By Rachel Lilley
Title: Maud Wilson Papers, 1917-1965
Predominant Dates: 1935-1954
ID: MSS WilsonM
Primary Creator: Wilson, Maud
Extent: 4.85 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The Maud Wilson Papers are organized into six series: 1. Biographical Material and Correspondence, 1926-1965; 2. Publications, 1929-1951; 3. Teaching Materials, 1917-1957; 4. Reports, 1925-1950; 5. Photographs, circa 1935; 6. Bibliographic cards, circa 1925-1950.
Date Acquired: 00/00/2001
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
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.
The folders comprising Series 1, Biographical Material and Correspondence, and the photographs comprising Series 6, Photographs, have been digitized and are available upon request. Digital versions of many of Wilson's publications can be found online in ScholarsArchive. Two items from box-folder 2.7 in Series 3 - The Mother as Teacher, from Mother Training and Home Management by Alice Loomis, and The Relationship Between Housing Standards and Mental Health by Raymond F. Sletto - have been digitized and are available upon request.
The Maud Wilson Papers consist primarily of Agricultural Experiment Station bulletins and circulars, and other similar publications; and articles, clippings, and other reference materials collected by Wilson to assist in her teaching. The collection also contains a bibliographic system of index cards, photographs, correspondence, and biographical material about Wilson’s personal and professional life. Wilson's focus on housing design, and the improvements in efficiency that could result from sound space planning and design, is documented throughout the collection. Of special additional interest is her focus on rural housing design, and the use of electricity and "modern" time-saving devices in the rural home.
The folders comprising Series 1, Biographical Material and Correspondence, and the photographs comprising Series 6, Photographs, have been digitized and are available upon request. Digital versions of many of Wilson's publications can be found online in ScholarsArchive. Two items from box-folder 2.7 in Series 3 - The Mother as Teacher, from Mother Training and Home Management by Alice Loomis, and The Relationship Between Housing Standards and Mental Health by Raymond F. Sletto - have been digitized and are available upon request.
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.
More Extent Information: 15 boxes, including 71 black and white photographs
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: The materials were transferred to the Library by the Oregon State University Department of Human Development and Family Science.
Related Materials: Other collections relating to Home Economics at Oregon State University include the Home Economics Club Records (MSS HomeEcClub), the College of Home Economics Oral Histories (OH 011), the College of Home Economics Photograph Collection (P 044), the College of Home Economics Motion Picture Films and Videotapes (FV 044), the Human Development and Family Sciences Department Records (RG 085), the College of Home Economics and Education Records (RG 141), the Agricultural Experiment Station Records (RG 025), the Home Economics Extension Photographs (P 115), the Student Club and Organization Records (RG 276), the Edna P. Amidon Papers (MSS Amidon), the Ava Milam Clark Papers (MSS ClarkAvaM), the A. Grace Johnson Papers (MSS JohnsonA), the Buena Maris Mockmore Papers (MSS Mockmore), and the Alice L. Edwards Papers (MSS EdwardsAlice).
Preferred Citation: Maud Wilson Papers (MSS WilsonM), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Finding Aid Revision History: This finding aid replaces an earlier version created in 2012.
Wilson, Maud
Architecture--Oregon--Designs and plans.
Home economics--Research--Oregon.
Home economics--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Housing, Rural--United States.
Housing--Standards.
Oregon Agricultural College--Faculty.
Oregon State Agricultural College. Agricultural Experiment Station
Oregon State College--Faculty.
Oregon State University--History.
Rural conditions.
Rural development--Oregon.
Sociology, Rural--Oregon.
University History
Wilson, Maud
Women--Education (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Photographic prints.