Papers of William A. Braiden

Collection

Identifier: MWAB

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Papers of William A. Braiden consists of one document, one videotape, one DVD, and one DVD case. The document is an article about William A. Braiden published in 1996. The videotape and DVD are silent films about the T-Bone Ranch that were transferred from an older film that Braiden produced shortly after World War II. The films have no sound, and the videocassette is too damaged to be viewed. The DVD case cover has images of the T-Bone Ranch.

Dates

Creation: circa 1945, 1996

Creator

Braiden, William A. (Person)

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Not all of the material in the collection is in the public domain. Researchers are responsible for addressing copyright issues.

Biography

William A. Braiden (1865-1955) was a banker, rancher, and businessman in Colorado's San Luis Valley. Born in Bellaire, Ohio, Braiden moved to La Jara, Colorado, in 1877. Braiden was most successful in ranching and related financial endeavors and owned vast areas of land, including the T-Bone Ranch in Antonito, Colorado. Braiden was a firm believer in higher education and encouraged the young people in the area to pursue college, giving needy students small loans to enable them to do so.

Braiden and his wife, Josephine McKelvey Dillon Braiden, married in 1903 and had two children, Pauline and Wade, born in 1904 and 1908 respectively. Josephine Braiden died in 1932, and William Braiden married Maude Armstrong Chambers in 1936.

Braiden's son, Wade Braiden, attended Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University) from 1926 to 1928 with the intention of following his father into ranching. During his sophomore year in 1928, Wade Braiden died of pneumonia. In his memory, William and Maude Braiden donated $20,000 for the construction of a men's dormitory. Braiden Hall was completed in 1948. In 1963, a new dormitory was named Braiden Hall, and the original dormitory became the Student Services building.

Braiden's daughter, Pauline Braiden, married Ward Darley, the future president of the University of Colorado, in 1930. She died in 1991. William and Maude Braiden remained married until his death in Denver in 1955. Maude Braiden died in 1974.

Extent

0.25 linear feet (1 document case)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

William A. Braiden (1865-1955) was a successful banker, rancher, and businessman in Colorado's San Luis Valley. Among his holdings was the T-Bone Ranch in Antonito, Colorado. The collection documents the T-Bone Ranch with a videocassette and DVD copy of an original film by Braiden. Also included is a biography of Braiden from The San Luis Historian. Braiden financially contributed to the construction of Braiden Hall, a dormitory named in memory of his son Wade Braiden, who died from pneumonia in 1928 while a student at Colorado Agricultural College.

Arrangement

The collection consists of 1 series in 1 document case:

Series 1: Audiovisual material and ephemera, circa 1945, 1996, and undated

Acquisition

The Papers of William A. Braiden was donated by W. Braiden Darley in September 2012.

Related Collections

The Papers of William A. Braiden contains the history of the naming of Braiden Hall and is thus related to the Blueprints of University Buildings collection.

Processing

The videotape and DVD were rehoused in archival cases. The original DVD case was retained in the collection to preserve the information on the cover. The journal with the article about William A. Braiden was housed in an archival folder.