research tools and collections: archives and special
collections: joseph wood evans
About the Joseph Wood Evans Special Collections and Archives
Center
In April 2002, Hanover College received a gift to establish the
Joseph Wood Evans Memorial Special Collections and Archives Center
from the Wills Foundation of Houston on behalf of his daughter.
Joseph Wood Evans was a member of the 1897 class of Hanover College.
He served as a member of the College's Board of Trustees from 1934
to 1946. Born in Augusta, Kentucky, Evans moved to Houston, Texas
in 1901, where he organized a cotton-exporting firm, Evans and Company.
He was the major figure in making Houston one of the key ports in
the world for the export of cotton. He served in many business and
civic organizations in Houston throughout his life, including a
term as president of the Houston Chamber of Commerce in 1928 as
well as serving as a director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in
1933. He remained a fixture in the civic life of Houston until his
death in 1962.
