Finding Aids

Using these Materials

Please contact the Center of Southwest Studies Archives Manager at archives@fortlewis.edu for more information about reproductions and accessing the collection.

Access Restrictions: There are no access restrictions on the use of this collection. The collection is non-circulating but open to the public for use in the Delaney Southwest Research Library at the Center of Southwest Studies.

Reproduction and Copyright: Materials held by the Center may be protected under U.S. and international copyright laws. Reproduction does not constitute a transfer of copyright or publication rights. Researchers are solely responsible for complying with copyright law and for obtaining any necessary permissions for reproduction or publication. The Center assumes no liability for unauthorized use of materials.

Related Materials: The Center holds 136 oral history interviews conducted by Duane Smith between 1973 and 2001. Most focus on the local history of Durango, La Plata County, and the surrounding area, with several centered on the history of Fort Lewis College.

Professor Smith was one of the most significant contributors to the Center’s collections. Since his arrival at Fort Lewis College in 1964, he played a central role in documenting the history of Southwest Colorado. Many materials came to the Center through his involvement in civic organizations and boards in Durango and the surrounding area; others were donated directly by him or by individuals he encouraged to contribute. The Center holds more than one hundred discrete accessions from Dr. Smith, with materials placed in a variety of specific collections, including:

• M001: Fort Lewis College (Colo.) archives

• M016: Durango (Colo.) Chamber of Commerce records

• M027: Durango (Colo.) City Government records

• M028: La Plata County (Colo.) Government records

• M059: Western History Association printed materials

• M068: La Plata County (Colo.) Historical Society / Animas Museum (Durango, Colo.) records

• M080: U.S. Forest Service collection

• M082: Mesa Verde (Colo.) printed materials

• M088 and I047: Southwest newspapers

• M092: Animas–La Plata Project collection

• M142: Southwest Colorado political campaign materials

• M169: State of Colorado printed materials

• M180: Four Corners printed materials and ephemera collection

• M197: Southwest historic printed materials

Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], [Collection Title], [Collection Number], Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado.

Collection Description

Historical/Biographical Note: Duane A. Smith, widely known as “Mr. History,” was a distinguished historian, author, and educator whose career was closely tied to Fort Lewis College and the history of Colorado. Born in Alamosa, Colorado, Smith earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder before joining the faculty at Fort Lewis College in 1964. Over the course of his career, he authored more books on Colorado history than any other scholar, prompting one colleague from Colorado State University to remark, “No other Colorado historian even approaches Duane’s scholarly output, and we all wonder how he does it.”

In addition to his prolific writing and teaching, Smith was deeply engaged in the Durango community. He served on numerous boards, including the Durango Historical Preservation Board (chair), City of Durango Parks and Forestry Advisory Board (chair), Durango Chamber of Commerce Executive Board, Durango Area Chamber Resort Association, Mesa Verde Museum Association, Colorado Historic Preservation Board, La Plata County Humane Society, and the La Plata County Historical Society (as a charter member and officer). He led the successful restoration of the La Plata County Courthouse clock and tower, and worked on preservation efforts such as the Save Our Smokestack Committee. At Fort Lewis College, he contributed to various departments and committees, served twice as Interim Acting Director of the Center of Southwest Studies (1986–1987 and 1995–2000), and was active in the Athletic Committee. He was also an active lay preacher in the United Methodist Church, performing marriage ceremonies for several former students, and was involved in local and regional political and civic organizations.

Professionally, Smith was a founder and charter member of the National Mining History Association and actively participated in the Colorado Mining Association, Colorado Historical Society, Western History Association, and the Organization of American Historians, among others. He served on the editorial board for the Journal of the West (1982–1989) and on the Colorado State Historical Records Advisory Board (1982–1985). Renowned for his public speaking, he delivered hundreds of lectures to audiences ranging from schoolchildren to academic peers across the country. His many honors include the Fort Lewis College Alice Admire Teacher of the Year Award (1978), the Colorado Endowment for the Humanities Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities (1989), multiple awards from the Colorado Historical Society, the University of Colorado Recognition Award (1977), and the American Association for State and Local History Awards (1967, 1974, 1981). In 1996, the Durango Chamber of Commerce recognized him as Citizen of the Year.

Scope & Contents: This is a collection of notes and original manuscripts of books by Fort Lewis College History Professor Duane Smith, printed materials he compiled on subjects of mining and the environment, and other historical documentation pertaining to the Southwest. A much larger volume of additional printed materials that Smith brought to the Center is filed in the Four Corners printed material collection and in other collections.

Arrangement: The series and boxes are numbered consecutively. Because we may add to this collection, the boxes are numbered in a scheme starting with 1 with each series.

Acquisitions Information: These materials were donated over time by Duane Smith (accession numbers 1993:12002, 1994:06002, 1994:08008, 1995:09:006, 1995:10001, etc.). 

Processing Information: This collection was arranged and described by Fort Lewis College Archivist Todd Ellison between 1997 and 2006. The inventory was prepared by Ellison in November 2006 (last updated February 2008). 

Subjects: 
Colorado--History
Mines and mineral resources--Colorado--History
Oral history

Detailed Description of the Collection

Series descriptions

Materials in this collection are arranged by series. The series are numbered consecutively.  Because we do not expect to add to this collection, the boxes are numbered in one single numbering scheme starting with 1. Folder numbers start with 1 in each box. Items within each series (e.g., correspondence, reports) and within each folder are arranged chronologically, unless noted otherwise.

The series are organized from highest hierarchical level to lowest; from most general to most specific.

Series 1:   Notes and original manuscripts of books by Duane Smith, circa 1967-1984, in 7 document cases. Arrangement is chronological by when the work was published. These include his Rocky Mountain Mining Camps (1967), Colorado Mining (1977), Rocky Mountain Boom Town (1980), A Land Alone (1981), The River of Sorrows (1982?), Song of the Hammer and Drill (1982), When Coal Was King (1984), Colorado: Heritage of the highest state (1984), and 2 undated articles on John Chivington and Horace Tabor.
Series 2:  Printed materials compiled by Duane Smith on mining and the environment, circa 1847-1985, in 3 document cases. Arrangement is chronological.

Folder contents list: (under construction)