HOKKAIDO PIONEERS: WILLIAM WHEELER PHOTOGRAPHS, 1875-1997 (BULK 1875-1879)
College buildings
Vault A45, Wheeler, Unit 3
EXTENT: .04 linear feet (1 box)
ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT: Four series: Series I. History of the William Wheeler Photograph Collection, 1997; Series II. People of Hokkaido, Japan, undated; Series III. Views of Hokkaido, Japan, undated; Series IV. Sapporo Agricultural College, 1875-1879, and undated
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY: William Wheeler, resident of Concord, Mass.; 1871 graduate of the Massachusetts Agricultural College at Amherst, Mass. (now the University of Massachusetts, Amherst); Married Fannie Eleanor Hubbard of Concord, Mass. on July 17, 1878 in the United States, she returned to Japan with him after their wedding; Professor of Civil Engineering, Mechanics and Mathematics at Sapporo Agricultural College, Japan from 1876-1877; Played instrumental role in leadership of Sapporo College after William Clark’s departure from May 1877-1880; Civil Engineer of the Imperial Colonial Department of Japan from 1878-1880; Decorated by Prince Regent Hirohito with the Fifth Order of the Rising Sun, Double Rays, in 1924 for his service to Japan. Wheeler was a member of the Concord Social Circle; Served the town of Concord, Mass. from 1871-1876 and 1881-1932 in multiple capacities including on the Sewer Board, School Committee, Board of Health, Municipal Light Board, Corporation of the Concord Free Public Library, and as Town Meeting moderator; Constructed and developed the water and sewage works for Concord, including building the Nashawtuc and Annursnack Reservoirs; Served on the boards of the Middlesex Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Middlesex Institution for Savings, and Concord National Bank.
Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University) was founded as the Sapporo School in 1875.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: Collection contains copy images from William Wheeler's photographs (18XX-18XX, plus undated) of the people and places of Hokkaido, Japan, including the Sapporo Agricultural College, used in Concord Free Public Library's 1997 exhibition, “Hokkaido Pioneers: William Wheeler Photographs.” Also includes history of the William Wheeler photograph exhibit.
RESTRICTION ON USE: Any use of copy images in this collection requires the permission of the owner of the original photographs.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS:
Series I. History of the William Wheeler Photograph Collection, 1997: Short biography of William Wheeler, and his contributions to Hokkaido, Sapporo Agricultural College, and Concord, Mass. Also includes timeline and bibliography for the photograph exhibition.
Series II. People of Hokkaido, Japan, undated: includes photographs of the people of Hokkaido (also known as the Aino, or Ainu). Some photographs are identified as servants, or by name, but most are unidentified locals.
Series III. Views of Hokkaido, Japan, undated: includes photographs of areas around Hokkaido (a canal, harbor, coast line) and buildings (Aino houses, the Sapporo Post Office and the Capital Building).
Series IV. Sapporo Agricultural College , 1875-1879, and undated: includes photographs of buildings and people associated with the Sapporo Agricultural College (professor and students, General [Kiyotaka] Kuroda (Governor of Hokkaido, influential in the founding of Sapporo Agricultural College), “President Clark’s Departure,” college buildings, and William Wheeler’s home).
SOURCE OF ACQUISITION: Copies of original photographs for a Concord Free Public Library gallery exhibition funded through the library’s Hoar Fund, and a grant from the Concord Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Original photographs owned by Barbara Wheeler; exhibition arranged for by Susan and Tom Curtin.
PROCESSED BY: Karen Chmielewski, May 2007
CONTAINER LIST:
Series I. History of the William Wheeler Photograph Collection, 1997
Folder 1:
William Wheeler and the Hokkaido-Concord Connection, timeline and bibliography
Series II. People of Hokkaido, Japan, undated
Folder 2:
“Street Scene: Fish Vendor”
Folder 3:
3 men in a canoe
Folder 4:
“Ainos”
Folder 5:
“An ‘Aino’”
Folder 6:
“Aino Women and Children”
Folder 7:
“Aino Woman”
Folder 8:
“Mustache Lifter (as used by the Ainos)”
Folder 9:
“Sleeping it off”
Folder 10:
“Mrs. Wheeler’s Servants”
Folder 11:
“Maruyama”
Folder 12:
“Mr. Ito”
Folder 13:
“Dr. Najima”
Series III. Views of Hokkaido, Japan, undated
Folder 14:
“Canal Scene”
Folder 15:
“Mororan [Muroran] Harbor”
Folder 16:
“Coast View – Jeso – Hokkaido”
Folder 17:
“Aino House”
Folder 18:
“Aino Hut”
Folder 19:
“Shore House”
Folder 20:
“Entrance to Sapporo”
Folder 21:
“Post Office – Sapporo”
Folder 22:
“Capital Building – Sapporo”
Series IV. Sapporo Agricultural College, 1875-1879, and undated
Folder 23:
“Preparatory Class ‘75”
Folder 24:
“Profs. and Primers of S[apporo] A[gricultural] College ’76 and ‘77”
Folder 25:
“Pres. Clark’s Departure and Escort. 1877.”
Folder 26:
“Mr. Wheeler’s Rooms 1877”
Folder 27:
“Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler’s Home – 1878 and 1879”
Folder 28:
“College Buildings”
Folder 29:
“Recitation Building Sapporo”
Folder 30:
“General Kuroda, head of the Kaitakushi”
c2007 Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.
Not to be reproduced in any form without permission of the Curator of Special Collections, Concord Free Public Library.
Back to Finding Aids Page
Back to Special Collections homepage
Home
Mounted 5th May 2007. rcwh.