The Spies of Texas
Observer Special Web Archive
The Hamilton files include more than 450 pages of photographs and documents, ranging from typewritten formal police investigative reports to hand-scrawled notes. Often, their context or origin is unclear, and they vary in quality and clarity. The Observer has organized them into a photo gallery and seven general categories based on content. The photo gallery can be viewed as a slideshow, and the documents downloaded as PDFs.
Photo Gallery
Almost 90 photographs were found in Hamilton’s files. Some appear to be surveillance photos taken on campus, others are pictures of campus protests and events like Gentle Thursday. In some cases, names are written in margins or on the pictures to identify those photographed. Most, however, contain no identification or supplemental information. Check out the photo gallery slideshow.
Internal Police Memos and Investigative Reports
Dozens of pages that appear to be internal campus police files include investigative reports, memos to and from Chief Hamilton, extensive notes on the politics and movement of students and faculty members and a psychoanalysis of the Ghetto and its residents. Get the Internal Police Memos and Investigative Reports PDF (78 pages, 5.9mb).
Informant Notes
At least two students, including an editor of the Daily Texan, provided reports and photos to Hamilton regarding meetings and plans of campus activists. Get the Informant Notes PDF (7 pages, 556kb).
Membership Lists
Scores of lists appear in the files. Some are labeled, such as “SUBJECTS ASSOCIATED WITH STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY,” while others contain little or no explanation of why the names were compiled. Some lists contain jotted notes and observations, others detail where students came from or what their fathers did for a living. (NOTE: Birth dates that appeared in many of the original documents have been blacked out by the Observer.) Get the Membership Lists PDF (89 pages, 6mb).
Signs of the Times
Campus police apparently tried to nab most any flier, leaflet, announcement or other activist literature they could find. This portion of the archive includes meeting announcements, political tracts and samples of posters from the late 1960s. Get the Signs of the Times PDF (102 pages, 14.4mb).
Newspaper Clippings
Copies of newspaper reports of various campus protests and controversies were found in Hamilton’s files, including a profile of Hamilton himself. Get the Newspaper Clippings PDF (51 pages, 6.9mb).
The Underground Press
Police paid attention to underground publications such as the Rag and the Conch, and kept copies for their files. Get the The Underground Press PDF (13 pages, 1.7mb).
All the Rest
Various documents that didn’t seem to fit the other categories. Get the Miscelleneous PDF (16 pages, 1.1mb).
