Beverly Sheffield Papers

An Inventory of the Collection

Biographical Note

Beverly Sheffield was born on March 7, 1913, in San Antonio, Texas. After briefly attending St. Mary's University in San Antonio, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a B.S. degree in Physical Education (1934) and a Master's of Education (1948). After completing his undergraduate degree, Sheffield took his first job as aquatics director with the city of Austin's Recreation Department. During World War II, he served as a recreation officer in the Navy (1943-1945). After his military service, Sheffield returned to Austin and, in 1946, was hired as director of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD), a position that he held for twenty-seven years (1946-1973). In 1973, he left PARD and became director of the city's bicentennial celebration. Following the conclusion of that celebration in 1976, Sheffield served for one year (1977) as director of the city's Trusts and Endowments Program. He then became the first director and co-founder of the Austin Community Foundation (1989-1987).

Sheffield is perhaps most well known for the many recreational programs that he initiated during his time as director of PARD. He was actively involved in improving the condition of Barton Springs Pool, and he helped to establish the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, Zilker Botanical Gardens, and the Zilker Hillside Theater (renamed the Beverly S. Sheffield Zilker Hillside Theater in 1997). He also presided over the first lighting of the Zilker Park Christmas Tree, which became an annual Austin tradition.

Throughout his life, Sheffield was involved with numerous civic organizations in Austin; some of the organizations on which he served as a board member include the Austin Rotary Club, the Austin Heritage Society, the Austin Symphony Society, the Travis County Audubon Society, and the Austin Arts Council. He was twice honored by the American Parks and Recreation Society, receiving both the Merit Award and the Distinguished Fellow Award in 1971. In 1979, the Austin Board of Realtors named Sheffield the Most Worthy Citizen of Austin. In his later years, Sheffield worked with environmental groups to control development and preserve water quality in Austin, and he was a regular swimmer at Barton Springs Pool.

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Scope and Contents

The collection, which is made up of donations made between 1969 and 2006, is comprised of materials both collected by and created by Beverly Sheffield and his wife, Lois.

The first series, Biographical Materials (1919-1959, 1971-1978, 1988-2005) consists of materials related to Sheffield's youth, his career at the Parks and Recreation Department, and his life following retirement. It includes correspondence (such as photocopies of letters from George Washington Carver to Sheffield), as well as obituaries, tributes, and eulogies. There are also videos and personal photographs and assorted professional photographs. (The bulk of this series comes from the 2006 donation.)

The second series, City of Austin Parks & Recreation Department (1895, 1909-1999), consists of materials related to specific divisions within the department (e.g., Administrative, Recreation, Golf, etc.), as well as materials related to events (e.g., Yule Fest) in which the department was involved, museums, and historical markers. Included are annual reports, histories, legal and financial records, and printed materials regarding the athletic, aquatic, community-recreation, playgrounds, special-populations, and tennis division of PARD. A significant portion of this series consists of materials that relate to the Parks division, including documentation of individual parks. Also included are materials relating to cultural programs sponsored by the Activities division as well as materials relating to museums, including the O. Henry Museum and the Elisabet Ney Museum. In addition, there are materials related to Sheffield's career at the department, including awards, honors and recognition that he received. (The bulk of the latter comes from the 2006 donation.)

The third series, Austin, Texas (1935-1999), consists of materials concerning the history of Austin, local landmarks, civic organizations, and persons of note. Included are writings, brochures, programs, newspaper clippings and text outlines for presentations about historical events in Austin and landmarks such as Barton Springs, moonlight towers, Texas State Cemetery, Treaty Oak, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Research Center, Town Lake (Lady Bird Lake), Mount Bonnell and Symphony Square. Sheffield's involvement with various civic organizations such as the Austin Office of Trust & Endowments and the Austin Community Foundation is documented with reports, memoranda, written histories and newspaper clippings. And lastly, an assortment of newspaper clippings, written biographies and testimonials highlight the achievements of several Austin individuals that have contributed greatly to the Austin community.

The fourth series, Central Texas Environment (1986-1998), consists of materials relating to local and regional environmental concerns and groups. Included are newspaper clippings, correspondence, reports, printed materials, and legal documentation. Of particular significance is documentation created by environmental organizations that came about in the 1990s in order to protect the water quality of Barton Springs, Barton Creek, and the Edwards Aquifer.

The fifth series, Assorted (1994-1996), includes a newspaper clipping about the federal Environmental Protection Act and a short typewritten note.

The final series, Photographs (1935-1954, 1964-1978), consists of 113 photographs that were mostly moved from the other series. See the Detailed Description of the Collection to identify where the photographs were moved from - notes about the moved photographs were added to the relevant series and the photos are identified by number. Also included are 102 glass lantern slides, primarily on natural subjects, which would have been used for lectures and presentations in addition to digitized images that document the dedication of Beverly Sheffield Northwest District Park in 2001.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Open to all users.

Advance notice is required for any audiovisual materials that do not have an access copy already created. Turnaround time for requested access copies will be no less than one week and is determined by the number of items requested and their duration.

Restrictions on Use

The Austin History Center (AHC) is the owner of the physical materials in the AHC collections and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the AHC before any publication use. The AHC does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.

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Related Material

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Separated Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Beverly Sheffield Papers (AR.1997.007). Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, Texas.

Acquisition Information

Donor #: DO/1969/091

Donation Dates: 1978-2006

Processing Information

Initial inventory and preliminary processing by Linda Zezulka, April 24, 1997, and Todd Gilliam and Ruth Baker, July 26, 2001.

Final processing and finding aid by Amy Bowman, Nora Stick, and Kyong Rae Lee, December 1, 2003.

Additional materials processed by Roger Simon, July 2014.

Finding aid modified and encoded by Roger Simon, May-August 2014. Digital file additions and EAD finding aid updated by Nikki Koehlert, August 2018

VOC and JPEG files comprised of born-digital and digitized content were received via compact discs.

File names were modified during processing to enable files to be exported from the disk image and to comply with Austin History Center file naming schema. A list of the original files names is available. The materials were processed in accordance with the AHC's digital processing guidelines including disk imaging, virus scan, and checksums.For more information, see the Born-digital Processing Manual.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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