The Earl Douglass papers (1879-1953) consist of the family and business records of Earl Douglass (1862-1931), a paleontologist from Minnesota, including the records of the discovery, history, and development of Dinosaur National Monument.

Click here to view the digitized materials from the collection or the links below.

Douglass worked for the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh during most of his productive years. He was responsible for the excavation and installation of the first dinosaur bones on display at the University of Utah Museum of Natural History. During 1928-29 Douglass worked for the Gilson Asphaltum Company. Correspondence, expense reports, and mineral surveys are a part of his scientific notes. The latter years of his life he was a consulting geologist for companies engaged in developing oil fields in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Texas. The museum at Dinosaur National Monument showing dinosaur bones in relief is perhaps the single most lasting tribute to Earl Douglass. This collection of his papers is a record of his years of searching, working, writing, and photographing.

Earl Douglass wrote profusely. His writings include diaries, field notes, scientific notes, legions of correspondence (both personal and business), published articles, manuscripts, poetry, stories, and essays, as well as numerous reflections, musings, and notes on many subjects. He also collected maps and photographs. This is a nearly complete record of Douglass's life as he saved everything, even scraps of paper on which he took notes while in the field or while pondering philosophical issues at his desk. His autobiographical essays give an insight into his personal life as well as his thoughts and aspirations. The Douglass family is also documented through some genealogical records.

Earl Douglass's diaries cover the period 1884 to 1928 and are reflective in nature. Day-to-day activities are not recorded as often as day-to-day musings on his personal emotions. Filed at the end of the diaries is a manuscript titled "From the Diaries of Earl Douglass," by his son, G. E. Douglass.

Douglass's personal correspondence, especially with his wife Pearl, is another indication of the sensitivity of this man, and how his life was consumed with his work and personal philosophy. Douglass corresponded regularly with numerous friends and kept in close touch with professional associates. His correspondence with the staff of the Carnegie Museum, notably William J. Holland, the director, is especially informative concerning his work.

Earl Douglass's detailed descriptions of Dinosaur National Monument, specifically the dinosaur quarry, form what is perhaps the most complete analysis and history of the area and its special place in the field of American paleontology. A large number of scientific notes are included on topics ranging from fossils to rivers, some original, but most of them copied by Douglass from other sources and saved for future reference.

Douglass's formal writings are divided into two categories: technical and creative. His technical writings were published in scientific and popular journals and newspapers. Many of his manuscripts were not published. Douglass's creative writings, largely unpublished, are extensive and are both poetic and prose in form.