Finding Aid to the Irene S. Vickrey Papers MSA.75
Tracy Brown, Cheryl Miller, Molly Smith
Library and Archives at the Autry
2024
210 South Victory Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502
rroom@theautry.org
Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Irene S. Vickrey Papers
Creator:
Vickrey, Irene S.
Identifier/Call Number: MSA.75
Physical Description:
0.8 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1935-1941
Abstract: Irene S. Vickrey (1911-1946) was the Works Progress Adminstration supervisor at the archaeological project at Besh-Ba-Gowah,
near Globe, Arizona. The papers in the Irene Vickrey collection reflect, for the most part, her work on the Besh-Ba-Gowah
archaeological project.
Language of Material:
English
.
In accordance with the Autry's institution wide Management of Native Collections policy, access to this collection is restricted
due to culturally sensitive content. Requests for researcher access to materials identified as culturally sensitive may require
letters of support from the affiliated Native nations and Indigenous communities.
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit
https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library and Archives at the Autry. Permission for publication is given
on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or
imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Most of the contents of the Irene S. Vickrey Papers are related to her work on the excavation project at the Besh-Ba-Gowah
archaeological site, located near Globe, Arizona. Materials include field notes, lists of rooms and objects that were excavated,
a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project proposal, and photographs of excavation related activities and objects.
The collection is arranged into three series: Besh-Ba-Gowah Project Records; Personal Papers; and Photographs. The Besh-Ba-Gowah
Project Records are largely comprised of Vickrey's field notes related to excavations and findings at the Besh-Ba-Gowah site.
These field notes contain detailed information regarding room excavations, including burial sites, pottery and other objects
found through excavations. All material found in this series is dated with the project dates "1935-1940" except where more
exact dates could be found in the notebooks or files. There is a small amount of material in the Personal Files. The photographs
are arranged by subject. Most of the photographs appear to be related to the Besh-Ba-Gowah excavation project. Few are dated
or numbered. Thus, like the Besh-Ba-Gowah Project Records, they are assigned the date "1935-1940."
In accordance with the Autry's policy for the
Management of Native Collections, culturally sensitive materials are restricted.
Irene S. Vickrey (1910-1946) was born Luella Irene Singleton in Hume, Illinois, on 1910 April 4. She first studied archaeology
at the University of Indiana. She married Parke E. Vickrey in 1931. Both Irene and Parke Vickrey shared an interest in archaeology
and were selected to attend the University of Arizona summer archaeology camps, directed by Dr. Emil Haury. Irene Vickrey
went on to study at the University of Arizona for an additional year, including two summers of field work.
In 1935, Irene Vickrey was one of three people elected to the Board of Directors of the newly formed Gila County Archaeological
Society. She began a formal excavation of the prehistoric ruins near Globe, Arizona. Vickrey named the site "Besh-Ba-Gowah,"
an Apache word meaning "place of metal" or "metal camp" that referred to the nearby town of Globe, Arizona. During the Depression,
the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and then the Works Projects Administration (WPA) funded excavations of
the site. Federal policy prohibited married women from holding government jobs during this time, therefore Vickrey was appointed
"sponsor supervisor" instead of "foreman" of the project. She directed the excavation project from May 1935 to October 1940.
In 1940, Vickrey became curator of the Gila County Museum.
Vickrey had longstanding health problems and died in 1946 at age 35. She died before she could publish a final report on her
findings and her extensive field notes were forgotten until archaeologists reexamined the site in the 1980s.
Historical Note - Besh-Ba-Gowah archaeological site
Besh-Ba-Gowah is located one mile southwest of Globe, Arizona at the confluence of Pinal Creek and Ice House Canyon Wash.
Archaeological evidence indicates that the site was occupied as early as 550 AD, with continuous occupation through approximately
1450 AD by the Hohokam and then Salado cultures. Salado is the term used to describe the prehistoric peoples who inhabited
the Globe/Miami and Tonto Basin, Arizona regions between AD 1150 and AD 1450. Evidence of both the Hohokam and Salado groups
has been found at the Besh-ba-Gowah site. During the Salado period, Besh-Ba-Gowah functioned as a ceremonial, redistribution
and food storage complex since it was located on a major trading route from Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico to the Salado
River.
Besh-Ba-Gowah is an Apache word meaning "place of metals," and refers to modern mining activity. The area was first investigated
by Dr. Adolph F. Bandolier in the 1880s, and further explored by amateur archaeologist, William Davenport. Bandelier surveyed
the ruin and produced a map. Excavation of the site was begun as part of a Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
project in 1935. In 1938, the project was continued as a subproject of the Statewide Archaeological Project (led by Dr. Emil
Haury) within the Works Projects Administration (WPA). The activities of the Besh-Ba-Gowah project included excavation and
reconstruction of significant ruins, the preparation of collected materials such as pottery, and development of a museum where
objects could be displayed. Besh-Ba-Gowah has one of the largest single site archaeological collections in the southwest U.S.
and is one of the most significant finds of southwest archaeology. Between 1935 and 1940, all 200 plus surface rooms at the
site were completely excavated and 350 burial sites were identified.
The ruin fell into disrepair after WPA funding ran out. The southernmost rooms and the secondary room block were bulldozed
in the 1950s, and a trailer park was built on the site's south side. In 1982, the eastern edge was bulldozed for a softball
field. Today, the Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park and Museum are popular attractions and part of a city park.
References for Biographical and Historical Notes
Cleere, Jan. "Archaeologist Irene Vickrey excavated ancient site Besh-Ba-Gowah."
Arizona Daily Star, November 20, 2022.
Hohmann, John. 1984. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Arizona SP Besh-Ba-Gowah." National Archives.
Record Group 79: Records of the National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks
Program Records: Arizona. [Retrieved from the National Archives NextGen Catalog, catalog.archives.gov/id/75609834, January
26, 2024]
Vickrey, Irene. "Besh-Ba-Gowah: The Ancient City."
Arizona Highways, Vol. 15, No.1 Jan. 1939.
Please note that this resource contains culturally sensitive images that may be harmful or difficult to view.
Vickrey, Irene. "Besh-Ba-Gowah."
The Kiva, Vol. 4, No.5, Feb. 1939.
Donated by Linn Skinner, 2002.
Irene S. Vickrey Papers, 1935-1941, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MSA.75; [folder number] [folder title][date].
Irene S. Vickrey and Parke E. Vickrey Papers 1933-1941; and Additional information on Besh-Ba-Gowah, 1981-1983. Arizona State Museum. Archives.
Works Progress Administration (WPA) Statewide Archaeological Project. MS 2. Arizona State Museum. Archives.
Finding aid originally written by Tracy Brown, 2002 and encoded by Cheryl Miller, 2010. Revised by Molly Smith, 2024.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park (Globe, Ariz.)
Excavations (Archaeology) -- Arizona
Hohokam culture -- Arizona
Indian pottery -- Arizona -- Gila County
Indians of North America -- Arizona -- Antiquities
Potsherds -- Arizona -- Gila County
Salado Culture -- Arizona -- Globe Region
Women archaeologists
Field notes
Photographs
Besh-Ba-Gowah Project Records Series 1 1935-1940
box 1, folder MSA.75.1
box 1, folder MSA.75.2
box 1, folder MSA.75.3
box 1, folder MSA.75.4
Field Notebook no. 4
Pocket-size notebook with handwritten notes in pencil that describe excavations at Besh-Ba-Gowah and visits to other locations
such as Gypsum Bluff, Sierra Ancha, and Sabrino Canyon. Notes contain information about pottery and other materials found
at the excavation sites, including descriptions of burial sites.
box 1, folder MSA.75.5
box 1, folder MSA.75.6
box 1, folder MSA.75.7
Room Excavation and Pottery Notes
Detailed handwritten or typewritten descriptions of pottery found at the excavation site and characteristics of excavated
rooms (such as room dimensions, height of walls, wall construction, floor and floor perforations, and fire pits). Includes
catalog list of "Salt River Redware."
box 1, folder MSA.75.8
Personal Papers Series 2
box 2, folder MSA.75.9
Miscellaneous Papers 1937-1941
Undated registration card for a correspondence course at Indiana University, undated newspaper clipping about archaeological
findings in Mexico, a letter dated April 8, 1937, from the National Rifle Association attempting to identify a gun owned by
the Gila County Museum (?), and May 1941 copy of "The Mountain Canary"- a newsletter published by the Globe Business and Professional
Women's Club (of which Vickrey was a member).
Photographs Series 3 1935-1940
box 2, folder MSA.75.10
box 2, folder MSA.75.11
box 2, folder MSA.75.12
box 2, folder MSA.75.13
box 2, folder MSA.75.14
Pottery and Implements circa 1938
29 black and white photographs, mainly of whole pots and pottery shards. It is not clear if all the pottery or implements
photographed are from the Besh-Ba-Gowah site. Only one photograph is labeled: "Gila Co. Museum, Gila Arizona. Showing archaeological,
geological and historical displays."
box 2, folder MSA.75.15
Pottery Processing - Gila County Museum circa 1938
24 black and white photographs showing women reconstructing pottery. One photograph is labeled with a Works Progress Administration
(WPA) stamp that indicates date photo was taken (11/9/38), project number (1102), city (Globe, Arizona), county (Gila), title
(Gila County Museum), and descriptive caption: "Pottery being reconstructed and mended. The completed olla at right is one
of the largest found at Besh-Ba-Gowah."