Last updated: December 5, 2024
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Guide to Jesse L. Nusbaum Papers
This finding aid describes the Jesse L. Nusbaum Papers, part of the NPS History Collection. To search this guide for names, places, key words, or phrases enter Ctrl F on your keyboard (command key + F key on a Mac). Request an in-person research appointment or get more information by contacting the archivist.
Collection Overview
Collection Number: HFCA 1645 (Series XIV.C)
Creator: Nusbaum, Jesse L.
Title: Jesse L. Nusbaum Papers
Dates: 1911-1970
Extent of Collection: 2.0 LF
Language of Materials: English
Digital Access: The collection has not been digitized.
Conditions Governing Access: This collection is open to research use. See the NPS general copyright and restricted information here.
Provenance: Donated to the NPS History Collection by Mrs. Rosemary Nusbaum.
Processing Note: This collection was processed and described by contractors in 2012. Updated by Nancy Russell in November 2024.
Rights Statement for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation: Jesse L. Nusbaum Papers, Assembled Historic Records of the NPS (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection
Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
Related Materials:
- Archeology Program Records, Assembled Historic Records of the NPS (HFCA 1645)
- Records of the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, Assembled Historic Records of the NPS (HFCA 1645)
Biographical Note
Jesse Logan Nusbaum was born in Greeley, Colorado, September 3, 1887, to Edward Moore and Agnes Strickland (Moodie) Nusbaum. His parents and maternal grandparents were members of the original Greeley colony organized by Horace Greeley. Nusbaum attended local public schools in Greeley and the Colorado Teachers College, receiving a degree in pedagogy, the study of the theory and practice of teaching, in 1907.
Upon graduation, Nusbaum began teaching science and manual arts at the New Mexico State Normal in Las Vegas. He spent the summers of 1907 and 1908 working as a photographer and archeological assistant to Alfred V. Kidder during excavations at Mesa Verde National Park. In June 1909 Nusbaum became the first employee of the School of American Archeology and Museum of New Mexico, under Dr. Edgar L. Hewett. As part of his duties, he participated in archeological surveys, investigations, excavations, and ruins stabilization in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colorado, and New Mexico.
Nusbaum returned to Mesa Verde for the excavation, repair, and stabilization of Balcony House, a significant project that extended into the winter of 1910. From September 1911 to June 1912, he worked in Washington, DC, contributing to exhibits for the Panama-California Exposition to be held in 1915 in San Diego, California. His innovations at Mesa Verde and manual arts background served him well during his supervision of the restoration of the New Mexico Palace of Governors in Santa Fe, which was completed in fall 1913. Also in 1913, Nusbaum worked for three months in the Maya ruins of Yucatan, with Dr. Sylvanus G. Morley. He also helped restore the 17th century mission church at Pecos National Historic Site. He later used some of its design when he served as supervisor of construction for the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts, built in 1916-1919.
In May 1918, Nusbaum enlisted in the US Army during World War I. He aspired to be an aviator but instead became an engineer serving in France. He achieved the rank of corporal. He was honorably discharged April 1919. Upon his return to the United States, Nusbaum was employed at the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation in New York City, until 1921. He continued to conduct expeditions in the Southwest.
Nusbaum married Aileen Baehrens O’Bryan on September 21, 1920, becoming stepfather to her son Deric. She traveled across southern Utah by pack train and helped him excavate a Basket Maker cave site. In 1921 he was selected by National Park Service (NPS) Director Stephen T. Mather and Assistant Director Arno B. Cammerer to be superintendent at Mesa Verde. The Nusbaums worked that first winter to build their home and most of their furniture. Eileen also worked with him to design several new buildings for the park and their furnishings. She and Deric also participated in excavations at the park.
Although he encountered resistance from several Colorado politicians, Nusbaum become an effective superintendent, advancing the development of the park. He discontinued grazing, built a museum, and developed interpretive programs, especially ones designed to explain the Antiquities Act. His involvement with the Act led to his designation in 1927 as the lead archeologist and prime enforcer of the Act for the Southwest while still remaining Mesa Verde superintendent. Nusbaum continued in this dual capacity until 1930, when he took a leave of absence to organize and direct the Laboratory of Anthropology at Santa Fe, New Mexico. He remained director of the laboratory until 1935, having earlier returned to the NPS and resumed his duties as Mesa Verde superintendent and archeologist enforcing the Antiquities Act.
Jesse and Eileen Nusbaum divorced in 1939. He married Rosemary Lewis Rife, a nurse, on December 11, 1947. In the late 1940s he left Mesa Verde for the NPS Southwest Regional Office in Santa Fe and increased duties as the senior archeologist of the NPS. Nusbaum received an honorary doctorate from Colorado State in 1946.
In the 1950s Nusbaum, as consulting archeologist for the Department of the Interior (DOI), prevailed upon El Paso Natural Gas Company to pay for excavations along the pipe route from the Four Corners area and West Texas to the West Coast. This was a significant advance in salvage archeology, and Nusbaum later worked with the Canadian government and others to implement similar measures.
For this and many other accomplishments, Nusbaum received the Distinguished Service Award from the DOI in 1954. He was listed in Who’s Who in America from 1931 until 1960 and was also included in the Directory of American Scholars and American Men of Science. He belonged to many civic associations including: Laboratory of Anthropology (trustee, 1923-1938); Advisory Board (member, 1927); State Park Commission of New Mexico (1933-1936); American Association of Museums (1932-1935); Indian Arts Fund (trustee, 1927); Old Santa Fe Association (commissioner, 1946-1975); School of American Research, (management board, 1947); U.S. International Park and Forest Commission; Museum of New Mexico; Pi Gamma Mu; American Association for the Advancement of Science; chairman, Social Sciences, Southwest Division (1932-1933) and vice president 1935 of the American Anthropological Association; Society for American Archeology; and American Planning and Civic Association.
A year late, Nusbaum took mandatory retirement in 1957 at the age of seventy-one. He continued to do consulting work for many years. Jesse L. Nusbaum died in Santa Fe on December 21, 1975, at the age of 88.
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence, reports, research files, clippings, and personal papers. related to Nusbaum's archeological contributions as well as his role as superintendent of Mesa Verde National Park. Nusbaum's day books from 1946 until 1958 are included. Key correspondents include NPS archeologist Jean Pinkley, Congressman Lewis Compton, Emil Haury, and J.D. Rockefeller. Topics include archeology and paleontology research permits; conferences; ruins stabilization; Native Americans, and land deals. The so-called "nut files" relate to myths and correspondents who shared their beliefs with Nusbaum.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Container List
BOX 01
Folder 01: Antiquities Act: In-Service Training Publication and Pipeline
Archeology, undated
Folder 02: Antiquities Act: NPS Director’s Permits, 1949-1952
Folder 03: Antiquities Act: Northwest Pipeline, 1932-1958
Folder 04: Antiquities Act: Paleontologists, 1931-1959
Folder 05: Antiquities Act: Permits for Paleontologists, etc., 1934-1958
Folder 06: Antiquities Act: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1947-1955
Folder 07: Antiquities Act: Violations, Chaco, 1954-1958
Folder 08: Archeology: Appointments and Personal Data, 1935-1959
Folder 09: Archeology: Conferences, 1947
Folder 10: Archeology: Consultation Work, 1932-1958
Folder 11: Archeology: Duties of Nusbaum, 1927-1956
Folder 12: Archeology: Fossils in the Public Domain Article, 1951-1959
Folder 13: Archeology: Inspection of Teesc-Nos-Pas in Carriso
Mountains, 1938-1939
Folder 14: Archeology: Investigation and Planning of Mancos Canyon
Project, 1939-1942
Folder 15: Archeology: Ruin Repair and Stabilization Surveys, 1934-1957
Folder 16: Archeology: Supervision of Conservation, 1938-1949
BOX 02
Folder 01: Cliff Cities NP (Proposed), 1921-1968
Folder 02: Congressional Inspection Committee, 1931-1955
Folder 03: Correspondence, 1937-1944
Folder 04: Correspondence, 1945-1947
Folder 05: Correspondence: Compton, Lewis (Congressman), 1966
Folder 06: Correspondence: Data for Freeman Tilden on J.D. Rockefeller,
1924-1956
Folder 07: Correspondence: General Directors Colton, Dentzel, and
Danson, 1931-1960
Folder 08: Correspondence: Haury, Emil, 1946-1957
Folder 09: Correspondence: Pinkley, Jean (Pecos Monument), 1957-1967
Folder 10: Correspondence: Rockefeller, J.D., 1926-1960
Folder 11: Correspondence: “R to Z,” 1921-1924
Folder 12: Day Book, 1946
BOX 03
Folder 01: Day Book, 1947
Folder 02: Day Book, 1948
Folder 03: Day Book, 1949
Folder 04: Day Book, 1951
Folder 05: Day Book, 1952
Folder 06: Day Book, 1953
BOX 04
Folder 01: Day Book, 1954
Folder 02: Day Book, 1955
Folder 03: Day Book, 1956
Folder 04: Day Book, 1957-1958
Folder 05: Mesa Verde: Clippings, 1934-1970
Folder 06: Mesa Verde: Correspondence, 1920-1945
Folder 07: Mesa Verde: NPS Personnel, 1923-1948
Folder 08: Mesa Verde: Nusbaum’s Early Work at Mesa Verde, 1911-1956
Folder 09: Mesa Verde: Nusbaum’s Return to Mesa Verde, 1934-1954
BOX 05
Folder 01: Mesa Verde: Porcupines, 1930-1947
Folder 02: Mesa Verde: Roads-Soda Canyon, 1950
Folder 03: Mesa Verde: Stella Leviston, 1921-1924
Folder 04: Mesa Verde: Ute Indian Land Deals, 1951-1954
Folder 05: Natural Bridges National Monument, 1949
Folder 06: Nut Files: Correspondence, 1920-1956
Folder 07: Nut Files: Frank Buker (South Dakota Black Hills), 1939-1940
Folder 08: Nut Files: Harry “Two-Guns” Miller, 1947-1951
Folder 09: Nut Files: Leo Thorne, 1933
Folder 10: Nut Files: Mummifying Zone in New Mexico, 1940
Folder 11: Nut Files: Natoni Nezbah, 1947-1956
Folder 12: Nut Files: Old Prospector and His “Magic Wands,” 1938
Folder 13: Personal: Clippings and Data for Future Articles, 1945-1969
Folder 14: Personal: Congrats and Praise, 1931-1951
Folder 15: Personal: Correspondence: Newton Drury, 1941-1953
Folder 16: Personal: Correspondence: Role as Superintendent, 1922-1961
Folder 17: Personal: Laboratory of Anthropology, 1930-1947
Folder 18: Personal: Travel Expenses, 1944-1958
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