Builders: Herman and George R. Brown Book Research Files
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, oral histories, notes, newsclippings, reports, published materials, photographs and ephemera in this collection document the family and business lives of Houston entrepreneurs Herman and George R. Brown, providing the basis for author Christopher Castaneda and Joseph Pratt's book, Builders : Herman and George R. Brown. Subjects include Texas roadbuilding, shipbuilding, dam building, coal transportation and pipelines, construction labor issues, politics, philanthropy and the Brown family's development of Houston medical, art, and educational institutions (including Rice University), and Brown family matters. Of particular value are the oral history interviews of important Texas businessmen and women, lawyers, and politicians regarding the Brown brothers and their legacy, as well as original correspondence, particularly with Lyndon Baines Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson. One set of chapter drafts for the Builders book is located in Series I. Dates range from 1898-1996.
Dates
- Creation: 1898 - 1989
Creator
- Castaneda, Christopher James (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This material is open for research.
Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish material from the Builders: Herman and George R. Brown Book Project Files, must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.
Permission to publish from Series VII : Minot Tully Pratt papers must be obtained from the Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin, where the originals of this materials reside.
Organizational History
This collection of material was gathered as the body of research supporting the publication of the book, Builders: Herman and George R. Brown, by Joseph A. Pratt and Christopher J. Castaneda, published 1999 by Texas A & M Press. Herman and George R. Brown were very successful Houston philanthropists and entrepreneurs in the fields of oil and gas, and building and construction, during the 1950-1980s. The Brown family has also been a significant and generous donor to Rice University. Christopher Castaneda received his bachelor's degree from Rice, and his masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Houston. He teaches history at California State University, Sacramento, and has authored several other books related to oil and gas.
Extent
19.5 Linear Feet (39 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Correspondence, oral histories, notes, newsclippings, reports, published materials, photographs and ephemera in this collection document the family and business lives of Houston entrepreneurs Herman and George R. Brown, providing the basis for author Christopher Castaneda and Joseph Pratt's book, Builders : Herman and George R. Brown
Acquisition Information
This material was collected by authors by Joseph A. Pratt and Christopher J. Castaneda in cooperation with Isabel Brown Wilson, daughter of George R. Brown, and given to the Woodson Research Center by Ms. Wilson on behalf of the Brown Foundation, 1998.
George R. Brown served a Trustee for Rice University and the Brown family has been a generous donor to the university, with many buildings named for family members.
Processing Information
Inventory prepared August 1999 by Lee Pecht, and updated by Mandy York, 2002.
Series VII Minot Tully Pratt papers, are comprised of photocopies made from the originals, located at the University of Texas at Austin's Center for American History.
MS464 also includes materials originally accessioned as MS480.
Subject
- Brown, Herman,1892-1962 (Person)
- Texas Eastern Corporation (Organization)
- Stude, Mike (Person)
- Pitzer, Kenneth S. (Kenneth Sanborn) (Person)
- Bentsen, Lloyd (Person)
- Brown Shipbuilding Company, Inc. (Organization)
- Rice University. Board of Trustees. (Organization)
- Brown family (Family)
- Brown & Root, Inc. (Organization)
- Brown Foundation (Houston, Tex.) (Organization)
- Brown, Alice Pratt (Person)
- Hobby, Oveta Culp (Person)
- Connally, John Bowden (Person)
- Hobby, William Pettus (Person)
- Johnson, Lady Bird (Person)
- Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines) (Person)
- Hackerman, Norman (Person)
- Pratt, Joseph A. (Person)
- Brown, George R., 1898-1983 (Person)
Genre / Form
- calendars
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Correspondence
- diaries
- Manuscripts
- Oral histories
- Records (documents)
- reports
- sketchbooks
- photographs
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Builders: Herman & George R. Brown Book Research Files, 1898-1989
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Amanda Focke
- Date
- 2003
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA
713-348-2586
woodson@rice.edu