Interesting Documents (29 October 2007)

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The 1900 All-Institute Football Team with Hopson O. Murfee as manager.



MMI faculty circa 1900 including the first three presidents of Marion Military Institute: James T. Murfee, Hopson O. Murfee, and Walter L. Murfee – a father and his sons.



Excerpt from a VMI questionnaire in which James T. Murfee states that he was offered, but declined, the presidencies of the University of Alabama, what is now Auburn University, and what is now the University of Montevallo. Murfee was president of Howard College (our predecessor) and then founder and first president of Marion Military Institute.



Transcript of James Thomas Murfee, Virginia Military Institute Class of 1853, of Southampton, Virginia. Founder and first president of Marion Military Institute, Murfee graduated first in his class at VMI and was the highest ranking cadet – the First Captain.



A letter dated July 15, 1902, from Dr. P. B. Barringer at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He is responding to H. O. Murfee’s letter regarding the success of MMI graduates at UVA.



The interior of the Chapel at MMI in the late 19th Century.



Howard College Cadets, circa late 19th Century. Note the number of Derby (Bowler) hats!

Interesting Documents (19 October 2007)

Mr. Barkley has been preserving the important documents housed in the MMI Archives. Many of these items have been kept in non-acid-free boxes and folders that have encouraged their deterioration. Mr. Barkley's goal is to document these items and place them in storage that will not contribute to decomposition.

Click on the thumbnails to be taken to larger images. Feel free to download the files.

Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama spoke to a crowd of some 3,000 people (a third of them white) at the Perry County Fairgrounds in Marion, Alabama, on Saturday, October 26, 1913. Prior to his speech, Washington was introduced by COL Hopson O. Murfee, President of Marion Military Institute, who mentioned that his father, COL James T. Murfee, founder and first president of MMI, was instrumental in bringing Booker T. Washington to Alabama and Tuskegee Institute. Washington confirmed Murfee’s statement in his opening remarks.



The Booker T. Washington Monument at Tuskegee University.



Press release describing a dinner hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Hopson O. Murfee for the First Lady, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt (Eleanor) , in their country home near Prattville, Alabama, on Thursday, September 14, 1939. The dinner coincided with Eleanor Roosevelt’s visit to Montgomery.



An Act to incorporate Marion Military Institute in Marion, Perry County, Alabama, approved February 20, 1889.



Photostat of a letter written by Robert E. Lee, President of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, to COL John W. Lapsley of Selma, Alabama, dated June 5, 1866. The letter concerns the poor performance of COL Lapsley’s son, John, at Washington College (he later transferred to the College of William and Mary in Virginia).

Red Hulon Visits, Donates Piece of WWII History

Mr. Red Hulon of Pelham, Alabama, visited the campus on Friday, September 28th. A veteran of World War II (engineer) who participated in the Normandy Invasion, Mr. Hulon landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.

A highlight of Red Hulon’s visit to MMI came when he donated a 1945 volume of Yank magazine, the Army weekly, to the MMI Archives. Hand-sewn into a binder of board and red leather, his gift has lasting historical value as it documents the final year of World War II and the service lives of our “Greatest Generation.” The hand-binding also serves as an excellent example of home binding and is interesting and unique in its own right.

On Wednesday, October 10th, KellyAnn Griffiths, Director of the Baer Memorial Library, and Terry Barkley, Archivist for the MMI Foundation, traveled to the Hoole Special Collections Library at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. There they met with representatives from Archives and the Book Arts Program who examined Mr. Hulon’s gift thoroughly. It was then discussed how to properly preserve and present the volume. The UA staffers not only recommended that the volume be kept intact, they also provided some excellent ideas for displays and programs with this piece as the keystone.

Click on the image below to see photos of Mr. Hulon's visit and his donation.

Yank Magazine (1945)