Isaac Long Terrell and Ann Terrell Baker research on historic Rockingham County houses

Access and use

Location of collection:
James Madison University
Second Floor Room 203, MSC 1704
Carrier Library
James Madison University
880 Madison Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tiffany Cole
Phone: (540) 568-3444
Phone: (540) 568-3612
Fax: (540) 568-3405
Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Isaac Long Terrell and Ann Terrell Baker Research on Historic Rockingham County Houses, 1941-2017, SC 0340, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Summary

Extent:
1 cubic feet 3 boxes and 800 Megabytes 347 files
Creator:
Terrell, Isaac Long, 1918-1993, Baker, Ann Terrell, and Baker, Ann Terrell
Abstract:
The Isaac Long Terrell and Ann Terrell Baker Research on Historic Rockingham County Houses, 1941-2017, comprises research files and notes, newspaper clippings, and photographs documenting historic houses in Rockingham County, Virginia. The bulk of the research material was used as the basis for Terrell's book Old Houses in Rockingham County: 1750-1850 (1970) as well as Baker's follow-up book Old Houses in Rockingham County Revisited: 1750-1850 (2000).
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Isaac Long Terrell and Ann Terrell Baker Research on Historic Rockingham County Houses, 1941-2017, SC 0340, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Background

Scope and content:

The Isaac Long Terrell and Ann Terrell Baker Research on Historic Rockingham County Houses, 1941-2017, comprises research files and notes, newspaper clippings, negatives, and facsimile and original photographs documenting historic houses in Rockingham County, Virginia. The bulk of the research material was originally compiled by Isaac Long Terrell and used as the basis for his book Old Houses in Rockingham County: 1750-1850 (1970). Baker contributed additional photographs and updated research for her follow-up book Old Houses in Rockingham County Revisited: 1750-1850 (2000).

The research file for each historic house typically includes a one-page summary of the house's history which is also the updated narrative from Baker's book. Additional materials include facsimile and original photographs documenting interior and exterior architectural elements as well as former occupants and owners of the properties. Photographs were primarily taken by Terrell, Baker, the houses' owners, or provided through other sources. Newspaper clippings and historic house surveys provide further historical information.

The research materials primarily date from the 1960s to the early 2000s and correspond to the respective publication dates of Terrell and Baker's books. Folder titles include the date range of the research materials contained within as well as the approximate date of each house which is included in parentheses. A creation date of 2000 is assigned to Baker's historical summaries of each house. This date coincides with the publication date of her book.

Biographical / historical:

Isaac Long Terrell (1918-1993) was born in the Linville-Edom community of Rockingham County, Virginia to Charles H. and Mary Davis Terrell. He attended the Maryland Institute of Art and graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in design architecture. Terrell received his master's degree from Madison College (now James Madison University) and Ecoles-Des Beaus Arts of Fontainebleau, France. Terrell's research into historic Rockingham County houses began with his Madison College master's thesis completed in 1968 and titled "A Century of Creative Domestic Architectural Expression in Rockingham County from 1750 to 1850." From his original thesis, Terrell published Old Houses in Rockingham County, 1750 to 1850 in 1970. Terrell's daughter, Ann Terrell Baker, later republished a revised edition of her father's book titled Old Houses in Rockingham County Revisited: 1750-1850 (2000).

Terrell served in the Army during World War II. He worked as an interior decorator and retired from Davis & Associates, an architecture firm based in Harrisonburg. Terrell married Helen Wine in 1949. Their daughter, Ann Terrell Baker, continued Terrell's research on historic Rockingham County houses after his death in 1993. Baker graduated from Harrisonburg High School and received her Bachelor of Arts from Greensboro College. She earned her Masters of Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and taught art in the Guilford County Public School System for two decades. She returned to Harrisonburg permanently in 1996 with her husband Robert Baker.

Acquisition information:
The collection was donated to Special Collections by Ann Terrell Baker in November 2021 via Dr. Carole Nash, JMU professor in the School of Integrated Sciences.
Processing information:

The research materials were donated to Special Collections in three three-ring binders with the materials related to each historic house organized together in a document sleeve. The research materials were removed from the three-ring binders and their respective document sleeve and rehoused into archival boxes and folders according to historic house.

All slides and negatives were placed in paper sleeves and interfiled according to historic house with the other related research materials. Photographs were only placed into sleeves if there was an immediate preservation concern. Newspaper clippings were segregated into paper folders and interfiled according to historic house.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into folders according to property and arranged in the same order as Ann Terrell Baker's book Old Houses in Rockingham County Revisited, 1750-1850. Her book follows a similar order as Isaac Terrell's earlier version. Two folders not focused on a specific house are filed at the end of the collection.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard