Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Charles James Neal photograph collection, 1900-1920s
Overview of the Collection
- Collector
- Neal, Charles James
- Title
- Charles James Neal photograph collection
- Dates
- 1900-1920s (inclusive)19001929
- Quantity
- 207 items
- Collection Number
- P0694
- Summary
- The Charles James Neal photograph collection consists of images of Charles Neal and his family. It also includes pictures of the Uintah Stage and Railway, the Uintah (Vernal) Telephone Company, Dinosaur National Monument, a number of gilsonite mining companies, several dozen petroglyphs, and many miscellaneous Uintah County scenes.
- Repository
-
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860
Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Charles James Neal was born on a farm in Beloit, Kansas in 1883. When he was seven years old, the family moved to Leadville, Colorado, where he developed a lifelong interest in mining. After the mines closed, he focused on electrical engineering and found work building long distance transmission lines and installing exchanges for the Colorado Bell Telephone Company. He married Essie Christie in 1906 and raised two children, Margaret and Edythe. In 1907 he applied for a franchise to build the Uintah Telephone Company connecting Vernal to Salt Lake City, Utah and Denver, Colorado. He and his wife offered the area twenty-four hour telephone service from their home as Essie was one of the main switchboard operators and he built many of the phone lines. Charles wired the Uintah Stake Tabernacle and helped design the power plant to the Vernal flour mill. While extending the telephone lines throughout Uintah County he discovered an extensive cache of dinosaur bones. He informed the Smithsonian Institute's paleontologist, Dr. Earl Douglass, of his find in 1909 and eagerly watched the excavation of the site. While working on the phone lines, Charles gained the equivalent of a geology degree. This knowledge enabled him to search for oil and eventually open several deposits of gilsonite in the Uintah Basin. Over the years he was involved with several gilsonite mining companies: Diamond Gilsonite Company, Utah Gilsonite Company, Raven Mining Company and Rainbow Dragon Gilsonite Company. He further served the community by helping to open up the sixty-five mile stretch along the Uintah Railway to automobile traffic.
Following the death of his beloved wife, Essie, Charles resided in the Stewart's Convalescent Villa in Roosevelt where he died at the age of ninety-three. Today, he is remembered for his service to the community in building the local telephone company, encouraging the development of Dinosaur National Monument, and operating several gilsonite mining companies. He was a devout Episcopalian and a dedicated Mason.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection is comprised of the Charles Neal family photos. Mr. Neal was a miner, businessman, and entrepreneur who lived in the Uintah Basin of eastern Utah from the 1920s until his death in 1977. This collection includes pictures of the Uintah Stage and Railway, the Uintah (Vernal) Telephone Company, Dinosaur National Monument, a number of gilsonite mining companies, several dozen petroglyphs, many miscellaneous Uintah County scenes and several photos of family members.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Preferred Citation
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Collection is arranged topically.
Separated Materials
See also the Charles James Neal papers (ACCN 1588) located in the Manuscripts Division of Special Collections.
Related Materials
This collection forms part of the Utah River Running Archive, which is part of the S.J. Quinney Outdoor Recreation Archive
Processing Note
Processed by Judy Dykman in 2002.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Uintah Railway
|
1920s |
| 1 | 2 | Oil Wells
|
|
| 1 | 3 | Early Telephone Equipment
|
|
| 1 | 4 | Gilsonite Mines and Mining
|
|
| 1 | 5 | Snapshots of Vernal
|
|
| 1 | 6 | Dinosaur National Monument - Prof. Douglass at site
|
|
| 1 | 7 | Dyer Mine Camp
|
|
| 1 | 8 | Ruple Ranch
|
|
| 1 | 9 | Miscellaneous Uintah County post cards
|
|
| 1 | 10 | Miscellaneous personal photos
|
|
| 1 | 11 | Miscellaneous photos
|
|
| 1 | 12 | Miscellaneous Uintah County scenery
|
|
| 1 | 13 | Miscellaneous slides and negatives
|
|
| 1 | 14 | Vernal Dinosaur Dig/ Petroglyphs
|
|
| 1 | 15 | Uintah Stage
|
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Gilsonite--Photographs
Personal Names
- Neal, Charles James--Photographs
Corporate Names
- Uintah Railway--Photographs
Family Names
- Neal family--Photographs
Geographical Names
- Dinosaur National Monument (Agency: U.S.)--Photographs
Finding aid created by Judy Dykman.
2002 (last modified: 2018)
