Ferguson, A. Claude mss., ca. 1970–2009

Papers of Claude Ferguson at the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Creator: Ferguson, Claude, 1923-
Title: Ferguson, A. Claude mss.
Collection No.: LMC 2753
Dates: ca. 1970-2009
Quantity:

Quantity: 9 Boxes

Abstract: The Ferguson, A. Claude mss., ca. 1970–2009, consist of the correspondence, collected subject files, writings and legal records of Claude Ferguson, a career employee of the U.S. Forest Service who was instrumental in the creation of the Charles C. Deam Wilderness area, Indiana's only Federal Wilderness area, in the Hoosier National Forest.
Location: ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility)
Language: Materials are in English .
Repository: Lilly Library
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500
Business Number: 812-855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu
URL: https://libraries.indiana.edu/lilly-library

Biographical Note

Claude Ferguson was born on January 13, 1923, the second child of Carl and Mary Willie Boles Ferguson. Ferguson joined the U.S. Forest Service in 1940, as a Fire Lookout in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri while still in high school. He served three years in the U.S. Navy during World War II, returning to the Mark Twain as a Forestry Aid following his release from the Navy. He obtained a B.S. degree in Forestry with distinction from the University of Missouri in 1952. In 1966, he became Forest Supervisor of the Wayne (Ohio) and Hoosier (Indiana) National Forests with headquarters in Bedford, Indiana.

Beginning in April, 1970, when confronted with increasing pressures to permit the development and use of off-road vehicle trails in the Hoosier National Forest, Ferguson "met the test of his lifetime" and "deviated from the norms of the U.S. Forest Service articulated by Herbert Kaufman in The Forest Ranger , to become a government guerrilla against the organization he loved," working through the media and the courts to halt the destruction of this pristine wilderness area and leading to legal fallout with the U.S. Forest Service. In addition to his years in the service of forest defense, Ferguson was an accomplished spoon player and a scholar of the Bright Hope Furnace Ledger, a 1835 daily sales ledger for the Bright Hope Iron Furnace company store in Greene County, TN which Ferguson transcribed.

Scope and Content Note

The Subject Files series includes correspondence, clippings, publications, and notes relating to various environmentally and personally significant topics. Legal Files encompass the correspondence, clippings, and reports surrounding Ferguson's legal battles with the U.S. Forest Service. The Bright Hope Furnace Ledger series collects Ferguson's notes and research regarding his transcription of the ledger, as well as contextual information about the locations and individuals mentioned within the ledger and the typescripts themselves.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into the following series: I. Subject Files; II. Legal Files; and III. Bright Hope Furnace Ledger.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

Usage Restrictions:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

Related Material

Deam Wilderness mss. , also located at the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Charles C. Deam papers , located at the University Archives, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Indexed Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Item], Ferguson, A. Claude mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Acquisition Information

Acquired: 2011

Collection Inventory

Series:

I. Subject Files

Scope and Contents: Includes correspondence, clippings, publications, and notes relating to various environmentally and personally significant topics.

box 1
Bedford City Plan Commission
box 1
Between Outings

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 1
Boy Scouts of America

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 1
Childhood Memorabilia – includes sewing cards, certificate of graduation from 3rd grade
box 1
Clippings , 1976
box 1
Clippings , 1977
box 1
Clippings and Pamphlets , 1978
box 1
Clippings , 1995
box 1
Clippings Related to Ferguson
box 1
Clippings – Miscellaneous
box 1
Collins Mining
box 1
Container Legislation
box 1
Correspondence A-Z
box 1
Environmental Quality Awards , 1976
box 1
Forest Service Chemicals
box 1
Hoosier Conservation

Physical Description: (4 folders)

box 1
Hoosier National Forest Plan

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 2
Indiana Conservation Council, Inc.
box 2
IU Lecture
box 2
IU Oral History
box 2
Izaak Walton League
box 2
Management Improvement Committee
box 2
Maps and Guides
box 2
Marble Hill and Nuclear Waste
box 2
Maumee Wildlife
box 2
Michael Frome
box 2
National Forest Press Releases
box 2
Nature Conservancy
box 2
ORV , 1999
box 2
Park Publications
box 2
Personal Records
box 2
Photographs
box 2
Programs
box 2
Saddle Lake – includes photograph
box 2
Sassafras Audubon Society
box 2
Timber Management
box 2
Trapping
box 2
Water Quality and Watershed
box 2
Wayne-Hoosier Organization Study

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 2
Wild Turkey
box 2
Wild Turkey Federation

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 2
Writings by Ferguson

Series:

II. Legal Files

Subseries:

Correspondence and Clippings
box 3
Affidavits
box 3
Agency
box 3
American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Involvement
box 3
Appeal
box 3
Appeal , 1976
box 3
Appeal Working Papers
box 3
Appellant Briefs
box 3
Appellant Exhibits

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 3
Attorney General
box 3
CBS
box 3
Concerned Citizens for Nebo Ridge Association (CCNRA)
box 3
Charges and Findings
box 3
Civil Actions
box 3
Civil Service Commission (CSC)
box 3
Classification Case
box 3
Code of Ethics
box 3
Cravens
box 4
Executive Order
box 4
Exhibits and Legislation

Physical Description: (3 folders)

box 4
Fire and Aviation Management
box 4
Forest Service Evidence

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 4
Government Accountability Project (GAP)
box 4
Girton Departure
box 4
Indiana Conservation Council, Inc. (ICCI)
box 4
Indiana Daily Student (IDS)
box 4
Interrogatories

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 4
Izaak Walton League
box 4
Law Photocopies

Physical Description: (3 folders)

box 4
Legal Expenses
box 4
Mitchell Ridge Road
box 4
Montagne Case
box 4
National Wildlife Fund (NWF)
box 5
Office of Investigation
box 5
ORV Case Conclusion

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 5
Personnel Change Actions
box 5
Pleadings
box 5
Reassignment
box 5
Rebuttal , 1970-1977

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 5
Rebuttal to Nebo Ridge
box 5
Rebuttal to ORVs

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 5
Rights and Regulations

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 5
Sandor and Gaze
box 5
Secretary of Agriculture

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 5
Spoons
box 5
Staff Meetings

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 6
Whistleblowers
box 6
Miscellaneous , 1970-1971

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 6
Miscellaneous , 1976-1978
box 6
Miscellaneous

Physical Description: (9 folders)

Subseries:

Reports
box 7
Appendix I – Analysis of OI Report following investigation of charges by A. Claude Ferguson of harassment, fraud, deceit and defamation of character of , 6/3/75

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 7
Appendix II – A. Claude Ferguson sworn statement to special agent Turn of USDA-OI of (harassment, fraud, deceit and defamation of character) , 6/3/75
box 7
Appendix III – A. Claude Ferguson sworn statement to special agent Turner, USDA-OI, of(charge of wrong-doing on part of certain Forest Service officials) , 6/4/75
box 7
Appendix IV – A. Claude Ferguson response to original charges to Forest Service , November, 1974

Physical Description: (3 folders)

box 7
Charges of Evidence

Physical Description: (3 folders)

box 7
Ferguson Affidavit , 8 June 1976
box 7
Ferguson Affidavit , 7 July 1976
box 7
Ferguson Affidavit , 27 July 1976
box 8
Investigation Report

Physical Description: (3 folders)

box 8
Response to Charges – Volume I , 29 October 1975

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 8
Response to Charges – Volume II , 29 October 1975

Physical Description: (3 folders)

box 8
Response to Charges – Volume III , 29 October 1975

Series:

III. Bright Hope Furnace ledger
box 8
Census

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 8
Correspondence A-Z
box 8
Maps, Deeds, and Publications

Physical Description: (2 folders)

box 9
Photocopies of Ledger

Physical Description: (4 folders)

box 9
Photographs
box 9
Typescripts

Physical Description: (2 folders)