Ervin Bond was born in 1906 near Wiggins, Mississippi. In 1926 he moved to Douglas, Arizona where he became a grocer. He married Irma Dalton in 1933 and they had three daughters. In 1956 he began working for the Arizona Highway Department until his retirement in 1977.
Mr. Bond became interested in the history of southern Arizona and began documenting it in the 1960s. He collected materials, oral histories and photographs of Cochise County and assembled many scrapbooks documenting the area. He also lectured extensively about local history. He wrote three books: Douglas, Arizona: its first seventy-five years "and a few before," Percy Bowden: Born to be a Frontier Lawman and Cochise County, Arizona: Past and Present.
Papers, 1915-1989 (bulk 1965-1985). This collection contains the papers of the author Ervin Bond relating to his research on Cochise County, Arizona history. The bulk of the material includes scrapbooks created by Mr. Bond that contain photographs, news articles and annotations about the people, places and events of the area. Other scrapbooks created by Mr. Bond include two on the publication of his book Cochise County, Arizona: Past and Present, lecture events, the bicentennial and special events. Also included in the collection are biographical materials; correspondence; articles and speeches concerning Southern Arizona history and subject files including research materials, newspapers as well as maps included in Mr. Bond's books.