William H. Clagett collection
Content Description
William H. Clagett was a politician and lawyer who practiced law in various parts of the Western U.S. He was a member of the 42nd Congress and was president of the 1889 Idaho constitutional convention. This collection contains mostly oversized materials like maps. It also includes newspapers, clippings, photocopies, and a scrapbook.
Dates
- Creation: 1860-1923
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Biographical / Historical
William Horace Clagett was born on September 21, 1838 in Prince George's County, Maryland. He studied law in Keokuk, Iowa, and at the Albany Law School in New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1858. Clagett then moved to Nevada and served in the Territorial House of Representatives from 1862 to 1865. Afterward he moved to the Montana and Dakota Terriroties and began practicing law. From 1871 to 1873 Clagett was elected to the 42nd Congress as a delegate for Montana.
After learning of the findings of the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871, Clagett introduced the Act of Dedication bill into the House on December 18, 1871. This led to the creation of Yellowstone National Park and Clagett Butte in the park is named after him. When Clagett left Congress, he resumed praciting law and in 1889 was president of the Idaho constitutional convention. He ran an unsuccessful candidacy for the United States Senate from Idaho in 1891 and 1895. He moved to Spokane, Washington and practiced law until his death on August 3, 1901.
Extent
3 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Maps, newspaper clippings, and a scrapbook.
Physical Location
These materials are located in the brown metal cabinet on top of the oversize map cabinet for Day-NW.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials were originally donated by Fred Clagett to the University of Idaho Law Library. It was then donated to Special Collections.
Other Descriptive Information
Materials in this collection may contain images, language, or other content that may be offensive or disturbing. These materials are a product of a time and place in history and should be viewed within their historical context. To maintain historical accuracy, the materials appear as they were originally created to serve as historical evidence of the social mindsets, occurrences, behaviors, and norms of their time. They do not reflect the current views of the University of Idaho. For more information about how we treat materials with offensive or disturbing content, please see the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Offensive Content Policy.
Source
- Clagett, William H., 1838-1901 (Person)
- Title
- Guide to William H. Clagett collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Sara Szobody.
- Date
- 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Repository