William Winans Drake, Jr. papers primarily consist of his writings. Also included are a small amount of clippings and correspondence. Much of the material relates to Drake’s activities with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Louisiana during the twentieth century. His writings largely consist of sermons about biblical verses; other topics include temperance and gambling. Many of Drake’s writings were handwritten on the back of scrap sheets of paper. The reverse side of these papers often consisted of mass-produced typed form letters related to the churches and the organizations he served. The collection also includes materials related to Drake’s time as a student at Centenary College of Louisiana during the 1880s. This includes his writings, diploma, and a certificate for the Franklin Institute, a student literary society.

The collection includes a set of index cards corresponding to Drake’s writings about biblical verses. The cards are organized by books of the Bible. Since these cards contain location codes identifying documents within the Drake collection, the archives has retained the original folder titles and document order. These codes consist of the following: [index card notation = collection box, folder name]. Box 1 = Box 1, Sermons Groups B through M. Box 2 = Box 2 and 3, Writings Groups A through N. Box 1 N.S. = Box 3, Meditations Groups A through G. Box 2 Pack 2 = Box 3, Pack 2. PMN = Box 3, Prayer Meeting Notes.