The Spies of Texas
An Observer Web Feature
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.
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.
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. Download the entire PDF file.
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. Download the entire PDF file.
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.) Download the entire PDF file.
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. Download the entire PDF file.
Newspaper Clippings
Copies of newspaper reports of various campus protests and controversies were found in Hamilton’s files, including a profile of Hamilton himself. Download the entire PDF file.
The Underground Press
Police paid attention to underground publications such as the Rag and the Conch, and kept copies for their files. Download the entire PDF file.
All the Rest
Various documents that didn’t seem to fit the other categories. Download the entire PDF file.
