Caddo Indian Collection

Buddy Calvin Jones was born in Longview, TX on October 31, 1938.  Calvin's father, Bud Jones was one-eighth Creek, his mother, Wavie Jones, was one-quarter Cherokee.

Fueled by a desire to learn more about his Native American heritage, Calvin found his first arrow head in 1945, at the age of  7.  He would spend his summer vacations from dawn to dusk on what he called "a dig", packing a lunch and toting his little red wagon behind him into the East Texas woods.  Returning home late in the evening, tired and dirty, he was always jubilant because his wagon was loaded with Native American artifacts.

In 1956, Calvin helped establish the East Texas Archaeological Society in Tyler, Texas and in 1957, wrote his first publication, "The Grace Sites, Gregg, Texas," which was published in The Bulletin of the Texas Archaeological Society.

Calvin studied anthropology at the University of Oklahoma where he received his B.A. in 1961.  He focused his studies on the Caddoan culture and its chronological placement in the development of Mississippian Native American life.  After serving in the U.S. Army and working with the National Park Service, Calvin began his post-graduate work in Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma where he received his M.A. in 1968.  His thesis, The Kinsloe Focus:  A Study of Seven Historic Caddoan Sites in Northeast Texas, continues to be an important reference work for this area (Jones 1968).

In 1965, Calvin married Patsy A. Olive, a gifted author and artist.  The couple moved to Florida where Calvin began his employment as an archaeologist for the state in 1968.  Through patience and technique he refined his discovery technique to an art form.  His efforts resulted in the location of about 1000 archaeological sites, over 40 of which were excavated, many under Calvin's direct supervision.

In May 1990, Florida Senate Resolution 3088 recognized Calvin for his archaeological achievements including the discovery and excavation of nine Spanish Mission in Leon and Jefferson Counties, the de Soto winter encampment in Tallahassee, and his continuing work and cooperation with property owners and amateur archaeologists.  Also in 1990, Calvin received the Special Achievement Award for Historic Preservation from the Florida Heritage Foundation and the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board.

Calvin consistently involved the public in his efforts, and it was this spirit of sharing that was responsible for Calvin's many significant contributions.   The Florida Archaeological Council presented Calvin with a Lifetime Achievement Award in May of 1998.  When Calvin died, after a yearlong battle with cancer, his remains were sent back to Texas where he was buried.

It was often thought by his colleagues that Calvin had mystical powers.  It seemed he could spot and find with uncanny accuracy lost civilizations and cultures.  In Calvin's own words: "The archaeologist must be like a shaman; he must have a communion with the people who lived thousands of years ago."

In 2003, The Gregg County Historical Museum acquired the Jones Collection of Caddo Indian Artifacts, which contains over 3,000 Caddo artifacts, 450 of which are bowls, jars, and vessels. The collection includes artifacts excavated from the 1950s and 1960s in northeast Texas and dates to the Middle Caddo period to 1700 A.D. Recently the Museum received a National Trust for Historic Preservation grant to fund a docent manual and teacher curriculum guide related to the Caddo collection. Additionally, a donation from the Patsy Hollandsworth Family Foundation to the Museum will provide proper climate control and shelving for the storage of the collection. Student volunteers from three higher learning institutions assist the current volunteers and Museum staff in the cataloguing and conservation of the Caddo Collection. The Museum intends to provide future workshops and programs of the collection and the rich heritage of the Caddo peoples and the impact their culture had in the Gregg County area.