The John E. Miller Papers document the academic, professional, and scholarly contributions of Dr. John E. Miller, longtime faculty member in the Department of History at South Dakota State University. The collection includes course materials, oral history interviews, public talks and presentations, manuscripts, published works, and extensive research files. The bulk of the collection centers on Miller’s nationally recognized work on Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane, but also reflects his broader research interests in American history, democracy, political culture, and Midwestern small-town life.
The general material series includes correspondence, photographs, awards, articles about Miller, and records of his involvement with organizations such as the South Dakota Humanities Council, South Dakota State Historical Society, Phi Kappa Phi, and the Midwestern History Association. Course materials reflect Miller’s teaching of U.S. history, South Dakota history, American political thought, and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute courses following his retirement. Talks and presentations span decades of academic conferences, workshops, and public panels, including participation in the Dakota History Conference and Laurapalooza.
The interviews series includes oral histories with figures such as George McGovern and John Wooden, as well as SDSU faculty and administrators. Early recordings were created on audiocassette and later on digital media; some are accompanied by transcripts and release forms. The writings series includes manuscripts, book proposals, article drafts, encyclopedia entries, and collaborative works. Sixteen boxes are devoted to Miller’s research and writing on Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family, comprising handwritten notes, research from archival sources, critiques of other Wilder scholars, and drafts of his own publications.
Miller’s research files cover a wide range of historical figures and topics such as democracy, elections, U.S. and South Dakota history, creativity, and popular culture. Subject files include material on Johnny Carson, Walt Disney, Sam Walton, and Lawrence Welk, as well as materials related to his books Looking for History on Highway 14 and South Dakota State University: A Pictorial History, 1881–2006. Also included are Brookings County historical research drawn from the Donald D. Parker Collection; materials related to the Brookings County Democratic Party donated by Ruby Mershon; and artwork and records concerning Hubert B. Mathews and Hubert Jean Mathieu.
Audiovisual and digital content includes 231 audiocassettes, 10 digital recorders, 17 CDs, 1 DVD, 18 USB flash drives, 24 SD cards, and born-digital materials. These recordings document interviews, lectures, and research materials gathered over the course of his career.
This collection is especially valuable for its preservation of the scholarly legacy of one of South Dakota’s foremost historians. Miller’s research on Laura Ingalls Wilder contributed significantly to American literary and cultural history, and his oral histories and writings provide rich documentation of South Dakota’s political, educational, and social landscape. The materials reflect the intellectual and civic life of the region, while also offering insight into the historian’s role as teacher, writer, and public scholar. The breadth and depth of this collection make it an essential resource for the study of Midwestern identity, public history, American democracy, and the institutional history of South Dakota State University.
