Contents: Warren E. Roberts | Further Resources
Warren E. Roberts, 1924-1999
Warren E. Roberts was a prominent folklorist throughout the 20th centruy. He was the first person to receive a PhD in folklore at Indiana University in 1953. Prior to the work represented by this digital collection, he primarily studied folk tales and folk songs. This changed when he received Fullbright, and later Guggenheim, fellowship funding to spend time in Norway where he developed a passion for vernacular architecture. Vernacular architecture is considered to be any building or structure “built of local materials to suit particular local needs, generally constructed outside any academic tradition and without professional guidance. It is often of unknown authorship and makes little reference to established styles or theories of architecture. Most architectural works in the world are vernacular architecture.”1 Roberts began teaching courses at Indiana University on this subject, as well as other aspects of material culture such as folk art. He was one of the first academics to make this his field of study. Much of his work, including a myriad of photographs of all kinds of material culture, focused on Indiana. However, he collected and was sent materials on sites and practices throughout the country and internationally. As a result of the state’s proximity to Indiana, a fair amount of the non-Indiana files contain materials from Kentucky. A selection of those Kentucky materials are gathered here in this digital collection. Robert’s most related publication to the work I have collected here, which may be of interest to readers, is his 1984 book Log Buildings of Southern Indiana.
More information about Roberts and his work can be found in the Indiana University Archives finding aid, where his papers are kept: Indiana University Archive
Additionally, many of his Indiana materials, and the intent of his academic work, have been digitally collected and contextualized by the Indiana University Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology: Warren E. Roberts Museum of Early Indiana Life
Further Resources
Hollybush:
Some of the materials in this collection relate to a location in Kentucky known as Head of Hollybush, a small community located in a Kentucky mountain holler in Knott County, but was abandoned in about the 1940s.
The photographs, maps, and letter all came to Roberts from “Chip” or Charles E. Martin, contacting Roberts about the work he was doing in relation to the history of the settlement. The result of that work can be seen in this 1981 article written by Martin:
Martin, Charles E. “Head of Hollybush: Reconstructing Material Culture Through Oral History.” Pioneer America 13, no. 1 (1981): 3–16. JSTOR link.
All Hollybush materials in this collection can be found here
Established Parks and Locations
There are also several parts of this collection which relate to folklife museums or established historial buildings within state parks in Kentucky.
There are those which depict buildings in and information on the Museum of Mountain Life, which is located within the Levi Jackson Wilderness Park. More information can be found about the museum here: Museum of Mountain Life
The 4-H Craft Camp buildings are located within “Falls State Park”, more commonly known as Cumberland Falls State Park. Robert’s labeling of the photographs of these buildings say “Lumberland” but that may have been a transcription mistake. More information about Cumberland Falls State Park can be found here: Cumberland Falls