The John D. Lane Papers contain material recording his career as an English professor at Clemson and his relationships with many of his students and close friends. These papers largely document the successful training of writers and journalists at Clemson College - an institution without a department or school of journalism. The history of Clemson's success as a school whose graduates included Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists can be traced to John Lane.

The collection contains correspondence from former students and noted journalists such as Harry Ashmore, George Chaplin, and George McMillan. There is also correspondence with Andrew Holt, President of the University of Tennessee, and Henry Rankin, a former colleague at Clemson.

There are several folders of Lane's speeches and writings, including a song, "That Little Cowboy", that he composed in 1950. Also included are diaries of his years at Columbia University in 1928-1929. The diaries are disjointed, but his entire stay is covered. The papers document Lane's professional career extensively. There is also material relating to his involvement with Gamma Alpha Mu, Clemson's Faculty Senate, and The Tiger.