NELIS R. KAMPENGA  UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES & AREA RESEARCH CENTER Phone: 715-346-2586 5th floor, Room 506, University Library 900 Reserve St. Stevens Point, WI  54481 e-mail:  archives@uwsp.edu Archives Hours:  Monday - Friday, 7:45-noon & 1:15-4:30

The Nelis R. Kampenga University Archives houses three separate but complementary collections: University records; the Portage County Historical Society collection; and the Area Research Center collection.  Guides to Local History and Genealogy Research are also available in our Frequently Asked Questions Area.

General University Records

The Nelis R. Kampenga University Archives is the home for a variety of materials related to the history, development, traditions, and activities of the UWSP and the local community. We have manuscripts, books, pamphlets, audio tapes, and videotapes, photographs, printed reports, minutes, memoranda, student publications, slides, newspapers, and artifacts. Our collection of resources includes:

• UWSP college catalogs, bulletins, and student yearbooks, files on campus buildings, the Pointer (see the Pointer Index on the Web, available from 1895), and other student newspapers and publications, handbooks, directories and newsletters.
  
• Several thousand photographs of people events, places, buildings, sports activities, etc., tapes of events and activities; personnel (non-current) files; posters, trophies and memorabilia.
• Faculty Senate minutes--printed and tapes; Student Government Materials; departmental minutes, memoranda and reports; committee minutes, memoranda and reports; correspondence and subject files for various administrative offices on campus.
• Campus News Service press releases; newspaper clippings and scrapbooks.
• Wisconsin county history scrapbooks; biography files of persons associated with UWSP.
• Board of Regents Proceedings; UW-System operating budgets

Special University Records and Collections

Papers of former faculty members including:

• Bessie May Allen, Home Economist
• Joseph V. Collins, Mathematician
• William. C. Hansen, College President and Politician
• Helen Parkhurst, International Educator Finding Aid
• May Roach, Educator
• Lee Burress, English Professor and advocate for intellectual freedom

South Vietnam

• Over 40 boxes of resource materials (correspondence, reports, contracts, periodicals, clipping tapes slides, photographs) relating to the involvement of UWSP in the educational development of South Vietnam.

Women's Liberation and Civil Rights

• Newspaper clippings and printed materials pertaining to the Women's Liberation Movement and Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's.

Natural Resources and Environment

• Wisconsin Forest History Association research collection
• Proceedings of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin (1976-1985)
• Proceedings of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin (1986-1995)
• Proceedings of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin (1996-2006)
• Society of American Foresters, Michigan/Wisconsin Chapter Records
• Great Lakes Council of Industrial Forester's Records
• American Fisheries Society Records
• Skunk Hill (Power's Bluff), Wood County, Wisconsin Collection

The Area Research Center Collection

The Area Research Center Network (ARC) is composed of 14 sites located throughout the State of Wisconsin. Each ARC serves and houses the records for a specific geographic area. The UWSP Archives serves a nine county area that includes Adams, Juneau, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Portage, Waupaca, Waushara, and Wood Counties.  Our ARC contains public records, corporate records, personal papers and genealogical sources (i.e. tax rolls, naturalization records (see Tips for Searching Naturalization Records), oral histories, as well as birth, death, marriage, and census materials).  Transfers from other campus ARC's are possible through the Wisconsin Historical Society.

For more information about the other ARC’s click here:

The Portage County Historical Society Collection

• The Stevens Point Journal, 1871-present (see the Stevens Point Journal Index on the Web, available for the years 1992-Nov. 2005)
• The Stevens Point Gazette, 1878-1923
• The Pinery (first newspaper published in Portage County) 1853-1886
• Genealogical data, diaries, letters, scrapbooks
• Portage County Historical Society Photo Collection
• State and local histories
• Proceeding of the Portage County Board of Supervisors
• Plat maps and roll maps
• City directories
• Periodicals
• Newspaper clippings
• Special biographical and subject files
• Special reports on Portage County history and development
• Obituary index to The Stevens Point Journal, 1882-1955 (also available on the Web: The Stevens Point Area Obituary Index indexes issues of the Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Stevens Point Journal and Gazette from 1872.
• Index to the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 U.S. Censuses of Portage County (see also Tips for Searching Census Records)
• Portage County Cemetery Locator lists over 43,000 names located in 67 Portage County cemeteries and an authentic tombstone from Portage County

Frequently Asked Questions:  Guides to Local History and Genealogy Research

• The Area Research Center Network is composed of 14 sites located throughout the State of Wisconsin. Each ARC serves and houses the records for a specific geographic area. The UWSP Archives serves a nine county area that includes Adams, Juneau, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Portage, Waupaca, Waushara, and Wood Counties. For more information about the other ARC’s click on:

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/arcnet/stevens.asp

• For tips on researching your family’s genealogy and a brief description of some of the genealogical resources available at the UW-Stevens Point Archives and ARC, click on the subjects that interest you.

CENSUS
NATURALIZATION PAPERS (CITIZENSHIP)
VITAL RECORDS (BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE)
SELECT LIST OF HELPFUL GENEALOGY WEBSITES

• For information on how to preserve family records and photos, click on:

PRESERVATION TIPS FOR FAMILY RECORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS

• For information on how to research the history of a historic building or how to preserve one, click on:

TIPS ON RESEARCHING HISTORIC BUILDINGS

Using the Archives

Faculty, staff ,students, and researchers are encouraged to use the Archives. Most of the materials in the Archives are accessible to patrons with legitimate research interests without restrictions. Some materials are restricted and accessible only with special permission. Archival materials do not circulate and must be used in the Archives reading area. Microfilm and photocopy services are available.

Some university records are accessible through the library's catalog.