Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the William Nicoson papers must be obtained from Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

William Nicoson papers, C0164, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by William Nicoson in multiple parts, first in 1992, then October 6, 1994, August 26, 1998 and the final donation was made on January 12, 1999.

Processing Information

The William Nicoson Papers were originally attached to the larger Planned Community Archives collection currently in the Special Collections and Archives. In 2009 the documents were removed and organized into a separate collection still housed in the Special Collections and Archives at George Mason University Libraries. The old box and folder numbers are also included as part of the new arrangement.

Processed in May 2009 by Emily Martin. Series 7 added in July 2013 by Greta Kuriger Suiter.

Biographical Information

William Jarvie Nicoson (1932-2013) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Marion Jarvie and William McGarvey Nicoson. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, Princeton University, and Harvard Law School. He spent his Junior Year of college at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he studied acting with the Director of the Comedie Francais. At Princeton, he was a member of the Army ROTC. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army in Germany for two years.

Nicoson's career began at the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell. He worked in New York City and Paris practicing law before moving to Washington, D.C. in the 1960s.

In 1965 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was created as an executive cabinet-level agency. HUD's mission is to help promote affordable home ownership and community development. William Nicoson was the first Director of the New Community Assistance Program at HUD. The primary goal of this office was to help foster cooperation among all levels of government and private business, both non-profit and profit. He resigned from this position in 1972.

When he moved to Washington, D.C., from New York City, he moved to the then-new community of Reston, Virginia. Robert E. Simon, Jr. was the founder of Reston. Simon purchased the land with the proceeds from the sale of Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1961. Construction began in 1963 with the building of Lake Anne. Nicoson and Simon shared many interests in planned communities and taught a course together in New Community Planning at the New School in New York City.

Nicoson was very active in Reston community organizations and served on a number of boards and committees. He was one of the founders of the Reston Connection newspaper and he served as publisher and writer of a weekly column for five years. He also wrote a monthly column for the Reston Times. In 2002 he was given the "Best of Reston" award for his civic participation.

Scope and Content

The William Nicoson papers contain material on Reston redevelopment, mostly promotional. The collection includes maps, charts, publications, slides, and newsclippings. The collection also includes information on federal housing agencies and documentation on new towns in the United States, France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Series one is titled Correspondence. The series contains different correspondence to and from William Nicoson. The correspondence covers a variety of topics such as the Interstate Land Development Company, Low-Income Households in New Towns, Chapel Hill Study and William Nicoson's personal correspondence. The series is dated from 1965 to 1980 and is contained in boxes 1 through 3.

Series two is titled Reston. The series includes information about the development on Reston, including the Reston Town Center, Lake Anne Elementary School and newsclippings from newspaper in Reston and outside of the area. The series is dated from 1960 to 1985 and is contained in boxes 3 through 5.

Series three is titled Federal. The information in this series is from federal programs and agencies including Congress about the development of new towns. The material covers a variety of topics such as U.S. Government Memorandum on Tax Reform Act from 1969, U.S. Senate Report on New Towns and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The series is dated from 1960 to 1980 and is contained in boxes 5 through 8.

Series four is titled International. The series covers a variety of international new towns from France, Sweden, the United Kingdom and others, mostly European nations. Most of the information is brochures, maps and statistics from the international new towns. The series is dated from 1957 to 1979 and is contained in boxes 8 through 12.

Series five is titled Newsclippings. The articles in this collection are mostly from newspapers about different new towns both nationally and internationally. Also in the series are articles written by different people involved in new town development. The series is dated from 1960 to 1985 and is contained in boxes 12 through 14.

Series six is titled General Information. The information in this series covers a variety of topics such as Richmond Metropolitan Authority, Town and Country Planning Association and New Communities Development Handbook. Also included are booklets, advertisements, slides and maps. The series is dated from 1954 to 1999 and is contained in boxes 14 through 20.

Series seven is titled Newspaper Columns. This series consists of paper and digital files containing original drafts and research materials for newspaper columns written by William Nicoson that were originally published in the Reston Connection during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The series contains materials dating from 1982 to 2007 and comprises box 21 through 25.

Arrangement

Organized into six series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1965-1980 (Boxes 1-3) Series 2: Reston, 1960-1985 (Boxes 3-5) Series 3: Federal, 1960-1980 (Boxes 5-8) Series 4: International, 1957-1979 (Boxes 8-12) Series 5: Newsclippings, 1960-1985 (Boxes 12-14) Series 6: General Information, 1954-1999 (Boxes 14-20) Series 7: Newspaper Columns, 1982-2007 (Boxes 21-25)

Related Material

The Special Collections and Archives also holds the Planned Community Archives and other personal papers and organizational records that document Reston, Virginia, and other planned communities.

Index Terms

Persons:

• Nicoson, William.

Corporate Names:

• United States. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.
• United States. Office of New Community Development Corporation.

Geographical Names:

• Reston (Va.)

Subjects:

• Housing--Virginia--Reston.
• Planned communities--Virginia--Reston.