This collection consists of personal and business papers of the Fowler, Rose, and Thompson families and of their connections, the Bracken, Lane, Sawyer, Shonerd, Ott, Smith and Bullock families.

William A. Griffith joined the KU faculty in 1899 and served as head of the Art Department for 21 years. He then moved his family to Laguna Beach and continued painting there. The William A. Griffith Collection includes correspondence, research materials and related information on Griffith's tenure at KU, as well as his Laguna Beach endeavors. The collection also includes correspondence, family papers, and records of the William C. Stevens, Flint, and Pugh-Tanner-Dart families.