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Title: Hildegard Ryals Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1964-2006
Extent of Materials: 22.5 linear feet, plus oversize maps
Location: Office shelves 36-42 and oversize office locations
Date of Accession: 2002
Donor: Hildegard Ryals
Relationship of donor or materials to the DCL/NCR The Hildegard Ryals Papers contain materials on Durham city planning; the Durham County Inventory of Cultural and Natural Resources; and subjects related to planning, preservation, and conservation in Durham County.
Subject Headings: Citizens' associations -- North Carolina -- Durham.
Political activists -- North Carolina -- Durham.
Political participation -- North Carolina -- Durham.
Community life -- North Carolina -- Durham.
Scope and Content: The Ryals Papers are divided into series according to her work with various governmental bodies and community organizations, including the Durham County Inventory of Natural and Cultural Resources, the Durham City and County Planning Departments, the New Hope Creek Corridor Advisory Committee, the Triangle Land Conservancy, and the Friends of New Hope. Subject Files and Publications series contain the research materials that Ryals collected over the course of her work. Audiovisual materials include photographs, slides, audiocassettes, VHS cassettes, CDs, and DVDs; a series of 3.5” floppy disks contain files related to all areas of Ryals’ work. There is an exceptional body of material on the development of the Durham County Inventory for Natural and Cultural Resources and the planning efforts for the New Hope Creek Corridor and Leigh Farm.  
Related Materials: Durham People’s Alliance Records, 1975-2007. North Carolina Collection, Durham County Library.
Boyte Family Papers, 1941-1981. Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Independent Weekly Records, 1982-2004, #05319. Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  
Milo Guthrie Papers, 1966-1987. Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Robert V. N. Brown Papers, 1958-1999, #05312. Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  
Ron Grunwald Papers, 1973-1980. Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Southerners on New Ground Records, 1993-2003. Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Restrictions: The collection is open for research
Biographical/Historical Note: Hildegard S. Ryals is a native of Philadelphia, PA. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College and later received a master’s degree in international relations at Johns Hopkins University. Her early career included stints with the International House of Japan, the American Field Service, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s presidential campaign, the Fogg Art Museum, and Laurance Rockefeller’s American Conservation Association in New York. Her work with the latter organization included a collaborative publication with William H. Whyte on land use, entitled Cluster Development. She moved to Durham in 1972 with husband Clyde Ryals when he accepted a position in Duke University’s English Department. Mrs. Ryals immediately put her knowledge and skills to work in Durham, serving on the Durham Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment, Durham City-County Planning Commission, Durham County Open Space Commission, Forest Hills Neighborhood Association, League of Women Voters, Durham Arts Council, and Durham Art Guild. She is best known for her work with the Durham County Inventory of Natural and Natural Resources, Triangle Land Conservancy, and Friends of New Hope Creek.
Condition Notes: Clippings may need to be photocopied before use. Audiovisual materials and computer disks may need to be reformatted or duplicated before these materials can be made available to researchers.
Container List: Shelf Location Box # Description Dates
Office-37 1 DCINCR Administrative Files 1984-1994
Office-37 2 DCINCR Administrative Files and Phase I 1984-2000
Office-37 3 DCINCR Phase II 1984-1987
Office-37 4 DCINCR Phases III and IV 1985-1988
Office-37 5 DCINCR Phase IV (Wise Growth Conferences) 1986-1988
Office-37 6 Durham Inventory Review Committee (DIRC) 1988-1995
Office-38 7 DIRC 1985-1990
Office-38 8 DIRC 1988-1999
Office-38 9 DCINCR Editions 1999-2002
Office-38 10 City of Durham Planning Dept. 1985-1988
Office-38 11 County of Durham Planning Dept. and DUTAG 1984-2005
Office-38 12 Joint City-County Planning Dept. 1987-1993
Office-39 13 Joint City-County Planning Dept. and Heritage Parks 1993-2001
Office-39 14 Open Space Commission 1987-1991
Office-39 15 Triangle J Council of Governments 1985-1995
Office-39 16 Triangle Land Conservatory 1990-2003
Office-39 17 Triangle Land Conservatory 1985-2002
Office-39 18 New Hope Creek Corridor Master Plan 1986-1994
Office-40 19 New Hope Creek Land Acquisitions 1986-1994
Office-40 20 Friends of New Hope 1989-1993
Office-40 21 Friends of New Hope 1991-1995
Office-40 22 Friends of New Hope / NHCCAC 1988-2004
Office-40 23 NHCCAC 1994-2002
Office-40 24 NHCCAC 1988-2006
Office-41 25 NHCCAC tba
Office-41 26 Leigh Farm 1986-2006
Office-41 27 Leigh Farm 1985-1995
Office-41 28 Subject Files various
Office-41 29 Subject Files various
Office-41 30 Subject Files various
tba 31 Other Organizations various
tba 32 Loose Photographs various
tba 33 Publications various
Act 250: Vermont’s Land Use and Development Law 1981
Cogitations of a Naturalist 1955
Community Action for Natural Beauty 1966
The Conservation Easement Handbook 1988
The Conservation Easement Stewardship Guide 1991
The Crisis in Habitat 1985
Descriptive Guide to North Carolina Environmental Groups 1976
Dry Creek Greenway 1997
Durham and Armageddon 1983
Eno (7.2). This special issue of the journal reprints Mary Claire Engstrom’s “Quakers in the Eno River Valley.” 1992
EPA Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Durham-Eno River, North Carolina Wastewater Treatment Plant and Service Area 1989
Wastewater Treatment Plant and Service Area 1989
For Land’s Sake: The New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s First 30 Years 1990
tba 34 Publications various
The Guide to Environmental Organizations in North Carolina undated
Hazardous Materials in North Carolina 1985
An Inventory of Significant Natural Areas in Johnston County, North Carolina 2001
Inventory of the Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitats of Chatham County, North Carolina 1992
Inventory of the Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitats of Orange County, North Carolina 1988
Land Policy Alternatives for North Carolina 1972
tba 35 Publications various
Land Use Guide: Durham County, North Carolina 1979
The Landowner’s Options for Natural Heritage Protection 1985
Man, Land: Williams College Center for Environmental Studies: The First Two Years 1969
Management of the Duke Forest 1981
Natural Areas Inventory of Gates County, North Carolina 1982
North Carolina Natural Heritage Program Biennial Protection Plan 1993
North Carolina Natural Resources: From the Mountains to the Sea 1993
People and Place: Croatan Indians in Jim Crow Georgia, 1890-1920 2002
Preserving Family Lands 1989
tba 36 Publications various
Protecting Our Drinking Water 1989
Region J Geology: A Guide for North Carolina Mineral Resource Development and Land Use Planning 1975
Regional Inventory for Critical Natural Areas, Wetland Ecosystems, and Endangered Species Habitats of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Region: Phase 2 1992
Rockingham County Natural Heritage Inventory 1999
Saving the Goodliest Land: A Five-Year Plan for Investing in North Carolina’s Land, Water, History and Future 2005
Soil Survey of Durham County, North Carolina 1976
Soil Systems in North Carolina 1984
Status of Water Resources in the Cape Fear River Basin 1983
Summary of an Inventory of Significant Natural Areas in Wake County, North Carolina 2003
Wildlife in North Carolina April 1988; March 1995; July 1997; November 1999
tba 37 NHCCAC Unprocessed tba
Office-36 38 Audiocassettes, slides, and computer disks 1983-2001
Office-36 39 Video Materials 1984-1994
Office-36 40 Video Materials 1989-1997 and undated
Office-36 41 Video Materials undated
Office-36 42 Eno River Calendars 1975-1999
Office-36 43 Oversize Materials tba
Office-Various Locations n/a Oversize Folders / Maps tba
Photo 0008      


Last Update: September 27, 2010