Maud Wilson Papers, 1917-1965

Predominant Dates: 1935-1954

The Maud Wilson Papers consist of publications detailing her research as a Professor of Home Economics at Oregon Agricultural College, research materials used to support and inform her instruction, and photographs. Wilson was the first faculty member at Oregon Agricultural College to conduct research full-time in Home Economics. Specializing in the study of housing design, Wilson also served as head of Home Economics for the Agricultural Experiment Station.

Creators

ID: MSS WilsonM

Extent: 4.85 cubic feet

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Scope and Content Notes

Biographical / Historical Notes

Maud Mathes Wilson was born in Pike County Illinois on July 6, 1882. She attended the Fremont, Nebraska Normal School, and taught in Nebraska public schools from 1899 until 1910. In 1913, she graduated from the University of Nebraska, and subsequently spent the next five years there, working as a Professor and Extension Agent. In 1918, she moved to Washington, where she joined the staff of Washington State University, serving as Extension Service Home Demonstration Leader until 1925.

In 1925, the passage of the Purnell Act provided for “such economical and sociological investigations as have for their purpose the development and improvement of rural homes and rural life.” Wilson joined the staff of Oregon Agricultural College that same year, receiving Purnell Act funding from the U.S. Office of Experiment Stations to conduct a study concerning itself with the “character of the job of the homemaker.” Specifically, Wilson’s “time study” sought to “show in what respects and to what degree homemaking is affected by certain circumstances under which it is done, such as the location of the home, the occupation of the chief income earner, the number and the ages of children and the equipment of the house.” Moreover, Wilson intended to use the study to “determine the total amount of time required for household activities, and to show what portion of the total was contributed by other members of the family and what by hired help.” Wilson was the first faculty member at OAC to conduct research full-time in home economics; specializing in the study of housing design, she also served as head of Home Economics for the Agricultural Experiment Station.

In 1931, Wilson took a leave of absence from OSU to pursue a MA in Home Economics at the University of Chicago; the resulting thesis, “Time Spent in Meal Preparation in Private Households,” was an out growth of her Purnell time study. Between 1940 and 1944, she worked with the Oregon Experiment Station’s Department of Agricultural Engineering to develop architectural plans for homes suited to the conditions specific to rural Oregon, using space standards determined in previous studies. This work helped to establish nationwide housing construction standards for essentials such as kitchen cabinets and appliances.

In 1947 Wilson was asked by the Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics (BHNHE) to collaborate on the creation of a nationwide survey of housing conditions and needs, and to synthesize data gathered by its Storage Section into a publication on storage arrangements. The resulting 120-page report, “Closets and Other Arrangements for the Farm Home,” was issued by the BHNHE and sent to all county extension offices in the United States; a shorter, abstracted version was published as USDA Farmers’ Bulletin 1865, “Closets and Storage Spaces,” and is included in the collection.

Wilson retired from OSU as Professor Emeritus of Home Economics Research on June 30, 1950. In 1951 she spent five months in Japan, where she helped the Japanese Agricultural Improvement Bureau with plans for setting up a department of Home Economics Research.

Maud Wilson died October 31, 1972 in Portland, Oregon.

Author: Rachel Lilley

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Arrangement

Preferred Citation: Maud Wilson Papers (MSS WilsonM), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Acquisition Note: The materials were transferred to the Library by the Oregon State University Department of Human Development and Family Science.

Acquired: 2001.

Languages of Materials

English

Other

Container List

Series 1: Biographical Material and Correspondence, 1926-1965 Add to Shelf

Series 1 is comprised of biographical material and correspondence. The “biographical essays” include a biographical sketch written by Wilson’s sister Susan, and a document written by Wilson – Research in Home Economics – that details the motivations and methods of the various research projects undertaken by Wilson while at Oregon Agricultural College. The three pieces of correspondence in this series refer to research articles loaned by Wilson to the correspondent.

Box-Folder 1.1: Biographical essays, 1965 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.2: Correspondence, 1926-1927 Add to Shelf

Series 2: Publications, 1929-1951 Add to Shelf

Series 2 is comprised of publications written by Wilson between 1929 and 1951, and published in or by Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletins, U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletins, the Federal Cooperative Extension Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Bureau of Home Economics, and the Kitchen Reporter (published by Detroit company, Kelvinator). Topics covered in the publications include household storage, time management patterns of rural homemakers, farm home construction planning and standards, working surface height standards, and housing requirements of U.S. farm families. A selection of these publications have been bound into two volumes also included in the collection. Also included is Wilson’s Master’s thesis, “Time Spent in Meal Preparation in Private Households.” Digitized versions of several of Wilson's publications, including her Master's thesis, can be found on ScholarsArchive.

Box-Folder 1.3: Time Spent in Meal Preparation in Private Households, 1931 Add to Shelf: Master's thesis, copy 1. A digital copy of Wilson's Masters thesis can be found in ScholarsArchive.
Box-Folder 1.4: Time Spent in Meal Preparation in Private Households, 1931 Add to Shelf: Master's thesis, copy 2
Box-Folder 1.5: 1929 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.6: 1930-1937 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.7: 1938-1939 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.8: 1940-1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.1: Housing [bound publications], 1929-1940 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.2: Housing [bound publications], 1929-1940 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.3: 1950-1951 Add to Shelf

Series 3: Teaching Material, 1917-1957 Add to Shelf

Series 3, Teaching Materials, is primarily comprised of clippings, article reprints, and draft manuscripts used in the instruction of Household Administration courses House Planning in Relation to Function (HAd 435) and Management Problems in Home-Community Relations (HAd 445). Also included are an OAC Household Account Book, and an OAC Student Account Book; both books are blank, but both have A. Grace Johnson’s name on the cover.

Box-Folder 2.4: O.A.C. Household Account Book, 1917 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.5: O.A.C. Student Account Book, 1924 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.6: Lecture 1: Families and Houses [1], 1924-1951 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.7: Lecture 1: Families and Houses [2], 1924-1951 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.1: Lecture 2: Dwelling and Community, 1937-1948 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.2: Lecture 3: Functions and Requirements [1], 1917-1957 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.3: Lecture 3: Functions and Requirements [2], 1917-1957 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.4: Lecture 3: Functions and Requirements [3], 1917-1957 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.5: Lecture 4: Utilization of Space [1], 1941-1952 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.6: Lecture 4: Utilization of Space [2], 1941-1952 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.1: Lecture 4: Utilization of Space [3], 1941-1952 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.2: Lecture 5: Structure, 1945-1951 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.3: Lecture 6: Furnishings, 1935-1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.4: Lecture 7: Utilization of Site, 1921-1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.5: Lecture 8: House Planning [1], 1920-1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.6: Lecture 8: House Planning [2], 1920-1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.1: Lecture 9: Home Building, 1945-1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.2: Lecture 10: Evaluation of Attributes, 1945 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.3: Lecture 11: Research, 1932-1950 Add to Shelf

Series 4: Reports, 1925-1950 Add to Shelf

Included in Series 4, Reports, is Wilson’s complete report of the Purnell study, “Present Use of Time in Households and by Homemakers, 1925-1930.” Also included is a Report of the Housing Committee of the Home Economics Research section of the Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities, in which the scope of the committee and a review of work being done by Home Economists is discussed. Of special interest is Wilson’s 1945 field study report, “Use of Electricity in Oregon Rural Homes.” Digitized versions of several of Wilson's publications, including the Purnell study, can be found on ScholarsArchive.

Box-Folder 5.4: Magazine Space Study, undated Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.5: Present Use of Time in Households and by Homemakers: Complete Report of the Purnell Study, vol. 1, part 1, 1925-1930 Add to Shelf: A digitized version can be found here.
Box-Folder 5.6: Present Use of Time in Households and by Homemakers: Complete Report of the Purnell Study, vol. 1, part 2, 1925-1930 Add to Shelf: A digitized version can be found here.
Box-Folder 5.7: Present Use of Time in Households and by Homemakers: Complete Report of the Purnell Study, vol. 2, parts 3-4, 1925-1930 Add to Shelf: A digitized version can be found here.
Box-Folder 5.8: Present Use of Time in Households and by Homemakers: Complete Report of the Purnell Study, vol. 2, parts 5-6 and appendix, 1925-1930 Add to Shelf: A digitized version can be found here.
Box-Folder 6.1: Report of the Housing Committee, Home Economics Research Section, Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities, 1950 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.2: Use of Electricity in Oregon Rural Homes, 1945 Add to Shelf: Includes correspondence, press releases, training meeting schedule, and outline of survey.
Box-Folder 6.3: Use of Electricity in Oregon Rural Homes: Report of 1945 Field Study [copy 2], 1945 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.4: Use of Electricity in Oregon Rural Homes: Report of 1945 Field Study [copy 4, part 1], 1945 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.5: Use of Electricity in Oregon Rural Homes: Report of 1945 Field Study [copy 4, part 2], 1945 Add to Shelf

Series 5: Photographs, circa 1935 Add to Shelf

The 71 black and white photographs that comprise Series 5 were taken by Wilson, and feature what appear to be the kitchens, and other assorted storage spaces, in more than five different homes. The photographs appear to have been intended to illustrate different types and configurations of storage in each space. The students and houses portrayed in these images are unidentified.

Box-Folder 6.6: Household storage, circa 1935 Add to Shelf

Series 6: Bibliographic cards, circa 1925-1950 Add to Shelf

Series 6 is comprised of bibliographic cards kept by Wilson in her role as Home Economics research faculty at Oregon State, and to facilitate her Master's thesis research. The cards are primarily concerned with home planning and construction.

Boxes 07 through 09 contain cards kept by Wilson while working on her Master's thesis with the University of Chicago, and include topical subdivisions such as Children and the Home, Economics of the Household, Electricity, Farm Operations, Foreign Housing, Household Management, Model Housing, and Rural Housing. A directory is included in Box 07.

Boxes 10 through 15 contain bibliographic cards dating to circa 1937, and are primarily concerned with determining and planning the various space needs of a dwelling. The cards are alpha-numerically arranged in a system of Wilson's own devising, and include subject divisions for: A. Plans and Planning; B. Space Units of the Dwelling; C. Building Practices; D. Requirements; E. Conditioning Factors; F. Housing Standards; G. Housing - General; H. Application; I. Sources of Information; J. Research Methods and Technique; K. Results of O.S.C. Studies; M. Regional Requirements; N. Inventory of Books; and O. Construction Det., Selected Items.

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