William Gordon Murray papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: RS 13/9/15

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The collection contains the papers of William G. Murray. The documents consist of materials relating to Living History Farms, including original deeds, planning statements, brochures, correspondence, articles and clippings, evaluations, employee policies, admission data, exhibit construction, and program development. The program materials contain information on the Flynn Mansion, the 1900 Farm, the Farm of Today and Tomorrow, the Henry A. Wallace Crop Center, NEH grants, and Church of the Land. Also included in this collection is correspondence with the Wallace and Garst families of Iowa, and extensive material concerning the Pope's visit to Living History Farms in 1979. The remainder of the collection contains information on Murray's campaign for Governor, and materials from Iowa State University. Biographical information can be found at the beginning of Series 5.

Dates

Creation: circa 1850s-1991, undated

Language of Materials

English

Access Restrictions

Open for research.

Use/Re-use Restrictions

Consult Special Collections and University Archives

Biography/Profile

William Gordon "Bill" Murray was born on July 15, 1903 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Frederick G. and Jeanett (Stevenson) Murray. He received a B.A. (1924) from Coe College in economics, an M.A. (1925) from Harvard University in economics, and a Ph.D. (1932) from the University of Minnesota in agricultural economics.

Murray served as a graduate assistant (1925-1926) in the agricultural economics department at Iowa State College (University). After briefly serving as an Assistant Agricultural Economist with the United States Department of Agriculture, he returned to Iowa State as an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics (1927-1931). He was promoted to Associate Professor (1931-1937), Professor (1937-1974), and Professor Emeritus in 1974. Murray also served as the Head of the Department of Economics and Sociology at Iowa State (1944-1955). His research interests included farm credit, farm appraisal, and tax assessment of farm real estate. Among his major publications are Farm Appraisal: classification and valuation of farm land and buildings (ISU Press 1st edition 1940, 6th edition, 1980), and Agricultural Finance; principles and practice of farm credit (ISU Press 1st edition 1941, 7th edition 1980).

Murray ran as the Republican candidate for Governor of Iowa in 1958 and again in 1966. He was also engaged in Indian land appraisal in sixteen states for the United States Department of Justice. In addition, Murray served as research director (1955-1956) for the Iowa Taxations Study Committee, a member (1970-1976) of the Iowa Natural Resources Council, a member and Chairman (1975-1981) of the Iowa State Board of Tax Review, as chairman (1969-1970) of the Governor's Committee for United Nations Day, and as president (1948) of the American Agricultural Economics Association. In 1967, he helped organize the Living History Farms Foundation; he served as the group's research director (1967-1974), president (1974-1981), and chairman (1981-1988).

Murray received an international award for distinguished service to agriculture (1957) from Gamma Sigma Delta, honor society of agriculture. In addition, the Iowa State University Alumni Association awarded him with a Faculty Citation (1965) and he was named Professor of the Year by the Government of the Student Body (1974).

Murray married Mildred Furniss in July 1928; the couple had three children: David, Jean, and John. Mildred passed away in 1974 and he married Alice Van Wert of Hampton, Iowa in 1975. His daughter, Jean, married Tom Sutherland (both members of Iowa State's class of 1956), the Colorado State University professor and dean of faculty of agriculture and food science at the American University of Beirut who was held hostage in Lebanon (1985-1991).

Murray died of cancer in 1991 at the age of 88.

Extent

40.53 Linear Feet (22 records center cartons, 3 document boxes, 1 half-document box, two oversized boxes, 3 shoe boxes, 3 small artifact boxes, and 2 oversized folders in the map case)

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection has been arranged into six series:

Series 1, Living History Farms, 1965-1989

Series 2, Campaign for Governor, 1957-1967

Series 3, Land Appraisal, circa 1850s-1990, undated

Series 4, Indian Claims Commission, 1948-1978, undated

Series 5, Iowa State University and Community Activities, 1928-2014

Series 6, Wallace Family, 1934-1994

Each series is arranged chronologically, and then alphabetically, except for the first series, which is arranged alphabetically.