Arminda Bates papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS 22 T40

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection includes scrapbooks from her Arminda Bates' time as a student at the College of the Pines, notes from her education in New York, a diary she kept as the first professional librarian of the College, and photographs of the early College campus and her home. Also present are a small number of materials related to the Bandon, OR, Public Library.

Dates

Creation: 1895-1950

Creator

Bates, Arminda, 1878-1963 (Person)

Conditions Governing Use

Pine State University owns the materials in the Archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Archives prior to any reproduction use. The University does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical / Historical

Arminda Bates was born in Florence, OR, in 1878, the daughter of lighthouse keepers Samuel and Perpetua Bates. The family relocated to Pinesdale, OR, in 1888 to escape the perpetual dampness. Arminda attended the Academy of the Pines and the College of the Pines, graduating in 1899. After additional education at Columbia University in New York, she became the College’s first professional librarian in 1901, and held that post until 1916. She then married Arthur Fix, a lighthouse keeper, and served with him for the remainder of their careers at the Coquille River Lighthouse in Bandon, OR. They had no children. With the lighthouse’s proximity to town, she took an active role in developing the public library. She died in Bandon in 1963.