A Guide to the Delos H. Smith Collection, ca.1940-ca.1959 #MS 90.6

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187
USA
Phone: (757) 565-8520
Fax: (757) 565-8528
Email: speccoll@cwf.org
URL: http://www.history.org

Processed by: Special Collections staff

Administrative Information

Access

There are no restrictions.

Publication Rights/ Restrictions on Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Librarian/ Associate Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, and the holder of the copyright, if not the Rockefeller Library at Colonial Williamsburg.

Preferred Citation

Delos H. Smith Collection, Manuscript MS 90.6, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Acquisition Information

Gift, 1990.

Biographical/Historical Information

Delos H. Smith (1884-1963) was the architect and architectural historian of Alexandria, Virginia. Smith specialized in ecclesiastical work and practiced in Washington D. C. His projects included numerous churches, two low-rent housing projects, the Beltsville Farm Export Station, and the Capitol Building Prayer Room, on which he was a consulting architect. Smith also served as commander of the Civil Engineering Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve, from 1940-45, and as design superintendent of the Army and Navy Munitious Board at the Norfolk Navy Yard.

Scope and Content Information

Materials in the collection include photographs, prints, architectural drawings, newspaper and magazine clippings, letters, scrapbooks, notebooks, maps, books, and periodicals. Major subject areas in the collection are colonial religious and secular architecture in the eastern United States, materials on British and other European origins of American colonial architecture, and art books as sources for architectural drawings.

Organization

This collection has been organized into series:
Series 1. Photographs
Series 2. Correspondence
Series 3. Drawings
Series 4. Printed Materials
Series 5. Newspaper and Magazine Clippings
Series 6. Notebooks and Maps with Colonial Churches Marked
Series 7. Miscellaneous Materials arranged and labelled by D. H. Smith
Series 8. Washington (D.C.) and Surrounding Area Materials
Series 9. Reference/Research Cards
Series 10. Scrapbooks
Series 11 Oversize Drawings

Contents List

Series I: Photographs.

Box-folder 1:1-3:6

Box-folder 1:1-3:3
Sub-series I: Religious Architecture (Churches).
- Box-folder 1:1-1:2
  Maine and Massachusetts.
- Box-folder 1:3
  New Hampshire and Vermont
- Box-folder 1:4
  Connecticut and Rhode Island.
- Box-folder 1:5
  New York
- Box-folder 1:6
  New Jersey and Delaware.
- Box-folder 2:1-2:2
  Pennsylvania.
- Box-folder 2:3-2:4
  Maryland.
- Box-folder 2:5
  Washington, D.C.
- Box-folder 2:6-2:7
  Virginia.
- Box-folder 2:8
  North and South Carolina.
- Box-folder 3:1
  Georgia and Florida.
- Box-folder 3:2
  Miscellaneous Sites in U.S.
- Box-folder 3:3
  Photos Grouped by D. H. Smith.
Box-folder 3:4
Sub-series II: Secular Architecture.
Box-folder 3:5
Sub-series III: Miscellaneous sites outside the U.S.
Box-folder 3:6
Sub-series IV: Miscellaneous Sites Unidentified.

Series II: Correspondence.

Box-folder 3:7-4:4

Box-folder 3:7-3:16
Sub-series I: Church History Inquiries.
- Box-folder 3:7
  New Hampshire and Maine.
- Box-folder 3:8-3:9
  Massachusetts.
- Box-folder 3:10
  Connecticut and Rhode Island.
- Box-folder 3:11
  New Jersey and New York.
- Box-folder 3:12
  Pennsylvania.
- Box-folder 3:13
  Maryland and Delaware.
- Box-folder 3:14
  Virginia and West Virginia.
- Box-folder 3:15
  North and South Carolina.
- Box-folder 3:16
  Mississippi and Louisiana.
Box-folder 4:1-4:4
Sub-series II: General Correspondence
- Box-folder 4:1
  Old Churches (Concerning the publishing of a book).
- Box-folder 4:2
  Historical Data (Histories of churches and houses).
- Box-folder 4:3
  Letters and Articles (unlabeled but grouped by D. H. Smith).
- Box-folder 4:4
  Maryland and Delaware Churches (grouped by D. H. Smith).

Series III: Drawings.

Box-folder 4:5-4:9

Box-folder 4:5-4:6
Sub-series I: Religious Structures.
Box-folder 4:7
Sub-series II: Secular Structures.
Box-folder 4:8-4:9
Sub-series III: Miscellaneous (Drawings grouped and labeled by D. H. Smith).
- Box-folder 4:8
  English Origins.
- Box-folder 4:9
  Scotland.

Series IV: Printed Materials

Box-folder 5:1-5:12

Box-folder 5:1-5:6
Sub-series I: Religious
- Box-folder 5:1
  New England.
- Box-folder 5:2
  New York.
- Box-folder 5:3
  Pennsylvania and Delaware.
- Box-folder 5:4
  Maryland and Virginia
- Box-folder 5:5
  South Carolina.
- Box-folder 5:6
  Miscellaneous sites in U.S.
Box-folder 5:7-6:5
Sub-series II: Secular.
- Box-folder 5:7
  New England.
- Box-folder 6:1
  New York.
- Box-folder 6:2
  Delaware.
- Box-folder 6:3
  Maryland and Virginia.
- Box-folder 6:4
  South Carolina.
Box-folder 6:5
Sub-series III: General.

Series V: Newspaper and Magazine Clippings.

Box-folder 6:6-6:13

Box-folder 6:6
New England.
Box-folder 6:7
New York and New Jersey.
Box-folder 6:8
Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Box-folder 6:9
Maryland and Virginia.
Box-folder 6:10
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Box-folder 6:11
Miscellaneous sites in U.S.
Box-folder 6:12
Miscellaneous sites outside U.S.
Box-folder 6:13
Articles authored by D. H. Smith.

Series VII: Miscellaneous Materials Arranged and Labeled by D. H. Smith.

Box-folder 6:15-9:9

Box-folder 6:15
Main and New Hampshire and Vermont.
Box-folder 6:16-7:1
Massachusetts.
Box-folder 7:2
Connecticut.
Box-folder 7:3
Rhode Island.
Box-folder 7:4-7:5
New York.
Box-folder 7:6
New Jersey and Delaware
Box-folder 7:7
Pennsylvania.
Box-folder 8:1
Virginia (Northern Virginia, Prince William County, and Fairfax County).
Box-folder 8:2-8:3
Virginia.
Box-folder 8:4
The Carolinas.
Box-folder 8:5
South Carolina.
Box-folder 6:6
Ohio-Kentucky-Western Settlements.
Box-folder 8:7
Contains Measurements taken 1918-1930 not drawn in ink.
Box-folder 8:8
Miscellaneous Houses.
Box-folder 9:1
Review of Church material 1963.
Box-folder 9:2
Old Church--Inventory Material.
Box-folder 9:3
New and Old Churches Review 1963
Box-folder 9:4
Colonial--Details.
Box-folder 9:5
This File Grouped but not labeled by D. H. Smith.
Box-folder 9:6
Old Church Book--1963.
Box-folder 9:7
Church--Synagogue.
Box-folder 9:8
English Origins for American Colonial.
Box-folder 9:9
Glasgow--History.

Series VIII: Washington, D.C. and Surrounding Area Materials.

Box-folder 10:1-10:20

Box-folder 10:1-10:14
Sub-series I: Washington, D.C.
- Box-folder 10:1
  Navy Yard.
- Box-folder 10:2
  Early Architects.
- Box-folder 10:3-10:5
  History--Printed Materials.
- Box-folder 10:6
  Architectural Drawings and Pictures.
- Box-folder 10:7
  Buildings--Churches and Public.
- Box-folder 10:8
  Delos Smith Writings and Lists of Historic Buildings.
- Box-folder 10:9-10:10
  History and Notes.
- Box-folder 10:11-10:12
  Houses.
- Box-folder 10:13
  Georgetown.
- Box-folder 10:14
  General.
Box-folder 10:15-10:20
Sub-series II: Surrounding Area.
- Box-folder 10:15
  Fort Washington.
- Box-folder 10:16
  Maryland.
- Box-folder 10:17
  Virginia and Washington, D.C. Area.
- Box-folder 10:18-10:19
  General.
- Box-folder 10:20
  Miscellaneous.

Series XI: Oversize Drawings.

Oversize 13:1-13:7

Oversize 13:1
New England.
Oversize 13:2
New York, New Jersey, and Delaware.
Oversize 13:3-13:4
Maryland
Oversize 13:5
Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Oversize 13:6
Georgia.
Oversize 13:7
Miscellaneous Unidentified.