The papers of Howard B. Carpenter span the years 1904 to 1907.

This collection is composed of three-volume set Field Notes of the Survey of the Boundary Line Between the States of Idaho and Montana, which describe the 739 miles of the project. According to the donor, Mrs. Widel, four copies of the notes are compiled: one each for the states of Montana and Idaho, one for the federal government and one set for the surveyor. The surveyor’s copy was the copy Mr. and Mrs. Widel donated to the library collections.

The three-volume surveyor’s notes span the dates of June 6, 1904 and Sept. 13 1905. Each volume contains over 30 photographs of camp scenes and work of the surveying project. Also, bound within each copy is letter correspondence from the Department of the Interior, General Land Office. Information provided in the survey field notes is significant for observing change in vegetation and geology in the Bitterroots region between Idaho and Montana.

A photocopy of Carpenter’s biographical sketch written in 1924 by L.B. Neighbour, presumably a relative, is also included. The biographical sketch includes letters and remembrances from children and grandchildren as well as genealogical information and the life and work of Carpenter.