Guide to the Wilbur Doudna Papers

This finding aid describes the Wilbur Doudna 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 3485
Accession Number: HFCA-01703
Creator: Doudna, Wilbur (1902-1986)
Title: Wilbur Doudna Papers
Dates: ca. 1923-1987 (bulk dates: 1936-1965)
Volume of Collection: 0.4 LF
Language of Materials: English

Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized.

Conditions Governing Access: This collection is open to research use.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use: Copyright status of slides and photographs has not been established. See https://rightsstatements.org/page/UND/1.0/?language=en. See also the NPS general copyright & restrictions information.
Provenance: Donated to the NPS History Collection by Richard Painter in 2018. Painter is Wilbur Doudna’s nephew-in-law.
Processing Note: This collection was processed using More Product Less Process (MPLP) methods by Nancy Russell in June 2025.

Rights Statements for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation: Wilbur Doudna Papers, NPS History Collection (HFCA 3485)
Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

Related Materials:

• Doudna’s Death Valley research materials were donated to Death Valley National Park in 1988.
• Assembled Historic Records of the National Park Service, NPS History Collection (HFCA 1645)

Biographical Note

Wilbur “Wib” Doudna was born November 1, 1902, in Fontana, Kansas. He was one of seven children born to Len and Effie Murphey Doudna. He married Violet Brockway around 1927. Their daughter Mary Jeannette was born the next year, shortly before he graduated from Ottawa University in Kansas. He went on to complete graduate work in forestry at the University of Michigan.

After working several years as a schoolteacher, Doudna began his NPS career in 1936 at Death Valley National Monument (now a national park). While there he conducted research on Desert Bighorn sheep, writing several papers on the subject. He transferred to Boulder Dam National Recreation Area (now Lake Mead National Recreation Area) in 1941. As at Death Valley, he was active in the control of feral burros at his new assignment. However, his work was interrupted by World War II. He joined the United States Navy, serving from October 1942 to April 1945.

After his military furlough Doudna returned to his naturalist job at Boulder Dam. In 1947 he transferred to Acadia National Park. He undertook a continuous study of white-tailed deer over the 8 years he was there. Although census records indicate he was still married to Violet Doudna as late as 1950, on September 23, 1951, he married Margaret Allen of Stockton, California. He transferred to Mount Rainier in 1955 but left in 1958 to become assistant park naturalist at Shenandoah National Park. In May 1963 he became chief naturalist at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. He held that position until 1965.

Wilbur Doudna died February 20, 1986, in Fresno, California.

Scope and Content Note

Documents, photographs, and slides related to the NPS career of Wilbur Doudna. Two field notebooks from his time at Boulder Dam and Death Valley are included. Correspondence, various NPS job applications and ratings, and his retirement book are present. The images include participants in the various NPS conferences in the 1940s to 1960s; Acadia buildings and personnel; Shenandoah staff; and wildlife at parks, among other topics. Photos of Doudna in uniform in the 1940s and later are included. One photo includes Lowell Sumner and Joseph Dixon. The small sample of slides document resource management issues or living in national parks. Personal papers document his early life and US Navy career.

Arrangement

Unarranged.

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