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The James R. Reid letters are positive photocopies of the extensive correspondence betwen him and Ella Holden from 1902 to 1904. The letters are personal in nature, containing courtship messages interwoven with news about Reid's academic life. The letters contain comments on the faculty and students of the Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, detailed descriptions of the physical setting of the school, and the social life of Bozeman. Reid also reports his actions in dealing with the state legislature for college appropriations. Faculty and communitiy members specifically mentioned include Frank W. Traphagen, William F. Brewer, Peter Koch, and Mrs. Emma Weeks Willson. The majority of the letters were written from Bozeman, but some are posted from locations where Reid had traveled including a trip to Europe and shorter journeys to Butte, Helena, and Salt Lake City. Two typewritten pages of genealogical information on the Reid family have been placed in a separate folder. The original photographs of this collection are of Reid and his wife, Ella, and other members of the extended Reid family.