Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Leonard Eicholtz diaries, 1838-1910
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Eicholtz, Leonard H.
- Title
- Leonard Eicholtz diaries
- Dates
- 1838-1910 (inclusive)Date of CollectionDate of Collection
- Quantity
- 2.5 cubic ft. (5 document boxes, 1 slim document box, 2 small collection envelopes)
- Collection Number
- 00238
- Summary
- The collection consists of Leonard Eicholtz’s diaries for the years 1852, 1855-1860, 1862, 1864-1870, 1872-1874, and 1878-1910, which record his daily activities as a railroad construction engineer.
- Repository
-
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Leonard Henry Eicholtz was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on the twenty-third of April, 1827. He was trained as a civil engineer at the Moravian Academy of Lititz. In 1852, he joined the engineers of the Pennsylvania Railroad, for which he worked until 1854, when he took a similar position with the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad Company. In 1857, Eicholtz went to Honduras as part of a survey team for the Honduras Inter-Oceanic railway. A year later he returned to the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad Company.
During the Civil War, Eicholtz acted as an assistant engineer of military railways in the military division of the Mississippi under General Sherman. Eicholtz assisted in the reconstruction of roads as well as in the construction of new railroad lines. By the time he left the military in 1866, he had been promoted to chief engineer.
Eicholtz was hired by the Kansas Pacific Railway Company later in 1866, and for them he surveyed the thirty-second parallel through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. In 1868, he became superintendent of bridge building for the Union Pacific Railway Company. He stayed with that company until the Union Pacific line connected with the Central Pacific line on May 10, 1869. He was then made the superintendent of construction and chief engineer for the Denver Pacific Railway Company and built that line from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Denver, Colorado. At the same time, he oversaw the construction of a Kansas Pacific line east from Denver. He also opened a brokerage house with Captain Horace A. Gray during that period.
In 1872, Eicholtz helped to incorporate the Denver & South Park Railway Company, which was subsequently made a part of the Colorado & Southern Railway Company. He became chief engineer of the Denver & South Park line at that time. In 1878, he was named director of the First National Bank in Denver, a position he held until his death.
Eicholtz married Ellen Inslee Smith late in life, at the age of forty-five. The two had five children, four daughters and one son. Eicholtz died on January 3, 1911, at age eighty-four.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Leonard Eicholtz diaries consist primarily of diaries kept by Eicholtz about his professional life. He recorded his day-to-day experiences and detailed information about his expenses. Data gathered from his surveying expeditions is included in the diaries, also. The diaries written between 1867 and 1869 cover the period of time he was working for the Union Pacific Railway Company during its efforts to complete a transcontinental railway.
Eicholtz’s work for the Union Army during the Civil War is also chronicled in his diaries. Eicholtz worked as a military engineer from 1864 to 1866 on rail lines in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia, laying new lines to maintain supply routes and repairing them after battles. The diaries function as logs of his daily activities with little or no commentary. The 1870 diaries deal with the construction of the Denver Pacific railroad from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Denver, Colorado, and that of the Kansas Pacific from Denver east to meet tracks being laid from Kit Carson, Colorado. During this period, Eicholtz was traveling consistently between Cheyenne, Omaha, Nebraska, and his home in Denver.
After the establishment of the Denver & South Park Railway Company in 1872, Eicholtz continued to travel widely in the Midwest, though he took many trips East to Philadelphia and St. Joseph, Missouri, the home of his wife. There are no diaries for the years 1875-1877 when Eicholtz would have been working on the Denver & South Park line through the Platte canyon. The diaries do discuss the 1880 construction of the South Park road along the Arkansas River and over Alpine Pass to Gunnison, Colorado. After 1880, the diaries deal primarily with his brokerage business, his work at First National Bank, and his occasional railroad consulting work.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
Alternate Form of MaterialSome of the diaries transcripts are available.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright InformationThe researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Preferred Citation
Preferred CitationItem Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Leonard Eicholtz diaries, 1838-1910, Collection Number 00238, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Related Materials
Related MaterialsFor another known archival collection created by Leonard Eicholtz, see:
Leonard H. Eicholtz diaries, 1867-1869, Colorado Historical Society LibraryAcquisition Information
Acquisition InformationThe Leonard Eicholtz diaries were donated to the American Heritage Center in 1953 by Leonard Eicholtz, Jr., son of Eicholtz.
Processing Note
Processing InformationThe collection was processed by Shannon Bowen in November 2001. The diaries dealing with the period in which Eicholtz worked for the Union Pacific Railway Company have been photocopied. These are the diaries for the years 1867 through 1869. The photocopies have been included with the collection material.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series I.: Diaries, 1838-1910Return to Top
This material is arranged chronologically and concerns Eicholtz’s personal and professional life, though the material deals mainly with his business dealings. Included with the diaries are two books and a wallet.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Wallet |
circa 1838 |
| 1 | 2 | Diary and Transcript |
1852 |
| 1 | 3 | Books: Practical Treatise on Railway Curves and Location For Young Engineers, Fieldbook for Railroad Engineers |
1854, 1866 |
| Folders | |||
| 1 | 4-5 | Diaries and Transcripts |
1855-1856 |
| Folder | |||
| 1 | 6 | Diary |
1857 |
| 1 | 7 | Transcript of 1857 Diary |
1857 |
| 1 | 8 | Diary and Transcript |
1858 |
| Folders | |||
| 2 | 1-6 | Diaries and Transcripts |
1859-1860, 1862, 1864-1866 |
| 2 | 7-8 | Diary (Photocopy) |
1867 |
| Folder | |||
| 3 | 1 | Transcript of 1867 Diary |
1867 |
| 3 | 2 | Diary (1 of 2) (Photocopy) |
1868 |
| 3 | 3 | Transcript of 1868 Diary (1 of 2) |
1868 |
| 3 | 4 | Diary (2 of 2) (Photocopy of two-volume diary) |
1868 |
| 3 | 5 | Transcript of 1868 Diary (2 of 2) |
1868 |
| Folders | |||
| 3 | 6-7 | Diary (Photocopy) |
1869 |
| Folder | |||
| 3 | 8 | Transcript of 1870 Diary (No original diary) |
1870 |
| Folders | |||
| 3 | 9-11 | Diaries |
1870, 1872-1874 |
| 4 | 1-8 | Diaries |
1878-1892 |
| 5 | 1-7 | Diaries |
1893-1905 |
| 6 | 1-3 | Diaries |
1906-1910 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Banks and banking--Colorado--Denver.
- Military railroads--United States.
- Railroad bridges--United States.
- Railroad engineering--United States.
- Railroads--Construction--United States.
- Railroads--Surveying--United States.
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Transportation.
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Corporate Names
- Central Pacific Railroad Company.
- Colorado and Southern Railway.
- Denver and South Park Railroad Construction and Land Company.
- First National Bank of Denver.
- Kansas Pacific Railway Company.
- Pennsylvania Railroad.
- Union Pacific Railway Company.
Geographical Names
- Denver (Colo.)
Occupations
- Railroad engineers.
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Eicholtz, Elizabeth C. Diary, 1893.
Processed by Shannon Bowen
2006
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
