Barbour Arrives

Erwin H. Barbour served as director of the Nebraska State museum for decades, and can be credited with creating support for the Museum's current location, Morrill Hall.

E.H. Barbour was born in Springfield, Indiana, and completed his undergraduate studies at Miami University in Ohio. After his prepatory studies, he continued his education at Yale, completing his Ph.D. in 1887. While studying at Yale, Barbour learned from James Dwight Dana, who was at the time a leading American geologist and zoologist. Barbour aided in some of Dana's publications during his time at Yale. Barbour also worked on the U.S. Palaeontological Survey while studying to obtain his Ph.D., which gave him a firm grasp on field work early on in his career.

After graduating from Yale, Barbour soon married Margaret Lamson, although the young couple often had to endure long periods of separation due to Barbour's field work on the U.S. Geological Survey. He worked for the Survey for two years, before accepting a position of professor of natural history and geology at Iowa College in Grinnell, Iowa. He remained in Iowa until 1891, when he took a position as professor of geology and zoology at the University of Nebraska.

Barbour described his first view of the Nebraska campus as interesting. "At that time the campus looked more like a cow pasture than a seat of learning, as it was not an uncommon sight to see a few contented cows from the town herd wandering across it." When Barbour arrived, the university consisted of four fairly homely buildings: University Hall, Nebraska Hall, Chemistry Hall, and Grant Memorial Hall. Still, Barbour enthusiastically took to the University of Nebraska. Upon learning that there was a nearly non-existant geology collection to use as teaching materials, Barbour took it upon himself to gather collections of minerals and fossils in the summers of 1891 and 1892, almost entirely financed out of his own pocket. These collections became a foundation on which he would later build the museum.

When Charles H. Morrill discovered that Barbour had unearthed excellent specimens, and was paying for the excavations himself, he promptly offered to finance further expeditions, and encouraged Barbour to build a more extensive collection so that later the university could establish a proper museum. This was the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership between Barbour and Morrill. Morrill continued to finance yearly expeditions for fossil and mineral collections until his death in 1927.

Barbour at the University

Barbour continued adding to the university's collections. Many of the fossils that Morrill Hall is now famous for were found under Barbour's direction, for example, the massive mammoth fossils that make up the bulk of Elephant Hall. Together, he and Morrill lobbied for a new building on campus, to serve as a Nebraska State museum. This new building could house and display the extensive collections brought back from the Morrill expeditions. As detailed elsewhere in this exhibit, they got their wish with the building of Morrill Hall.

Barbour also regularly published articles on many subjects of the natural sciences, completing more than three hundred and fifty-five articles and publications. Most of these works were on the subject of palaeontology, but many covered the natural flora and fauna of the state of Nebraska and of the Midwest region. His textbook on palaeontology was used across the country from 1910-1915, and continues to be a referenced work in the field.

In 1903 he was named to the Board of Regents, and organized out-of-state tours for the museum collections, in locations such as St. Louis and the Chicago World's Fair. These tours helped to promote the image of the university of Nebraska, and the collections of Morrill Hall. Barbour was intrinsically entwined with the museum from the beginning, due to his close relationship with benefactor C.H. Morrill. Together, they secured funding for the building of Morrill Hall, while Morrill funded regular field expeditions for the enhancement of the university's collections. Barbour regularly promoted the museum and the role of palaeontology in Nebraska. His reputation as a scientist aided in securing Morrill Hall as an academic institution.

Barbour was also a beloved professor, and raised awareness of geology and the natural sciences as a viable career field. Many of the leading geologists and paleontologists of the day came from his classroom. Bertrand Schultz, the man who would eventually fill Barbour's position as director of Morrill Hall after Barbour's retirement, was mentored by Barbour, and, thanks to his guidance, changed his major to paleontology and went on to make many exciting discoveries in the field, adding to growing knowledge about the distant past. In Schramm's article on Barbour, he describes him as "a beloved gentleman scholar". Indeed, many students wrote that he was one of their favorite personalities at the university, and described his great concern for their learning.

Barbour eventually retired in 1942, although he maintained close ties to the university and continued to be involved in university and Nebraska affairs.