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Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection, 1890-1945

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Bowman, Anthony Will, 1938-
Title
Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection
Dates
1890-1945 (inclusive)
1913-1930 (bulk)
Quantity
2 boxes, (2 linear ft. )
Collection Number
UUS_P0328
Summary
Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection consists of 422 photographs, most of which were removed from Bowman family scrapbooks. Part of the images document daily ranch life including herding cattle and sheep, harvesting hay, working on machinery, and recreational activities on the San Jacinto and other company owned ranches in northern Nevada and southern Idaho. Also included are scenes of ranch buildings, irrigation, and water works such as the Salmon Creek Falls Dam and the Milner diversion dam. The second part of the collection consists of photos from around Susanville, California taken by P.J. Thompson during the construction of the Fernley-Lassen branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1913 and 1914.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions
Restrictions

Open to public research.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008
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Historical Note

>Utah Construction Company.

Edmund O., William H., and Warren L. Wattis founded the Utah Construction Company in January 1900, in Ogden, Utah. Early investors such as David Eccles, Thomas D. Dee, and James Pingree helped it to become a major national (and later international) company. Much of its early work consisted of building the South Pacific Railroad but the company also branched out into ranching and dam building. In addition to being one of five companies that built Hoover Dam in the 1930s they also worked on the Grand Coulee, Pineview, Hetch Hetchy, and Wanship Dams. During WWII the Utah Construction Company completed many World War II defense contracts. After the war it became involved with mining (coal and iron), dredging, and land development. Changing their name to the Utah Construction and Mining Company, and then to Utah International, Inc., headquarters were relocated to San Francisco, California. Much of the mining was conducted in Peru and Australia, and in 1976 a friendly take over by General Electric led to another sale to Broken Hill Proprietary (an Australian company) in 1983.

Company Owned Ranches.

In 1868 a Texas cattleman named John Sparks brought a herd of Texas Longhorns into Northeast Nevada. By partnering with neighboring ranchers and buying out others, Sparks managed to create a huge, successful operation. In 1908 the ranch owned three major brands: the Shoesole, Winecup, and HD. Sparks sold the ranch (which ran east to the Minidoka Forest Reserve, west to Bruneau, Idaho, north to the Snake River, and south to the Great American Desert, Nevada) to the Vineyard Land and Stock Company. The Utah Construction Company then purchased the ranch and increased the holdings to 3 million acres. The acreage was divided into 38 ranches and occupied most of the Northeast corner of Nevada as well as parts of Utah and Idaho. The ranch was headquartered in Montello, Nevada and would be managed by Archie (A.W.) Bowman. Bowman lived at San Jacinto located thirty miles south of Rogerson, Idaho. In 1945 the Company's ranch holdings were sold to Wilkins and Wunderlich of Denver, Colorado, and eventually divided into smaller lots for resale.

Archibald Warren Bowman (1884-1967) was born on October 8th in South Weber, Utah. In 1919 he met Nora Linjer (born August 28, 1893 in Alexandria, Minnesota), a schoolteacher friend of his sister Verna. The two married on February 20, 1920 in River Falls, Wisconsin while he was the Superintendent of the San Jacinto Ranch. They would have one daughter, Verna Lou. After the ranch was sold in 1945 they moved to Elko, Nevada. Archie died in January 1967 in Salt Lake City and Nora passed away in March 1973.

  • Bowman, N. J., (1958) Only the Mountains Remain.
  • File MS678, Report on the Utah Construction Co. Ranch located in Nevada and Southern Idaho, Utah State University, Special Collections & Archives, Merrill Library.

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Content Description

The Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection consists of 422 photographs most of which were removed from Bowman family scrapbooks. Part of the images document daily ranch life including herding cattle and sheep, harvesting hay, working on machinery, and recreational activities on the San Jacinto and other company owned ranches in northern Nevada and southern Idaho. Also included are scenes of ranch buildings, irrigation, and water works such as the Salmon Creek Falls Dam and the Milner diversion dam. The second part of the collection consists of photos from around Susanville, California taken by P.J. Thompson during the construction of the Fernley-Lassen branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1913 and 1914.

Most photos in good condition, but some photographs have been torn.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Permission to publish material from the Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation

Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection, 1890-1945 (P0328). Utah State University. Special Collections & Archives Department.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arrangement: Topical.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Nora Linjer Bowman and Anthony Will Bowman.

Processing Note

Before the photo albums came to Special Collections & Archives, old photographs were ripped out and replaced with new images leaving the torn remnants behind. Register completed by Jennifer Feik and Daniel Davis, December 2003.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Dams--Idaho--Design and construction--Photographs.
  • Railroads--California--Design and construction--Photographs.
  • Ranch life--Idaho--Photographs.
  • Ranch life--Nevada--Photographs.

Personal Names

  • Bowman, Archibald Warren, 1884-1967.
  • Bowman, Nora Linjer, 1893-1973.
  • Bowman, Nora Linjer, 1893-1973. (contributor)

Corporate Names

  • Utah International Inc. (contributor)
  • Utah Construction Company. (contributor)
  • Utah International Inc.

Geographical Names

  • Montello (Nevada)--Photographs.
  • Salmon Dam (Idaho)--Photographs.
  • San Jacinto (Nevada)--Photographs.
  • San Jacinto Ranch (Nevada)--Photographs.
  • Susanville (Calif.)--Photographs.
  • Tecoma (Nevada)--Photographs.

Finding aid created by Jennifer Feik and Daniel Davis, December 2003.
2008

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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