Willard Rouse Jillson papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: BCA 0020 SAA 019

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

These are correspondence, maps, photographs and published works of Willard Rouse Jillson (1890-1975) who served as Kentucky State Geologist from 1919 to 1932. Material of particular interest in this collection are a nearly complete set of Kentucky county survey maps executed while Jillson was State Geologist and over 2000 photographs that document Kentucky’s geography and culture as well geological features. Additionally there are manuscripts and published copies of several of his many publications including Geography of Kentucky and Oil and Gas Resources of Kentucky.

Dates

created: 1898-1978

Creator

Jillson, Willard Rouse -- 1890-1975 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College.

Conditions Governing Use

Federal copyright regulations apply; cite all information.

Extent

66.00 ms_boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers and records of Willard Rouse Jillson (1890-1975) who served as Kentucky State Geologist from 1919 to 1932.

Arrangement Note

Arrangement of the collection is alphabetical within series:

Part 1:

Series 1: Life and Works

Series 2: Geology - Subject Files

Series 3: Geology - Sketch Maps

Series 4: Maps - Kentucky Counties and Related Areas

Series 5: Maps - Historical

Series 6: General History

Series 7: Other Countries

Series 8: Photographs

Series 9: Pamphlets

Part 2:

Series 1: Writings and Correspondence

Note regarding records in Part 2 of collection: These materials were originally held by Syracuse University but were deaccessioned by that institution and donated to Berea College in 1994. They were added to Berea’s Jillson collection in August 2000. They consist mainly of Jillson’s correspondence with the Syracuse Archives and typescripts of many of his published works.

Accruals and Additions

Note regarding records in Part II of collection: These materials were originally held by Syracuse University but were deaccessioned by that institution and donated to Berea College in 1994. They were added to Berea’s Jillson collection in August 2000. They consist mainly of Jillson’s correspondence with the Syracuse Archives and typescripts of many of his published works.

Bibliography

Willard Rouse Jillson was born May 28, 1890, in Syracuse, New York where as a youth he was greatly interested in natural science, geography, and travel. His undergraduate degree (Syracuse, 1912) was followed by a Masters at the Washington State University (1915) and further studies at the University of Chicago and Yale. He was awarded honorary doctorates by Syracuse University (1921) and Berea College (1925). After working as a petroleum geologist in the South and West, he came to Kentucky in 1917 where he proceeded to amass a fortune dealing in oil, gas and coal leases. It was also at this time that he married Oriole Marie Gormley of Prestonsburg, Floyd County, Kentucky. In 1919, Governor A. O. Stanley appointed Jillson as the State Geologist for the Department of Geology and Forestry. This Department was later reorganized with the Geology section becoming the Kentucky Geological Survey. A major achievement of Jillson’s administration was the publishing of at least one map for each of Kentucky’s 120 counties, an effort that contributed greatly to the rapid exploitation of the state’s coal and gas resources. Additional endeavors included teaching Geology at the University of Kentucky, serving as curator of the Kentucky State Museum, and membership on the Kentucky’s State Park Commission (chairman 1924-1928) during which time the first four Kentucky state parks were established. After Jillson’s 1932 resignation from state service he continued to write extensively, work as a consultant for coal, oil, and gas companies, and teach Geology at Transylvania University (1947-1951). After leaving Transylvania he devoted much time to the acquisition and development of Kentucky gas and coal properties. Dr. Jillson was also an avid historian and naturalist with wide ranging interests in Kentucky history. In addition to numerous Geological works, he published widely in such fields as paleontology, regional history, bibliography, and biography. Jillson died at the age 85 in Louisville, Kentucky, October 4, 1975.

Other Descriptive Information

BCA 0020 SAA 019

Processing Information

The finding aid was created by Joyce Hannan in 1980 and revised by Harry Rice in 2001. The finding aid was later updated in March 2015 and April 2019.