The Frances Graham papers date from 1912 to 2010 and measure 8 linear feet. The papers are arranged in seven series: General, Education, 4-H, History, Civic and Club Activities, Ona Graham, and Artifacts.

The General series (1973-2010) contains biographical information about John and Frances Graham, notes on the collection provided by the donor at accession, and material regarding the unsuccessful attempt to pass a bill naming the ladybug Iowa's official state insect.

The Education series (1935-2005) includes Frances Graham's high school scrapbook, as well as items from Iowa State University, where she studied in the Family and Consumer Sciences department, and University of Northern Iowa, which contains material pertaining to a correspondence course Graham completed in the 1970s.

The 4-H series (1914-2009) documents Frances Graham's lifelong involvement with the organization. There are materials from her time as a young woman with Linn County's B-Natural group, including scrapbooks, resource materials, and items related to a Posture Project entered in the Iowa State Fair. The series also contains materials regarding her service as an adult leader with Fayette County's Alpha Clover Leaves and induction into the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame.

The History series (1912-2010) documents Graham's career as an amateur historian and her avid interest in local history. Included are materials regarding her involvement with the Iowa Local History Museum Association (ILHMA), Fayette County's celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976, the Iowa Sesquicentennial in 1996, and a grant-funded oral history project called "The Way We Were" that Graham organized with the Fayette County Historical Consortium.

The Civic and Club Activities series (1949-2010) covers Graham's wide involvement in community activities. Civic participation in events such as jury duty, History Day, elections and caucus, and groups such as music boosters and the Hawkeye, Public Library Board is represented, as well as records and materials from the large number of clubs she participated in: the Daughters of the American Revolution, the American Association of University Women, History and Travel Club, and the Iowa and Fayette Federations of Women's Clubs are among those represented.

The Ona Graham series (1938-1992) contains items relating to Frances Graham's mother-in-law, Ona Graham, primarily diaries covering a five-decade span. Among the ephemera included alongside the diaries is correspondence from the Graham children to their grandmother from all three of the state's regent universities.

The Artifacts series (1961-2000) contains a number of items, including awards plaques and artifacts relating to historical anniversaries such as t-shirts from the Iowa State Sesquicentennial celebrations in 1996.

The following items are housed in the Iowa Women's Archives printed works collection:

Kalona: The First Century, 1879-1979. (Kalona, Iowa: Kalona Centennial Committee, 1979).

A Century of Home Economics at Iowa State University: A proud past, a lively present, a future promise. By Ercel Sherman Eppright and Elizabeth Storm Ferguson (Ames, Iowa: The Iowa State University Home Economics Alumni Association, 1971).

Out of the Midwest: A Portrait. Edited by Helen Moeller (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1976).

Heritage of Fayette County, Iowa, 1996. (Fayette County, Iowa: Fayette County, Iowa Heritage Book Committee, 1996).

Out of the Night. By Ellen Biles James (New York, New York: Pageant Press, Inc., 1961).