Research
- Valerie Yow
Author and Oral Historian
The SPOHP collections are available for research. Our archive includes more than 4,000 interviews and a wide variety of scholarly primary source materials. Researchers can view some of our transcripts online through the UF Digital Libraries. Researchers can also view indexes of our collection through our catalog below.
Our current projects are housed in our archives at Pugh Hall. Please email Roberta Peacock to set up a time to utilize our facilities.
Collection
The Samuel Proctor Oral History Archives are now online!
The Catalog of Collections 2004 is also available to download (requires Adobe Acrobat):
- Catalog of Collections 2004 Jacket
- Catalog of Collections 2004 Body
- View summaries of selected interviews
The Collection Contents
Approximately 4,000 interviews and more than 100,000 pages of transcribed material are part of the collection, making it the largest oral history archive in the South and one of the top collections in the country. The transcribed interviews are available for use by research scholars, students, journalists, genealogists and other interested groups. Researchers have used our oral history material for theses, dissertations, articles and books.
Our major collection has more than 900 interviews with Native Americans--including Seminoles, Cherokees, and Creeks. Other holdings include diverse subjects, such as African Americans in Florida, Civil Rights activities in St. Augustine (1964), women in Florida, pioneer settlers, a history of Florida education, the citrus industry and the Florida Highway Patrol.
Other significant collections include Florida politicians, Florida newspapers, growth management in Florida, a history of the University of Florida, the UF Law School, the UF Medical School, UF College of Nursing, the Civilian Conservation Corps, African Americans in the Korean War, Florida business leaders and the UF Women's Studies Program.
Our tapes and transcriptions contain interviews with Italian immigrants in Ybor City, farmers along the Suwannee River, Florida "Crackers," and 178 conversations with rural women from all across America. Our files also feature interviews with such distinguished Floridians as: Walter L. "Red" Barber, sports announcer; Dr. Robert Cade, inventor of Gatorade; former governors Farris Bryant and LeRoy Collins; former University of Florida presidents; and U.S. Senator Bob Graham.
SPOHP also houses sound archives, which include University of Florida-related speeches; videotapes of television interviews with prominent individuals, such as Dean Rusk, William C. Westmoreland and George McGovern; Native American slides and photographs; and 350 recordings of music including concerts, folk music and Native American chants.
