| MS 161 | |
| AUTHOR : | Smith, Wintfred |
| TITLE : | Wintred Smith Reelfoot Lake Collection |
| DATES : | 1816 - 2006 |
| SIZE : | |
| ARRANGEMENT : | Inventory Arranged in alphabetical order |
| CONTENTS : | Dr. Wintfred L. Smith is a limnologist and the acknowledged
expert on the history and culture of the Reelfoot Lake area in northwest
Tennessee. A native Tennessean, he took degrees in biology at Tennessee
Technological University. He pursued a PhD in limnology (lake ecology) at
the University of North Dakota, which was awarded in 1972, while holding
a faculty position in biology at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
His expertise in aquatic plants led him toward the unique challenges faced
at Reelfoot Lake, geologically formed during the New Madrid earthquakes
of 1811-1812. Between 1986 and 2000 he coordinated activities at the Reelfoot
Lake Research and Teaching Center, a field station operated by the University's
Department of Biological Sciences.
Seeking to understand the human uses of the lake and that effect on its
ecology, Dr. Smith became well known to the lake's bordering communities.
He began collecting material documenting the lake and its history in the
1980s, and was instrumental in the acquisition of the Sabin photographic
collection by the Tennessee State Library and Archives. He retired in
2001 but remains active as a collector, eventually amassing the single
largest collection of cultural, historical, and professional literature
on the Lake and its surrounding area. |
| HISTORY NOTE : | |
| SUBJECT : | Reelfoot Lake Night Riders |