Early University of Alabama Administrative Records

Record Group

Identifier: RG-001

Scope and Contents

The record group contains many early extant records of The University of Alabama and includes materials documenting a wide range of functions, persons, and aspects of the University. The materials include reports, correspondence, departmental information, and financial records, as well as faculty and student information. There are extensive records kept by the quartermaster documenting the University's expenditures and financial holdings. Antebellum records provide information about enslaved persons on campus. Various records provide information about the University before, during, and after the Civil War. One accession contains the burned remains of records found during an archaeological excavation near Madison Hall in 1975. These contain no readable information.

There are seven accessions in this collection. Each arrived at The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections as a discrete group of materials. This arrangement has been retained.

Dates

1820 - 1920

Creator

University of Alabama (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Due to the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.

Biographical / Historical

The University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, is the oldest public university in the state. In 1820 the state legislature called for the establishment of a public institution of higher learning, and in 1827 Tuscaloosa was chosen as the location. Work began in 1828, and by April 1831, The University of Alabama opened to students. There were four faculty members and ninety-four students.

Additional sources available:

http://www.ua.edu/history.html

History of the University of Alabama, volume I, 1818-1902 James Benson Sellers, University of Alabama Press, 1953.

"History of the University of Alabama, volume II, 1902-1952," James Benson Sellers, revised and edited by W. Stanley Hoole, unpublished manuscript, W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library.

The University of Alabama: A Pictorial History, Suzanne Rau Wolfe, University of Alabama Press, 1983,

Extent

24 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

The record group contains many early extant records of The University of Alabama and includes materials documenting a wide range of functions, persons, and aspects of the University.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred to university archives before 1982.

General

To provide faster access to our materials, this finding aid was published without formal and final review. Email us at archives@ua.edu if you find mistakes or have suggestions to make this finding aid more useful for your research.