Charles van Ravenswaay (August 10, 1911 – March 20, 1990) was an American historian, museum administrator, and author. He served as State Superintendent of the Missouri Writer's Project, producing ''Missouri: The WPA Guide to the "Show Me" State'' in 1941. He served as director of the

Missouri Historical Society The Missouri Historical Society was founded in St. Louis on August 11, 1866. Founding members created the historical society "for the purpose of saving from oblivion the early history of the city and state". Organization The Missouri Historica ...

from 1946–1962, director of

Old Sturbridge Village Old Sturbridge Village is a living museum located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts which recreates life in rural New England during the 1790s through 1830s. It is the largest living museum in New England, covering more than 200 acres (81 hectares). T ...

from 1962–1966, and director of the Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum and Gardens from 1966–1976.

Personal life and education

Born in

Boonville, Missouri Boonville is a city and the county seat of Cooper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,964 at the 2020 census. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the Civil War, on July 17, 1861. Union forces defeated the Missouri Stat ...

, to a Dutch immigrant father and Anglo-American mother, van Ravenswaay attended

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

graduating with an AB in 1933 and an MA in liberal arts in 1934. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from

Maryville College of the Sacred Heart Maryville University of St. Louis is a private university in Town and Country, Missouri. It was originally founded on April 6, 1872 by the Society of the Sacred Heart and offers more than 90 degrees at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral l ...

in 1968 and an honorary Doctor of Humanities from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

in 1980. In addition to these degrees and honors, Ravenswaay served as president of the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

from 1961 to 1962 and received the Conservation Service Award from the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

in 1987. In addition to his written and political career, Ravenswaay served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

and South Pacific theaters during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from 1942 to 1946. As a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific, he met many different people from different cultures. In particular, he wrote home to his friends and family that he was fascinated with the customs of the

aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

. Throughout his life, Ravenswaay spent much time studying the history and tradition of the St. Louis area. His hobbies for learning about the history and

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

began early on in his life. From a very young age, he studied the

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

and decoration within many of the prominent historic buildings. He befriended many of families who were the descendants of many St. Louis prominent families, and listened to their oral traditions and stories from the past. Likewise, Ravenswaay was very passionate about botany and landscape, and so many of his works includes his reflections on his point of view on such activities. In one of his travels, he took the time of identified the flowers, garden crops, and grape varieties that have been brought over from Germany to the vicinity of

Hermann, Missouri Hermann is a city in and the county seat of Gasconade County, Missouri, United States. It has been the county seat since 1842. It is near the center of the Missouri Rhineland and south of the Missouri River. The population was 2,185 at the 2020 ...

. He even said that he believed it to be possible to develop historic gardens and grape arbors based on the plants that he identified in the early 1800s German community.

Written work

Van Ravenswaay has published four books: ''The Arts and Architecture of German Settlements in Missouri: A Survey of a Vanishing Culture'' (University of Missouri Press, 1977); ''A Nineteenth Century Garden'' (Main Street Press/Universe Books, 1977); ''Drawn from Nature. The Botanical Art of Joseph Prestele and His Sons'' (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984); and ''St. Louis: An Informal History of the City and Its People, 1764-1865'' (Missouri Historical Society Press, 1991). In addition, he co-authored the book'' A Guide to the Show Me State'' in 1941. Each has been recognized in its own right for its historical acumen and depictions. Though perhaps not having reach the national notierity that some of their competitors did, each of Ravenswaay's books contain a lifetime of study and passion. His book ''Drawn from Nature'' was the result of Ravenswaay's great passion for gardening and botany, while his passion for historical buildings and decorative arts led to his writing of ''The Arts and Architecture of German Settlements in Missouri''.

References

Charles van Ravenswaay Papers at the State Historical Society of Missouri
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=rMBVmdUygRMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=St.+Louis:+An+Informal+History+of+the+City+and+Its+People,+1764-1865&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjK6dLn7ZXLAhWBmR4KHbWTA5IQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=St.%20Louis%3A%20An%20Informal%20History%20of%20the%20City%20and%20Its%20People%2C%201764-1865&f=false Charles Ravenswaay's St. Louis: An Informal History of the City and Its People, 1764-1865] {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravenswaay, Charles Van 1911 births 1990 deaths People from Boonville, Missouri Washington University in St. Louis alumni German-American culture in Missouri People associated with Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library Directors of museums in the United States Historians from Missouri 20th-century American historians Writers from Missouri