Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
George Watkin Evans Gold Mining Photographs, 1939
Overview of the Collection
- Photographer
- Evans, George Watkin, 1876-1951
- Title
- George Watkin Evans Gold Mining Photographs
- Dates
- 1939 (inclusive)19391939
- Quantity
- 35 photographic prints (1 box) ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller
- Collection Number
- PH0636
- Summary
- Photographs made in 1939 by George Watkin Evans, showing gold mining, construction, and cyanide washing plants on the West Coast.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
George Watkin Evans was born in Abercarne, South Wales, in 1876, and came to the United States with his parents as a young boy. His father was a coal miner, and the family lived in Pennsylvania before coming west to the Washington coal fields. Beginning at the age of eleven, Evans spent his youth working in coal mines. Having no formal education, he taught himself to read the Welsh Bible and studied in the evenings, taking a correspondence course in preparation for college.
At the age of 20, Evans entered the Mining Engineering Department at the State College of Washington in Pullman. While in college, he took a year off and went to Dawson in the Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush. He took a job on El Dorado Creek, one of the richest placer creeks of the time, hoisting gravel out of a mine shaft. This work was his introduction to gold mining.
Returning to college, he earned his degree in Mining and Engineering and found employment in Colorado at the Dorcas Cyanide Mill. Working every department in the mill, he then moved on to take charge of a cyanide mill in Silver Cliff, Colorado. While his days were spent working, his evenings were spent studying the metallurgy of gold and silver. When Evans was poisoned by cyanogen gas and was forced to leave the metallurgy profession, he returned to coal mining.
Evans spent the next several years as a consulting mining engineer conducting coal surveys for the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the United States Navy, and the Northern Pacific Railroad. He was an authority in his field, recognized in engineering circles in North America and England.
Later in his life, Evans returned to his interest in gold mining and did professional consulting work in the gold fields of Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and parts of Alaska.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection contains black-and-white photographs taken in 1939 by George Watkin Evans in his capacity as consulting mining engineer with offices in Smith Tower, Seattle. The photographs show gold mining operations, construction sites, and cyanide washing plants in various parts of California, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions might exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact the repository for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The photographs were originally part of an album and are arranged according to their original order.
Processing Note
Processed by Elizabeth Parks, 2004; Revised by Stefanie Terasaki, 2014.
The photographs were originally housed in an album, which was disassembled for preservation purposes.
Related Materials
The George Evans Papers, Collection No. 4647, also available in Special Collections, include coal mining photographs.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/1 | 1 | View of Sutters Mill, South Fork of the American River | 1939 |
1/1 | 2 | James W. Marshall Monument, Coloma, California | 1939 |
1/1 | 3 | Foundation of Sutters Mill | 1939 |
1/2 | 4 | Main Street, Coloma, California | 1939 |
1/3 | 5 | George McKnight Monument, Grass Valley, California | 1939 |
1/3 | 6 | North Star Central Mill, Grass Valley, California | 1939 |
1/3 | 7 | Empire Mill, Grass Valley, California | 1939 |
1/3 | 8 | Brunswick Shaft of Idaho-Maryland Mine, Grass Valley, California | 1939 |
1/3 | 9 | Central Shaft of North Star Mine, Grass Valley, California | 1939 |
1/3 | 10 | Idaho-Maryland mill and cyanide plant, Grass Valley, California | 1939 |
1/3 | 11 | Main shaft of Idaho-Maryland Mine, Grass Valley, California | 1939 |
1/4 | 12 | Washing plant of Scandia Mine, Klamath River, California | 1939 |
1/5 | 13 | Knob Hill Mill, Knob Hill Mining Company, Republic, Washington | 1939 |
1/5 | 14 | Power shovel operation, Knob Hill Mining Company, Republic, Washington | 1939 |
1/6 | 15 | View of drag-line and washer, Boulder Creek operations, Turnagain River Gold District, Northern British Columbia | 1939 |
1/6 | 16 | Washer, dragline, and pipeline, Boulder Creek operations, Turnagain River Gold District, Northern British Columbia | 1939 |
1/6 | 17 | Bulldozer removing gravel from sluice box end, Boulder Creek operations, Turnagain River Gold District, Northern British Columbia | 1939 |
1/6 | 18 | Dump box, grizzly, and sluice boxes of washer, Boulder Creek operations, Turnagain River Gold District, Northern British Columbia | 1939 |
1/6 | 19 | Equipment dragging gravel to dump box | 1939 |
1/6 | 20 | Jack Wheaton's mining pit | 1939 |
1/7 | 21 | View of Howe Sound Mine, Holden, Washington | 1939 |
1/8 | 22a-c | Three views of Bodinson Gravel Washery, Sardine Creek District, Grants Pass, Oregon | 1939 |
1/8 | 23 | Bodinson Gravel Washery, Sardine Creek District, Grants Pass, Oregon (enlargement of 22c) | 1939 |
1/8 | 24 | Bodinson Gravel Washery, Sardine Creek District, Grants Pass, Oregon (enlargement of 22b) | 1939 |
1/8 | 25 | Men working at washery | 1939 |
1/9 | 26 | Equipment at construction site of U.S. 99E overcrossing, Albany, Oregon | 1939 |
1/10 | 27 | Mining equipment at gravel site | 1939 |
1/11 | 28 | Mining equipment at gravel site | 1939 |
1/12 | 29 | Interior of processing plant | 1939 |
1/13 | 30 | Mountain view | 1939 |
1/14 | 31 | Mining equipment at gravel site | 1939 |
1/15 | 32 | Man and equipment at gravel site | 1939 |
1/15 | 33-34 | Mining equipment at gravel site | 1939 |
1/15 | 35 | Cyanide mill of the First Thought Mining Company, Orient, Washington | 1939 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Gold mines and mining--British Columbia--Photographs
- Gold mines and mining--California--Photographs
- Gold mines and mining--Equipment and supplies--Photographs
- Gold mines and mining--Oregon--Photographs
- Gold mines and mining--Washington (State)--Photographs
- Gold mines and mining--West (U.S.)--Photographs
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Geographical Names
- California--Photographs
- West (U.S.)--Photographs