Woodson Research Center

The Woodson contains more than 700 manuscript collections focused on the history of Texas and the greater Houston area, politics, entrepreneurship, oil and gas, theater, architecture.

[1] Other subject areas include American Civil War history, hip hop/rap music-related materials from the Swishahouse record label,[2] science, and literary authors with Rice connections.

[4] The Woodson holds papers of such prominent Texas families as Autry, Fondren, Hamman, Hutcheson, Lovett, Masterson, Sharp, Townsend and Watkin.

This includes collections from the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston,[6] Ann Holmes, William Camfield, Elinor Evans, and Stages Repertory Theatre.

As part of a 2-year grant funded Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) project “Digitizing hidden selections of Houston's African American and Jewish heritage,” Woodson Research Center will provide public access to collections highlighting the history and experiences of the African-American community in and near Houston, which in turn shed light on nationally significant issues including politics, art, race, and religion.

[10] The archive contains collections from Wheatfield, Richard Dobson,[11] Vince Bell,[12] Lynn Langham, George Ensle, Don Sanders, David Rodriguez, Sara Hickman,[13] as well as collections that document music venues in the city, such as: Rockefeller's, Anderson Fair Retail Restaurant, Liberty Hall, and Sand Mountain Coffee House.

The archives also contain campus plans, drawings and blueprints, photographs, publications, video and audio tapes, ephemeral material and memorabilia.