The merger, according to Kuss, provides the public “one-stop” access to both the historical documents of the late Edmund S. Muskie, former U.S. Secretary of State and a member of the Bates Class of 1936, as well as the 7,000 rare books, 70 manuscript collections and more than 10,000 historical photographs of the college’s Special Collections.

“Under one roof we have a rich collection of historical college documents and photographs that reflect on the history of Bates, Lewiston Auburn and Maine,” Kuss said. “For instance, research on Muskie’s papers that form the core of U.S. environmental legislation as well as hundreds of letters written by environmentalist and award-winning author Rachel Carson can now be done in one building. Everyone should feel welcome to visit and peruse the Archive’s holdings.”

The merger also creates a formal Bates Archives program to document the official administrative records of the college since its 1855 founding.
“Having a college archives is a sign of institutional maturity,” said Chris Beam, Bates archivist. “It means the college recognizes its own history and is taking steps to preserve that history.”

Dedicated in 1985, the Edmund S. Muskie Archives documents Muskie’s career in public service from his first election to the Maine House of Representatives in 1946 to his appointment as U.S. Secretary of State in 1980, as well as his activities after leaving public office. The archives also holds a permanent collection of memorabilia from Muskie’s personal and public life. The collection — one of the largest in the nation on a non-presidential figure — provides students from Bates and elsewhere an opportunity to gain firsthand experience in historical research using primary documentary material.

Among Special Collections are The Dorothy Freeman Collection of letters exchanged between Freeman and Rachel Carson, author of “Silent Spring”; records of the Freewill Baptists; the Stanton Natural History Collection of ornithology books; and the Maine Small Press Collection, celebrating the artisanship of hand-bound and letterset press books made by Maine book publishers, printers and artists.

The Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections at Bates College is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The holdings of the Muskie Archives and Special Collections may not be checked out, but are available to the public for use inside the building. Contact Kuss or Beam at 207-786-6354 for more information, or visit the Muskie Archives online here.

The letters are part of the Dorothy Freeman Collection donated to the college in January 1998 by Stanley Freeman Jr., a 1947 alumnus of Bates, and his Orono family. The letters are now available to researchers in the Ladd Library special collections.

Speakers include Martha Freeman, editor of Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952-1964, who will discuss the letters written and exchanged by her grandmother and Carson. Robert Chute, professor emeritus of biology at Bates and noted poet, will discuss Carson’s influence as an environmentalist.

Carson (1907-1964) was a prominent figure in the development of the environmental movement in the United States. A biologist and writer, Carson is best remembered for the publication of Silent Spring (1962), a book that exposed the hazards of the widespread use of pesticides and insecticides. A best seller, the book aroused public opinion and sparked a national debate that helped to initiate state and federal legislation.

She joined the federal Bureau of Fisheries in 1936 and became editor-in chief of its publications in 1940 when it was reorganized into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 1951, Carson published The Sea Around Us, winner of the National Book Award. Shortly thereafter, she resigned from the service to devote herself to writing full time.

Dorothy Freeman met Carson in 1952 shortly after Carson built a summer cottage on Southport along the Maine coast. Freeman and her husband summered on property adjacent to Carson.

Freeman and Carson developed an enduring and intimate friendship. Their letters document this relationship, including their mutual interests, struggles and deep love of the natural world, as well as Carson’s development as a writer and her long battle with cancer. Before Carson died in 1964, she made arrangements for Freeman’s letters to be returned to her. Consequently, both sides of the correspondence are included in the Bates collection, and the two series are now available for research.

The Rachel Carson Letters to Dorothy Freeman (1952-64) includes 543 letters. The Dorothy Freeman Letters to Rachel Carson (1954-64) contains 188 letters. Slightly more than half of these letters were published in Martha Freeman’s book. Stanley Freeman Jr. and his wife, Madeleine Richard Freeman, both members of the Bates class of 1947, are the parents of Martha Freeman.

For more information about the collection, call the Bates College special collections at 207-786-6272.