation and Interpretation, 1932-1933, undated
Folder 07: Museum Management Correspondence and Memoranda, 1934 [1
of 2]
Folder 08: Museum Management Correspondence and Memoranda, 1934 [2
of 2]
Folder 09: National Park Reports, 1936, undated
Folder 10: Northwest Corner Archeological Photo, undated
Folder 11: Park Brochures, 1919-1932, undated

B0X 05
Folder 01: Park Interpretation and Education, 1932-1936, undated
Folder 02: Park Management Memoranda, 1931-1933
Folder 03: Parks Press Releases, 1932
Folder 04: Personal, undated
Folder 05: Personal Correspondence, 1936-1937, undated
Folder 06: Press Releases and Articles, 1931-1932, undated
Folder 07: Reference: Congressional Records, 1933-1935 [1 of 2]
Folder 08: Reference: Congressional Records, 1933-1935 [2 of 2]
Folder 09: Reference: Historical Publications, 1931-1936, undated
Folder 10: Reference: History Office, 1930-1933, undated

BOX 06
Folder 01: Reference: Interpretive Pamphlets and Articles, 1933-1935,
undated
Folder 02: Reference: Morristown and New Jersey, 1929-1933, undated
Folder 03: Reference: NPS Brochures, 1931-1939, undated
Folder 04: Staffing: R.A. Livingston, 1933-1934, undated
Folder 05: Staffing: Robert Lee Jones, 1933-1935
Folder 06: Staffing: William M. Robinson, 1933
Folder 07: State Historic Sites Research, undated [1 of 2]
Folder 08: State Historic Sites Research, undated [2 of 2]
Folder 09: Study, Historic Buildings of Monterey, California, 1936-1939,
undated [1 of 2]
Folder 10: Study, Historic Buildings of Monterey, California, 1936-1939,
undated [2 of 2]

B0X 07
Folder 01: University of Maryland and Army Education Center Work, 1949
-1950, undated
Folder 02: Virginia Parks Correspondence and Reports, 1932, undated
Folder 03: Western Region Correspondence, 1932
Folder 04: Yorktown Village Article Scrapbook, 1931
Folder 05: Other: Appointment Service Files, 1932-1934
Folder 06: Other: Research Notes, undated [1 of 2]
Folder 07: Other: Research Notes, undated [2 of 2]

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Last updated: December 5, 2024