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The 17th-20th Century Correspondence and Documents consists of letters, documents, and various forms of correspondence relating to notable names and celebrities from between 1618 and 1981.

The collection's two major groupings of papers are Antebellum and Civil War newspapers in OS Box 1 and Gilded Age, Progressive, and 20th century newspapers in OS Box 2. The majority of the papers are from the southern states in the United States. OS Box 3 is photostat copies of its contents.

The Mount Vernon Plantation (the name was later changed to Pickney Hills) was located in Jefferson County about seven miles east of Monticello, Florida with a view overlooking "Razor Lake," so named by Mr. Hollingsworth because of its shape. The number of enslaved peoples listed, the livestock listed, records of sales of farm products, purchases of supplies, and descriptions of different parcels of land shown in the Last Will of John Hollingsworth indicate that Mount Vernon Plantation covered rather extensive acreage. The will also shows that he owned a home near Edgefield, South Carolina, which was situated on "about eleven hundred acres."

This collection is comprised of the background files, notes, correspondence, permission, maps, manuscripts, and other materials that were collected or created by Clifton Paisley during the writing of his work, Red Hills of Florida. Included among these items are biographical sources, census data, maps and surveys of the Red Hills region, letters to and from local organizations and persons, newspapers, and interviews. The majority of the collection consists of those materials which actually played a part in the publication of the book. These items include notes, manuscripts, galley proofs, camera ready copies, and photographs mainly dating from the 1970s and 1980s when the book was being compiled and published.