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Frank Midvale Papers 1865-1972 (bulk 1930-1972)

MSS-147

Biographical Note

Frank J. Midvale was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on May 9, 1903 and moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona in 1907. He demonstrated an early interest in archeology, showing some stone axes he had found to city archaeologist Omar A. Turney when he was in the fifth grade. Midvale went on to aid Turney in mapping prehistoric canal systems in the Phoenix area and purchased Mesa Grande (a Classic period mound) from a Mesa, Arizona farmer in 1927.

Midvale was admitted to the University of Arizona in 1924 and attended for a year before returning to his work. He supervised expeditions for Phoenix businessman Dwight B. Heard in 1927, 1928, and 1929 at La Ciudad and worked at odd jobs during the early 1930s. He returned to the University of Arizona in 1931 and graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1938. He then entered the University's graduate program in archaeology and stayed in Tucson until 1940.

When several Army Air Force training fields were proposed for construction in the Salt River Valley, Midvale mapped the archaeological features likely to be destroyed by the construction of Williams Air Force Base. This site is now known as the "Midvale Site" and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Midvale joined the AAF in 1942.

In 1944, Midvale married Grace Murdock. The couple had two children, Edward and Lorraine (Midvale) McGaw. The family moved to Mesa Grande in 1951 and Frank Midvale began a career as a public school teacher in Ajo, Arizona in 1955. He taught until 1960, commuting 140 miles to Mesa Grande on the weekends to help supervise the excavations being conducted by Dr. Kenneth Stewart and students from Arizona State University. He became a seasonal ranger at Casa Grande National Monument in 1962, continuing to serve until his retirement in 1968. The Midvales sold Mesa Grande to a Phoenix businessman in 1963. Frank Midvale also completed his Master's Degree in Archaeology at the University of Arizona (1954) and continued mapping prehistoric canals along the Gila River until his death in November of 1971.

Source: Morris, Donald H. "Frank J. Midvale, 1903-1971". American Antiquity (39:3), July 1974.

Scope and Content Note

The Frank Midvale Papers house correspondence, manuscripts, notes, photographs, maps, and printed material documenting Midvale's archaeological work. Although the collection dates from 1865 to 1972, the bulk of the material was created between 1930 and 1972. The papers are arranged in six series.

Series I: Correspondence dates from 1941 to 1974 and houses manuscripts, biographical correspondence, obituaries, and subject files composed of printed materials.

Series II: Scrapbooks contains photographs, maps, and newsclippings dating from 1865 to 1974. The bulk of the material dates from 1935 to 1970 and documents Midvale's efforts to survey prehistoric canals and other ruins in Arizona. Also included are materials documenting nineteenth- and twentieth century sites and their impact on antiquities. Midvale arranged these materials into scrapbooks focusing on selected geographic areas. The majority of the maps and photographs are annotated and descriptions are included.

Series III: Photographs includes black and white and color prints of various sizes, 35mm color transparencies, and black and white and color negatives of various sizes. The majority of these images are negatives for photographs used in scrapbooks and companion images. Many are accompanied by proofsets or prints and some have explanatory notes. Slide jackets are annotated with identifications and comments. Although these images date from 1946 to 1970, most are undated.

Series IV: Maps houses manuscripts dating from 1886 to 1970. Some of these maps are hand drawn, others are photocopies of hand drawn maps, and others were created by joining segments of printed maps. All are extensively annotated with markings indicating the locations of ruins and canals from prehistory or from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Explanatory notes and comments are also included.

Series V: Illustration Boards houses photographs and notes describing specific topics that have been mounted on poster boards. These materials are undated.

Series VI: Aerial Photographs are folio sized and depict areas rich in anthropological features.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Culturally sensitive Native American materials located in this collection, specifically boxes 5, 11, 18, 34, 39 and all maps, are restricted and cannot be made available to patrons in accordance with the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials.

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Frank Midvale Papers, MSS-147, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

The Frank Midvale Papers were received from the Arizona State University Department of Anthropology in 1997 (ACC# 1997-01875). Grace Midvale donated the materials to the Department of Anthropology in 1973.

Container List