Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection
Dates:
1890-1945 ( inclusive )
1913-1930 ( bulk )
Quantity:
2
boxes (2 linear ft. )
Collection Number:
USU_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. Special Collections and Archives Photograph Collection
Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University 3000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-3000 Phone: 435 797-2663 Fax: 435 797-2880 Email: scweb@usu.edu
Languages:
Collection materials are in English.
Sponsor:
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant,
2007-2008
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.
The University of Utah, Media Solutions website at: http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/u/UTAHCONSTRUCTION.html.
File MS678, Report on the Utah Construction Co. Ranch located in Nevada and
Southern Idaho, Utah State University, Special Collections & Archives,
Merrill Library.
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.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access : Restrictions
Open to public research.
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.
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.
