The George R. Fox Papers are arranged in four series: Cass County, Archaeology and History Manuscripts, Correspondence, and Photographs. Many of the materials in the papers are undated.
George Randall Fox was born in Peabody, Kansas on May 18, 1880 and grew up in Wisconsin. After completing high school, Fox worked for the post office for a number of years, but his great passions were archaeology and writing. Around 1900, he began collecting Native American artifacts and exploring various mounds and rivers in Wisconsin. In the ensuing years, Fox traveled to the southeastern United States, Mexico, and the Galapagos Islands in his spare time, in addition to participating in an expedition to Isle Royale (his report of which was published in The Wisconsin Archaeologist in 1911) to pursue his archaeological interests. Fox also authored a number of fiction and non-fiction manuscripts, most of which were never published.
In 1917 Mr. and Mrs. E.K. Warren asked Fox to serve for several months as the curator of a new museum they planned to establish in Three Oaks, Michigan called the Chamberlain Museum (the collections of the Chamberlain Museum later formed the basis of the Michigan State University Museum). After short stints at the Nebraska Historical Museum and back with the post office, he became the permanent curator several years later. In 1930, Fox left the museum to operate a camp for boys in Ontario for three years. He later moved to Cass County, worked for the city of Dowagiac, and founded a local historical society. Fox also wrote a column on Cass County local history for the Dowagiac Daily News and was a major contributor to The Acorn, another local paper.
Fox was active in several archaeological organizations, including the Michigan Archaeological Society and the Central States Branch of the American Anthropological Association. He contributed a number of archaeological reports and articles to publications such as The Wisconsin Archaeologist, Michigan History Magazine, and The Totem Pole (a publication of the Aboriginal Research Club of Detroit). Fox was honored several times for his contributions to amateur archaeology. In 1926 the Wisconsin Archaeological Society awarded him the Lapham Medal for "distinguished service in anthropological research." In 1960 the Michigan Archaeological Society gave him a distinguished service award.
Fox had three daughters and one son. Fox died on June 3, 1963 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
