Invitation to dedication ceremony, dedication program; illustrated program from ceremony (1928) inaugurating the Cape Girardeau Traffic Bridge over the Mississippi River; automobile toll sticker, mimeograph typescript (23p) of pageant script written by Dorothy Quarles and Laura St. Ann Keller for the dedication, September 3, 1928; and map “Motor Routes to Cape Girardeau Bridge,” showing routes to bridge from fourteen states, circa 1928.

Holograph document (1p) discharging Private Cooper from the service of the 7th Arkansas Regiment, Confederate States of America.

Newspaper clippings, correspondence, and other materials relating to the life of Louise R. Sparks Millner, a prominent African-American businesswoman of Southeast Missouri. Millner owned and operated the Sparks Funeral Homes of Cape Girardeau and Sikeston, Mo for 48 years, and was an active member of the community, focusing especially on the educational needs of children.

Typed letter (3p) from Wilson, Geologist, State of Missouri, Bureau of Geology and Mines, Rolla, [Mo], to Professor J. C. Logan, Missouri State Normal School, offering an explanation for the development of the Southeast Missouri lowlands.

Documents from St. Avit family of Cape Girardeau, including warranty deed for lot on Spanish Street, power of attorney assignment between John Duffort and John St. Avit, birth certificate for Jeanne Dupont, personal letter from Auguste Dolenc to “Nephew” and survey of tract lying northwest of the city of Cape Girardeau in 782 Township 31 North Range 13 East. Newspaper article provides background on St. Avit family. *Oversized.

Two copies of typed manuscript (11p) entitled “The Founding of St. Mary’s Seminary: An Historical Sketch, 1818-1968.” Author is unknown.

An honors paper written by Southeast Missouri State College student Howard Emerson on the roadside demonstrations that occurred in January of 1939 protesting the living conditions of sharecroppers throughout southeast Missouri.

Printed compilation of letters (20p) entitled “The Unjust and Unconstitutional Seizure of Land from Citizens of the Mingo Swamp Area in Southeast Missouri,” by Wagner to the editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch protesting the establishment of the Mingo Wildlife Refuge. Printed by the Candor Press, Dexter, [Mo].

Photocopied typescript (3p) entitled “The Civil War Forts in Cape Girardeau” by Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney and author Morley Swingle, briefly relating the history of Forts A, B, C, and D.

Primarily personal correspondence to and from members of a Cape Girardeau pioneer family, the most notable member of whom was Honorable William C. Ranney, who served on the Common Pleas Circuit Court from 1851 to circa 1861 and was elected State Senator in 1871.