The Martha M. Allen Collection is a collection of the information acquired over 35 years of service at Southwestern University. The entire collection, which is divided into three series, contains information and papers collected from students and consists of 17 boxes with papers, pictures, newspaper clippings, bound books, audiocassettes and microcassettes.

The Course Materials series, (box 1) contains a sampling of information collected from the courses Dr. Allen taught at Southwestern. The first portion of the series contains reports on the past, present, and future status of minorities at Southwestern. There is also information on Women’s Studies at Southwestern, from papers presented at conferences, to a printed program on the Women’s Studies films featured in the Fall of 1987. Another item in this series is a diary Dr. Allen kept, recording the process of the application for an NEH Grant which she was subsequently awarded. The grant was applied towards a course which was taught the following semester at Southwestern, entitled Humanities in Praxis. The Course Materials series includes a syllabus of this course. There is also some material from both an English History class and a Texas History class she taught.

The Southwestern University/Georgetown series, (boxes 2-6, 8-18) provides a more general view of Southwestern. The series includes a study on the university’s self perception, an original musical about Southwestern that was written, produced, and performed by Southwestern’s Alumni, information regarding the University’s participation in the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986, and the transcribed notes from interviews that Allen had with Drs. William Finch and Durwood Fleming, who were both former SU presidents. Lastly, there is a section on the city of Georgetown with studies of two urban projects: theUrban Renewal Program and the Main Street Project. The third through sixth boxes contain the transcripts of interviews and some reports that students wrote based on interviews conducted with the elderly of the community of Georgetown. These files were organized and arranged alphabetically, based on the subject’s last name. Also included, are audio cassettes of an interview with Dr. Fleming as well as interviews that Dr. Allen conducted with Mrs. Iola Bowden and others to find information regarding the Negro School of Fine Arts. There are also tapes of interviews conducted by students in Dr. Allen’s Texas History class which were subsequently used to produce a book for the Georgetown Heritage Society: Georgetown’s Yesteryears. These are tapes used to produce the transcripts in boxes three through six. Lastly, the series contains student papers from by Dr. Allen’s Texas History class of 1984. The subject matter in these papers had to do with Georgetown’s location and/or folklore. The papers (box 18) are based on interviews conducted by the students with members of the community who contributed their oral history. Although these interviews were conducted at the same time as those in boxes three through six, they gathered information on historical topics, rather than biographical topics such as those found in boxes three through six. There are no tapes on these interviews.

The Miscellaneous Research Materials/ U.S. Bicentennial series (box 7) contains a variety of items used by Dr. Allen in writing her dissertation. It also contains information on a filmstrip entitled We the People, educational materials about the founding of the United States, and information regarding four specific pioneer/frontier women of the West.

New Accession (1990-1999)

This addition to the Martha M. Allen Collection comprises Dr. Allen’s research on Iola Bowden and the Negro Fine Arts School that resulted in the book, The Gracious Gift. The 19 folders in the collection include correspondences of Dr. Gregory Washington’s, his preliminary research that he eventually turned over to Dr. Allen, photography, programs from all of the school’s recitals, newspaper articles written about the school both during its time and after its closure, and personal artifacts of Mrs. Iola Bowden Chamber.

This collection contains eight folders of photos, including class photos taken during the school’s time, as well as individual photos of attendees and photos of Iola Bowden. Many of the photos were used in Martha Allen’s book. Also within the collection are recital programs from major recitals. The new accession also contains information on Southwestern University’s first black student, Ernest Clark. Clark can be found in several of the recital programs in folder 13, which also includes a program for a tribute to given to Ernest L. Clark in February 1990. There are also two lists that give the names of every person who attended and taught at the school between 1947-1966. Many folders include articles from various media sources, including the Megaphone, that were written during the time of the school’s existence as well as some that were written later, and these give a perspective on the accomplishments of the school. Music books that were used within the school and were possessions of Iola Bowden’s are present as well.