Annie Laurie Bird papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0369

Staff Only

Summary

The collection consists of manuscripts of western history and newspaper articles written by Bird; copies of writings and poetry by other authors (Agnes Just Reid, Pearl Kirk, Della Adams Leitner, Edna Marie Meffan, Ogal Alla, Ethel Hopper, Stephen Mikesell); printed material, photographs, prints and postcards. Teaching notes and other materials for use in her Idaho and Pacific Northwest history courses are included in the collection.

Bird's active teaching and writing career and her participation in civic and women's groups are documented in correspondence, and newspaper clippings.

The collection also contains papers related to the Nampa Land Improvement Company and hand-drawn maps and annotated histories of Idaho, all created by J. Neilson Barry for Bird.

Dates

Creation: 1929 - 1972

Biographical Note

Annie Laurie Bird was born August 21, 1893 in Billings, Montana. Bird moved with her parents to Idaho in 1905, where they homesteaded in Owyhee County. The family moved to Caldwell in 1906 and to Nampa in 1918.

Annie Bird attended the College of Idaho and Columbia University and was awarded a Doctor of Letters Degree from Northwest Nazarene College in 1970. A teacher in Nampa for 35 years, Bird became a regionally-noted historian, writer, and researcher. She was the author of many books and articles. State newspapers also published her poetry. Annie Laurie Bird died on December 26, 1972 in Nampa, Idaho.

Books by Annie Laurie Bird: Boise, The Peace Valley. Caldwell, Idaho, Caxton Printers, 1934. reprint Nampa, Idaho, Canyon County Historical Society, 1975 >My Home Town. Caldwell, Idaho, Caxton Printers, 1968 Old Fort Boise. Parma, Idaho, Old Fort Boise Historical Society, 1971 Thomas McKay. Caldwell, Idaho, Caxton Printers, 1972