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Preferred Citation:

W. Melville Jones Photographs of Williamsburg (Va.), Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary

Acquisition Information:

Gift via the Williamsburg Historic Records Association.

Biographical Information:

A 43-year professor, administrator, and booster at the College of William and Mary, Dr. W. Melville Jones (1901-1992) joined the College's English faculty in 1928 after serving as an instructor at Ohio State University (1924-1925) and the University of Richmond (1925-1928). As a faculty member in the Department of English, Dr. Jones served first as an assistant professor and, after earning his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1953, was named full professor in 1954 and chancellor professor in 1963. Dr. Jone's career took on a new aspect in the last two decades of his employment at William and Mary, as he served as Dean of the Faculty from 1958 to 1964, and Dean of the College from 1964 to 1968. When Virginia recognized William and Mary as a full university in 1968, Dr. Jones became the Collegr's first vice president  . His final position with the university was as Vice President of Academic Affairs. Upon his retirement in 1971, he was named Chancellor Professor of English, Emeritus. Dr. Jones was on leaves of absence in 1931-1932, Fall 1956, Spring 1957, and Fall 1957. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: .

Scope and Contents

Three photographs of two homes in Williamsburg, Virginia where W. Melville Jones lived during 1934 and 1936.  The two houses were rented to The College of William and Mary faculty.

One house is a two story building which was beside the Theta House, but is now a vacant lot and the second house was near the  intersection of North Boundary and Richmond Road and is now a park/garden. 

One photograph of a car at an auto repair shop which is where the Blue Talon is in 2009.  Part of the building was used by the Virginia Gazette.

Includes letter of explanation from W. Melville Jones.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• College of William and Mary--Faculty and Staff
• Letters (correspondence)
• Photographs
• Williamsburg (Va.)--Buildings, structures, etc
• Williamsburg (Va.)--Photographs