Guide to the Papers of John Harpster, 1958-1971

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Papers of John Harpster
Creator
Harpster, John W., -- 1910-1973.
Collection Number
MSS#19
Extent
1 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Date
1958-1971
Abstract
John W. Harpster, a military historian who was educated at the University of Pittsburgh, was a leader of the historical community of Western Pennsylvania, holding positions at the Carnegie Library, the Fort Pitt Museum, and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. These papers consist primarily of correspondence, financial material, and publications relating to the Fort Pitt Museum, the development of Fort Necessity Historical Park, and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
This guide to the collection was originally prepared by Ruth Salisbury Reid in 1973; the papers were rearranged and the inventory rewritten by Rachel Balliet on July 1, 1993. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in Spring 2000.
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project, a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical Sketch of John Harpster (1910-1973)

John W. Harpster was a leader of the historical community of Western Pennsylvania and both supported and worked towards many endeavors to preserve the region's history. Harpster was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1910. He attended the University of Pittsburgh for both his undergraduate (B.A., 1931) and graduate (M.A., 1933) degrees. A military historian by trade, he served as a research fellow for the Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey from its inception until 1937 and as Curator for the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania to 1938. During this period, Harpster wrote Pen Pictures of Early Western Pennsylvania, which was published in 1936 under the direction of Solon Buck. From 1938 until 1944, Harpster taught history for the University of Pittsburgh at the main campus and at the school's satellite campus at Erie Center. Harpster entered the armed services and worked there until 1959. Among his assignments was his service as technical projects editor for the Army Corps of Engineers, at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and for the Office of Naval Research in Washington.

Upon his return to Western Pennsylvania in the early 1960s, John Harpster held a variety of positions with historical organizations in the region. Harpster worked at the Carnegie Library as an archivist from 1961-1963 and then with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania in the same capacity from 1964-1966. He briefly left the Historical Society to serve as curator for the Fort Pitt Museum (1967-1968). Harpster was a logical choice for the curator position as he had served the previous five years as a consultant to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, where he developed plans and exhibits for the Fort Pitt Museum. He returned to the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania as director and held that position from September 1, 1968, until September, 1972. He resigned because of ill health and died shortly thereafter at his home in Wilkinsburg on January 31, 1973.

Scope and Content Notes

The Papers of John Harpster consist primarily of correspondence, financial material and publications relating to the Fort Pitt Museum, the development of Fort Necessity Historical Park and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. These materials document Harpster's role in the planning, implementation and operation of these organizations and include correspondence to funding agencies, prominent historians, libraries and artifact dealers. These papers primarily document Harpster's work on the Fort Pitt Museum and include extensive correspondence regarding background research for the museum and Fort Pitt; the acquisition of archival material, and artifacts for the museum's exhibit; and the development plans for the site by the Allegheny Conference and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Correspondents include Stanton Belfour, Director of the Pittsburgh Foundation, regarding the Fort Pitt Museum Fund, and Charles M. Stotz, regarding the design and function of Point Park and the Fort Pitt Museum. Correspondence with dealers consists primarily of invoices and receipts of sale. Correspondence with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission relates to the establishment of the museum and surrounding area as a state park, the funding of the park and of Harpster's research, and general plans for the project.

Material relating to Fort Necessity is not comprehensive, but includes correspondence with the U.S. Department of the Interior regarding ownership of the site. Material relating to the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania documents his role with the institution as Society archivist (1964-1965). Also included are papers related to his teaching at the University of Pittsburgh (1942 and 1962) and published materials from various historical parks in the United States and Canada, which Harpster visited prior to designing the Fort Pitt museum.

Arrangement

The John Harpster Papers are housed in two archival boxes and are arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These materials came in one accession, in 1973.

Acc# 1973.3 -- Gift of the Estate of John W. Harpster, (Papers).

Preferred Citation

Papers of John Harpster, 1958-1971, MSS #19, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Ruth Salisbury Reid in 1973.

The papers were rearranged and the inventory rewritten by Rachel Balliet on July 1, 1993.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Martha L. Berg on April 5, 2000.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Allegheny Conference (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
    • Fort Necessity National Battlefield (Farmington, Pa.).
    • Fort Pitt Museum (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
    • Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
    • Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (Harrisburg, Pa.).
    • University of Pittsburgh.

    Personal Names

    • Belfour, Stanton, -- 1906-1969.
    • Stotz, Charles Morse, -- 1899-1985.

    Other Subjects

    • Antique dealers.
    • Historic sites -- Pennsylvania -- Fayette County.
    • Historic Sites -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Historical museums -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Museums -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Universities and colleges -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.

Container List

Fort Necessity, 1971
Containers
Box 1, Folder 1
Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, 1964-1965
Containers
Box 2, Folder 2
Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1962
Containers
Box 2, Folder 3