Title: C. L. Harrington Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1904-1966

Creator:

• Harrington, C. L. (Cornelius Louis), 1891-1966

Call Number: Mss 4; Audio 219A; PH 3164; PH 3165; PH 3166; M2005-048

Quantity: 3.0 c.f. (7 archives boxes and 1 flat box), 5 tape recordings, 728 photographs, and 68 negatives; plus additions of 1.2 c.f., and 16 photographs and 14 negatives

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of Cornelius Louis (Neal) Harrington, a superintendent of state forests and parks (1923-1958), including personal and professional correspondence; numerous reports, memoranda, and other official documents concerning his work with state forests and state parks for the Wisconsin Department of Conservation; speeches and writings; resource material (including correspondence files of State Forester E.M. Griffith) collected on the history of forests and conservation in Wisconsin; and oral history tapes and transcriptions. Personal papers include a diary and correspondence covering his World War I duty, his experiences on the S.S. Tuscania, and letters concerning his work as a state forester during the early years of the program; reminiscent letters written by other forest service pioneers concerning their experiences; personal financial records and ledgers of a livery stable owned by his father in Hurley, Wisconsin; and numerous photographs covering many aspects of his personal and professional life.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00004

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Cornelius Louis “Neal” Harrington was born August 26, 1891, in Hurley, Wisconsin. He grew up in this small northern Wisconsin lumber and mining center, graduating from Hurley High School in 1908. He attended Ironwood, Michigan, Business College, 1908-09. In September 1908, he entered the University of Wisconsin, where he remained for a year before transferring to the University of Michigan. He received a B.S. in Forestry from Michigan in 1913. Mr. Harrington spent summers of 1910, 1911, and 1912 as an employee of the State Board of Forestry participating in the pioneer phase of organized conservation work in Wisconsin. His tasks included lookout duty, fire fighting, brush burning, nursery work, seed collection, road construction, and logging. Shortly after graduation from Michigan, Harrington passed the Wisconsin civil service examination for Forestry Assistant, and upon his appointment began to work on such projects as the first State Forest Nursery at Trout Lake, tree planting, timber and soil surveys, and forest management. In 1916 he was placed in charge of the Trout Lake Nursery.

Mr. Harrington was drafted into the Army on September 19, 1917. Sent first to Camp Grant, Illinois, he subsequently went to Camp American University, where he was assigned to Co. D, 6th Battalion of the 20th Engineers, a contingent trained expressly for forestry work. His unit left for France in February 1918 on the troop ship S.S. Tuscania which was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea. After a harrowing escape Harrington spent the duration of the war in the French forests, where his unit provided the lumber necessary for the allied war effort. Entering service as a private, he was discharged in June 1919, as a 1st Lieutenant. He married Emily Chisholm in April 1920.

Upon completion of military duty, Harrington was appointed by Gov. Phillip as forester member (State Forester) on the State Conservation Commission. He remained in this capacity until 1923 when he became Superintendent of State Forests and Parks, a position he held until his retirement in 1958. From 1952 to 1954 he also served as Acting State Forester.

After retirement, Mr. Harrington devoted his time to two major projects. One consisted of a vigorous campaign against the “Sticker Plan” for financing state parks and forests, a method which was eventually adopted. The second was writing the history of conservation and forestry in Wisconsin, a task which led him to help establish the Natural Resources History Project, a cooperative program between the Wisconsin Conservation Department and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. The remainder of his life was spent chiefly in gathering material for this project, left unfinished at his death on May 14, 1966.

“Neal” Harrington was characterized by colleagues as a dynamic, personable fellow, thoroughly versed in the requirements of his field. He nonetheless was the center of considerable controversy during his long tenure in the Wisconsin Conservation Department. Charges of gross mismanagement of his division, misappropriation of funds by subordinates, political maneuvering, granting “favors” to friends and relatives, and general insubordination were leveled at him. The controversy reached its zenith in 1954 when a legislative investigation was held. The controversy subsided after the hearing with the appointment of Lester Voigt as Director of the Wisconsin Conservation Department and John A. Beale as Chief State Forester, the position that Harrington had long coveted but failed to secure.

This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 2 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.

• Part 1 (Mss 4, Audio 219A, PH 3164, PH 3165, PH 3166): Original Collection, 1904-1966
• Part 2 (M2005-048): Additions, 1910-1947

Acquisition Information

Presented by John T. Harrington and Richard N. Harrington, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 23, 1967, 1970, and 2005. Accession Number: M67-040, M67-301, M70-091, M2005-048

Processing Information

Processed by Patrick M. Quinn, August 8, 1967.

Mss 4	Part 1 (Mss 4, Audio 219A, PH 3164, PH 3165, PH 3166): Original Collection, 1904-1966 Physical Description: 3.0 c.f. (7 archives boxes and 1 flat box), 5 tape recordings, 728 photographs, and 68 negatives  Scope and Content Note Part 1 of the C.L. Harrington Papers consist primarily of correspondence, memoranda, subject files, resource files, photographs, and ephemera covering the period 1909-1966. The bulk of the correspondence is related to Harrington's forty-eight year career with the Wisconsin Conservation Department. There is relatively little personal correspondence per se. The correspondence covers four rather distinct periods: Correspondence during his college days, 1909-1913, mostly with his parents; correspondence and related papers from the First World War years; correspondence for the period 1920-1958, primarily concerned with Wisconsin Conservation Department matters; and correspondence, 1958-1966, after his retirement. The Conservation Department group is essentially routine in content, but does indicate the nature of the internal workings of the department, especially for the years from 1945 through 1955. See especially the 1954 exchange with Commissioners John O. Moreland and Charles P. Smith for a good illustration of this. After Harrington's retirement, the correspondence is centered around his fight against the “sticker plan” and his work on the Natural Resources History Project. Included in the Harrington papers is the correspondence of E.M. Griffith, State Forester of Wisconsin from 1904 to 1916. The memoranda files, 1931-1964, record the day-to-day internal workings of the Wisconsin Conservation Department. Again, see especially memoranda for the 1954 period. The subject and resource files contain material pertaining to sundry aspects of Harrington's work including material assembled for the Natural Resources History Project. Subject headings are general and much material is in miscellaneous files. The clipping files contain newspaper articles on all aspects of conservation, particularly in Wisconsin. There are a large number of clippings dealing with the 1954 controversy. Other items in the collection are class notebooks kept at the University of Michigan; a personal expense ledger; a plat book used in early Wisconsin Conservation Department work; and a daybook, journal, and account book recording financial transactions of Harrington's father's livery stable in Hurley.
Box   1	Biographical information
	Correspondence
Box   1	1909-1959
Box   2	1960-1966, undated
Box   2	Correspondence of E.M. Griffith, 1904-1916
Box   2	Memoranda Files, 1931-1964
	Subject Files
Box   3	Army service
Box   3	Association of State Foresters
Box   3	Devil's Lake investigation
Box   3	Departmental reorganization
Box   3	Financial matters
Box   3	Forests
Box   3	Forests/Parks
Box   3	Forest crop matters
Box   3	Forestry mill tax
Box   3	Investigations
Box   3	Land exchanges
Box   3	Legislation
Box   4	Minutes of the Commission
Box   4	Monthly calendars
Box   4	Natural Resources History Project
Box   4	Notes and articles
Box   4	Printed ephemera
Box   4	Reforestation, tree nurseries
Box   4	SHSW tape (Oral History Project) - transcript of Audio 219A
Box   4	State park stickers
Box   4	Transcript of , 1954 hearing
Box   4	Water conservation
Box   4	Wisconsin Forestry Association
Box   5	Miscellaneous Physical Description: 6 folders
	Resource Files
Box   6	Forest fires in Wisconsin
Box   5	History of conservation in Wisconsin Physical Description: 2 folders
Box   6	History of forestry in Wisconsin Physical Description: 2 folders
Box   6	Natural Resources History Project
Box   7 Folder   1	Clipping file, conservation miscellaneous, circa 1910-1916
Box   7 Folder   2	Class notebooks, University of Michigan, 1909-1913 Physical Description: 3 volumes
Box   7 Folder   4	Personal expense ledger
Box   7 Folder   5	Income tax form
Box   7 Folder   6	Miscellaneous personal
Box   7 Folder   7	[folder number skipped]
Box   7 Folder   3 and 8	Plat book of Wisconsin Lake region
Box   8	Daybook, journal, and account book recording financial transactions of T.S. Harrington's livery stable, Hurley, Wisconsin
PH 3164	Photographs
Folder   1	Portraits
Folder   2	Parks
Folder   3	Forestry
Folder   4	Group portraits
Folder   5	Company “D” 20th Engineers, Forestry Unit
Folder   6	Family
Folder   7	Hurley, Madison
Volume	Photograph album/Scrapbook
PH 3165	SS Tuscania, burial of U.S. dead, circa 1918
PH 3166	French pine forest product postcards, circa 1918-1919
Audio 219A	Audio recordings
219A/1-5	Reminiscences, 1960 January 12
M2005-048	Part 2 (M2005-048): Additions, 1910-1947 Physical Description: 1.2 c.f. (1 record center carton and 1 archives box), and 16 photographs and 14 negatives  Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1910-1947, consisting of correspondence and ephemera of C.L. Harrington and his family. The largest portion is correspondence from Neal Harrington to his future wife, Emily Chisholm, and his family while he served in Company D, 20th Engineering Regiment, 6th Battalion of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. In addition to his war letters, Harrington also wrote to his family and Chisholm while working in Trout Lake, Wisconsin. Also included are letters between Harrington and his wife Emily and their son John (Tim) T. Harrington and Richard (Dick) N. Harrington during their service in World War II. There are also several unidentified photographs and negatives possibly of Neal and Richard. Other miscellaneous items include Neal's leave of absence orders, ration books, and some literature issued to GIs, as well as dance cards, greeting cards, and wedding invitations.	⇧
	Correspondence
	C.L. Harrington outgoing
Box   1 Folder   1-10	Emily Chisholm, 1915-1922
Box   1 Folder   11-12	Family, 1917-1919
Box   1 Folder   13	Miscellaneous, 1910-1938
	Emily Chisholm outgoing
Box   1 Folder   14-22	C.L. Harrington, 1915-1920
Box   1 Folder   23	Miscellaneous, 1915-1920
Box   1 Folder   24-25	J.T. Harrington, 1945-1947
Box   1 Folder   26-27	Richard Harrington, 1945, 1947
Box   2 Folder   1	Miscellaneous Harrington family, 1931-1947
	Ephemera
Box   2 Folder   2-3	C.L. Harrington family
Box   2 Folder   4	World War II
PH Box   8	Photographs and negatives