The Grace Mabel Bacon Papers consist of letters and other writings by her, biographical information, and several photographs of her. Of note are excerpts of letters that she wrote while serving with the American Red Cross in France near the end of World War I in 1918. These letters discuss her voyage to France aboard the ship "Vestris" in 1918 during which there was an outbreak of influenza. Ruth MacGregor, Mount Holyoke College Class of 1910, died on board. Bacon also describes her experiences in St. Nazaire, France, working with Belle Mead, Mount Holyoke College Class of 1900, for the American Red Cross. The two women cared for local children and German prisoners of war working for them. They provided thousands of refugees with food and clothing. The excerpts also describe Bacon's work after the war in Coblenz, Germany, where she taught German to American soldiers for the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Army Educational Commission of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F). Bacon's writings include newspaper articles, a syllabus for the German classes Bacon taught for the A.E.F, and an obituary for Mount Holyoke College Professor Ellen C. Hinsdale. One article describes her experience in Munich, Germany at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Two 1919 articles describe her work teaching German for the A.E.F. after the war. Biographical information includes newspaper clippings, biographical notes, obituaries, and a tribute. The obituaries include ones for Bacon's siblings, Ruth Grey Bacon, George A. Bacon, and Frances Gertrude Bacon Ruggles. Obituaries for Grace Mabel Bacon herself are also included. The tribute is by Anna L. Bates, Mount Holyoke College Class of 1901. The photographs consists of formal portraits and snapshots dating from about 1900 to 1943. These images include what is probably her senior photograph as a Mount Holyoke student, a photograph of Bacon in her Red Cross uniform and a snapshot of Bacon with her dog, probably taken in 1943.

This collection is organized into four series:

• Correspondence
• Writings
• Biographical Material
• Photographs