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Mount Tacoma: the story of its first successful ascent, 1909-1912
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Van Trump, Philemon Beecher, 1838-1916
- Title
- Mount Tacoma: the story of its first successful ascent
- Dates
- 1909-1912 (inclusive)19091912
- Quantity
- 28 leaves ; 32 centimeters
- Collection Number
- 0499 (Accession No. 0499-001)
- Summary
- Account of the first ascent of Mount Rainier, 1912
- 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
-
Open to all users.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Early mountaineering enthusiast, Philemon Beecher Van Trump (1838-1916), is frequently credited with having made the first documented ascent of Mount Rainier with Hazard Stevens in 1870. Born in Lancaster, Ohio, Van Trump first arrived in the Pacific Northwest in 1865 by means of an overland journey. He returned to the region in 1867, settling in Olympia, Washington, where he served as secretary to territorial governor, Marshall F. Moore. Van Trump and Stevens completed their first successful climb in August 1870, but Van Trump would make several other trips, including an 1888 ascent with naturalist John Muir. Van Trump moved to Yelm in 1880, becoming postmaster and operating a general store. He was instrumental in the effort to create Mount Rainier National Park.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Mount Tacoma: the story of its first successful ascent is the title of an undated holograph manuscript in pencil containing a personal account by Philemon Beecher Van Trump of his historic 1870 climb of Mount Rainier with Hazard Stevens. The article is signed, "P. B. Van Trump" and appears to have been written as an introduction to a book by another author (claimed by Harry M. Majors to have been an intended work by photographer A. H. Barnes). The text, which expands upon a 1900 magazine article, probably was composed between 1909-1912. Majors has assigned the manuscript a date of 1909 on the basis of his interpretation of a sentence in the concluding paragraph of the piece in which Van Trump cites his experience of Mount Rainier "at close range 42 years ago" as referring to Van Trump's literal first sighting of the mountain in 1867. However, a case could be made that Van Trump is instead alluding to his experience of reaching what he believed to be the summit of Mount Rainier in 1870; in the first page of the manuscript, Van Trump describes the 1792 arrival of Captain George Vancouver at the Strait of Juan de Fuca as having taken place "one hundred and twenty years ago."
Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top
Previously called Philemon Beecher Van Trump papers.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selections from this collection in digital format.
Restrictions on Use
Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Donated by Dr. Frank Brockman of the Forestry Dept., 11/6/1964
Bibliography
Majors, Harry M., 1945- "The Stevens and Van Trump Ascent of Mount Rainier: August 1870." Northwest Discovery 64(1985) : 336-337.
McCourtney, David "Mount Rainier: Its First Ascent--1870." Off Belay 17(October 1974).
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Mountaineering--Washington (State)--Rainier, Mount
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
Personal Names
- Stevens, Hazard, 1842-1918
- Van Trump, Philemon Beecher, 1838-1916--Archives
Geographical Names
- Rainier, Mount (Wash.)--Description and travel
