Diaries (West Virginia), 1884

Materials consist of Frost's personal diaries, manuscript verse, a draft of his For the Mountains, and miscellaneous other writings.

Diaries, along with miscellaneous autobiographical notes and memoranda books, are present for 1871, 1874-1876, and 1907-1938. Early volumes detail Frost's years at Oberlin College, although entries are sometimes sporadic and contain summaries of events as opposed to day-to-day descriptions. Fragmentary notes provide some biographical detail for years 1882-1890 and a typed transcription of an 1892 diary is also available; it's probable that the 1882-1890 notes are Frost's and that the transcription was done by Berea College history professor Elizabeth Peck, who wrote a history of the college. Diaries for 1907-1938 detail Frost's daily activities as president, family and private business affairs, his health, local weather, etc.

Other materials include a carbon typescript of Frost's autobiography, For the Mountains: the latter, labeled "Full Version", has various penciled corrections to the text and was ultimately published in 1937. Manuscripts of Frost's "Family Stories", which refer to his family (1910, carbon copy), a folder of manuscript poems (1872-1938), and miscellaneous speeches or articles about Berea, education, and his foreign travels are also present. Published copies of the latter (approximately .2 I. f.) complete the series. Arrangement is chronological.