John P. Wilson research files, 1859-1993
Collection
Identifier: Ms-0220
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains research files of John P. Wilson which include copies of microfilm reels, maps, monographs, news clippings, technical reports, proposals, title records, as well as images that include photographs, copy negatives, and postcards. Most items are not original copies, but rather working files that Dr. Wilson compiled in his studies of cultural resource management in New Mexico, or to research information for his published works. These are categorized in a series titled New Mexico and the southwest United States to reflect Dr. Wilson's research interests and the wide range of his publication subjects.
There is a separate of railroad timetables that do not pertain to any specific publication or research interests. These are listed separately by item.
There are ten (10) files of restricted material from the "BLM Antiquities Site Inventory of Historic Sites, Southwestern New Mexico" compiled in 1975. This has been closed due to concerns regarding Archeological Resources and Protection Act (ARPA) of 1979, as administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces office, under the auspices of the United States Department of the Interior. For further information please go to the following link: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/opis/html/summary/arpa.htm
There are four series: New Mexico and the southwest United States, National Archives microfilm, Passenger train schedules, and Photographs.
There is a separate of railroad timetables that do not pertain to any specific publication or research interests. These are listed separately by item.
There are ten (10) files of restricted material from the "BLM Antiquities Site Inventory of Historic Sites, Southwestern New Mexico" compiled in 1975. This has been closed due to concerns regarding Archeological Resources and Protection Act (ARPA) of 1979, as administered by the Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces office, under the auspices of the United States Department of the Interior. For further information please go to the following link: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/opis/html/summary/arpa.htm
There are four series: New Mexico and the southwest United States, National Archives microfilm, Passenger train schedules, and Photographs.
Dates
- 1859-1993
Language of Materials
English
Access and Use Restrictions
This material may be examined by researchers under supervised conditions in the Search Room.
Copy Restrictions
Limited duplication is allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for compliance with copyright and other applicable statutes.
Copyrights associated with this collection have not been transferred and assigned to New Mexico State University.
Copyrights associated with this collection have not been transferred and assigned to New Mexico State University.
Biographical Sketch
John P. Wilson was born on December 24, 1935, at Galesburg, Illinois, the son of Zora and Phillip Wilson. He grew up in nearby Knoxville, and graduated from high school there in 1953. Wilson went on to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, earning a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1958 and a M.A. in Anthropology in 1961. He continued on to Harvard University, where he was awarded a Ph.D in Anthropology in 1965. At Harvard, Wilson initially studied Maya cultures in Guatamela, then later turned his research focus on prehistoric cultures in northern Arizona.
Wilson found work with the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe in 1963. He later served as Curator of Historical Archaeology under his tenure, during which the state of New Mexico moved forward with many projects relating to the frontier military history of the New Mexico Territory. These included projects that involved Forts Selden, Cummings and Fillmore in southern New Mexico. He later worked for Parks Canada at Fort George, near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Upon completion of that project, he moved back to New Mexico, eventually settling in the city of Las Cruces.
In 1976, Wilson established his own independent consulting business, specializing in archaeological and historical research. He provided professional services to several different entities, including utility and mining companies, construction contractors, American Indian tribes, as well as other federal and state agencies. Wilson_s research focus has gradually shifted from archaeological-based projects to historical research from his initial ventures in consulting in the 1970s.
Dr. Wilson is noted for his research and writing on 19th Century New Mexico, as well as frontier military activity in both Arizona and New Mexico. Some of his publications include Islands in the Desert: A History of the Uplands of Southeastern Arizona (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995) and Military Campaigns in the Navajo Country, Northwestern New Mexico, 1800-1846 (Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico, 1966). Dr. Wilson has also participated in the compilation, translation, and editing of the following publications: When the Texans Came: Missing Records from the Civil War in the Southwest, 1861-1862 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2001) and The Navajos in 1705 : Roque Madrid's Campaign Journal (Albuquerque: UNM Press, 1996), as well as Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid as I Knew Them: Reminiscences of John P. Meadows (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 2004). Wilson has also written several archaeological monographs pertaining to the cultural resources of New Mexico pueblos and other historical sites in the southwest United States.
Though "retired" from his business venture, Dr. Wilson currently lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico with his wife Cheryl, and continues research and publish work relating to New Mexico and the southwest United States of the 19th century.
Wilson found work with the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe in 1963. He later served as Curator of Historical Archaeology under his tenure, during which the state of New Mexico moved forward with many projects relating to the frontier military history of the New Mexico Territory. These included projects that involved Forts Selden, Cummings and Fillmore in southern New Mexico. He later worked for Parks Canada at Fort George, near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Upon completion of that project, he moved back to New Mexico, eventually settling in the city of Las Cruces.
In 1976, Wilson established his own independent consulting business, specializing in archaeological and historical research. He provided professional services to several different entities, including utility and mining companies, construction contractors, American Indian tribes, as well as other federal and state agencies. Wilson_s research focus has gradually shifted from archaeological-based projects to historical research from his initial ventures in consulting in the 1970s.
Dr. Wilson is noted for his research and writing on 19th Century New Mexico, as well as frontier military activity in both Arizona and New Mexico. Some of his publications include Islands in the Desert: A History of the Uplands of Southeastern Arizona (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995) and Military Campaigns in the Navajo Country, Northwestern New Mexico, 1800-1846 (Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico, 1966). Dr. Wilson has also participated in the compilation, translation, and editing of the following publications: When the Texans Came: Missing Records from the Civil War in the Southwest, 1861-1862 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2001) and The Navajos in 1705 : Roque Madrid's Campaign Journal (Albuquerque: UNM Press, 1996), as well as Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid as I Knew Them: Reminiscences of John P. Meadows (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 2004). Wilson has also written several archaeological monographs pertaining to the cultural resources of New Mexico pueblos and other historical sites in the southwest United States.
Though "retired" from his business venture, Dr. Wilson currently lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico with his wife Cheryl, and continues research and publish work relating to New Mexico and the southwest United States of the 19th century.
Extent
2.5 Linear Feet
Abstract
The collection contains the research files of Dr. John P. Wilson, who previously served as Curator of Historical Archaeology at the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe, and is the author of several books and monographs on 19th Century New Mexico.
Acquisition
- Gifts of John P. Wilson:
- A75-077
- A75-078
- A75-100
- A76-003
- A76-041
- A76-050
- A76-093
- A76-106
- A76-150
- A76-154
- A77-001
- A77-004
- A77-177
- A77-121
- RG78-003
- RG79-102
- RG80-062
- RG81-043
- RG81-050
- RG84-068
- RG84-081
- RG84-083
- RG84-147
- RG85-106
- RG87-024
- RG87-126
- RG91-104
- RG92-004
- RG2003-018
- RG2003-074
- RG2003-089
- RG2004-083
- RG2022-032
Dispersed Material
Various USGS maps, published material, and other related items were dispersed to the Special Collections section of the Archives and Special Collections Department from 1975 through 1984.
General
Contact Information
- Archives and Special Collections
- New Mexico State University Library
- P.O. Box 30006
- Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003-8006
- Phone: (505) 646-3839
- Fax: (505) 646-7477
- Email: archives@lib.nmsu.edu
- URL: http://archives.nmsu.edu
General
- Title
- Finding guide for the John P. Wilson research files, 1859-1993
- Status
- Approved
- Author
- Preliminary arrangement by Linda Blazer, 1984. Processing by William B. Boehm and Cassie McClure, February 2006.
- Date
- © 2005
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
Revision Statements
- Monday, 20210524: Attribute normal is missing or blank.
Repository Details
Part of the New Mexico State University Library Archives and Special Collections Repository