2 collections related to Bald Head Island (N.C.)

The Arthur W. Cooper Papers, 1929, 1962-2014, contains correspondence, manuscript drafts, and research related to the publication Smith Island and the Cape Fear Peninsula: A Comprehensive Report on an Outstanding Natural Area (1964) by Cooper and Sheafe Satterthwaite. One folder contains correspondence with David Stick, who also wrote a book about Smith Island and Cape Fear. Also contained in this collection are correspondence, research, and writings about B. W. Wells, the move of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and the Mont Alto School of Forestry and its relationship to the North Carolina State University College of Natural Resources. A photograph of B. W. Wells is also found in this collection. While the materials span the time period 1929 to 2014, most documents date from 1962 to 1999. Arthur ("Art") W. Cooper earned bachelor and master of arts degrees in 1953 and 1955 from Colgate University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1958. He then became a professor at North Carolina State University. In North Carolina, he developed a friendship with botanist B. W. Wells. Cooper eventually headed North Carolina State University's Department of Forestry, 1979-1994. In the late 1990s, he was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee to Update the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Study, a committee of six North Carolina State University faculty, tasked with updating a study that recommended options for preserving the lighthouse. As of 2019, he is a Professor Emeritus of Forestry at North Carolina State University. Less