School of Mines and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences records, 1863-2007

Series VI: History, 1863-1952

Materials related to the history of the School of Mines populate this series. Three distinct subject areas within this series are the planning of the School, the summer surveying school (commonly called Camp Columbia), and a complete history of the School, the last of which forms the bulk of this series. Items related to the planning of the School include a copy of the trustee meeting minutes in which the creation of the School is discussed, the resolutions of the trustees on the founding of the School, a blank subscription form for the School, and copies of Thomas J. Egleston's original 1863 plan for the School reprinted in booklet form in 1914. "A History of the Summer School of Surveying of Columbia University" by James Kip Finch is a bound draft with handwritten annotations. Included in the back of this book is a letter from Finch to the then-University Librarian regarding Finch's donation of this material to the Columbiana collection. The vast majority of this series is devoted to the creation of a complete history of the School of Mines. Correspondence and draft chapters of a 75-year history completed and exchanged by Professor Thomas T. Read and Roger Howson as well as both a complete manuscript and partial manuscript (chapters six through nine), both with handwritten corrections and annotations, of Read's "Columbia School of Mines-Engineering 1864-1939: Seventyfive [sic] Years of Progress in Engineering Education" are included along with James Kip Finch's correspondence, handwritten notes, research, and drafts of his "A History of the School of Engineering at Columbia University 1864-1939."