In 1902, W. R. Allen acquired land in the French Gulch mining district. The Allen Gold Mining Company was incorporated in 1903, and in 1907 its name was changed to the Allen Company.
The two photo albums in this collection depict Allen Gold Mining Company / Allen Company logging and mining operations at French Gulch near Deer Lodge, Montana, from 1905 to 1908. Photographs show views of logging activities, flume construction and use, as well as placer mining. These images are from 1905 to 1908. Additional images in Album 2 are of the Greenough area in 1927.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.
Allen Company Photograph Albums, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
The origin of Album 1 is unknown, but was likely originally given to the Forestry Library at the University of Montana and transferred upon the closing of that library to the Mansfield Library or directly to the Archives. Album 2 was donated to the Archives by the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan in 1982.
At the time of accessioning of Album 1 by the Archives, photo numbers were assigned, labels with these numbers were afixed to the album pages, and the photos were included in the Archives general photo collection. In 2007 this album was combined with the similar album, donated to the Archives by the Bentley in 1982, to make this collection. At the time of processing individual photo numbers were not assigned to the images in the second album.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Album 1 contains various photographs of the Allen Gold Mining Company / Allen Company logging and mining operations in French Gulch, Montana. The photographs cover the years 1905 to 1908; most are from February and March of 1906. Detailed text accompanies many of the images, but the author of this text and the creator of the album are unknown. In addition to French Gulch there are a couple of logging photos from Greenough, Montana, from 1927. These photographs were most likely added by someone other than the original creator at a later date.
Album 2 appears to be bound in its original leather cover. The images are nearly identical to those in Album 1 but there are additional photographs of the mining operations and some logging. These are also identified by an unknown author. A typed note in the album explains that the photographs are from the Deer Lodge National Forest, taken by Allen Timber and Mine Company, but the original source of this information is unknown.