Processed in October of 2007. Revised in 2025 to add the contents of Box 4.
The papers comprising this collection were placed in USU Special Collections and Archives since the Mitchell Motel was converted into a University Campus Office Building. The items in box 4 were discovered in Special Collections with an envelope addressed to Ruth Mitchell (postmark unreadable).
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Edgar Bentley Mitchell and E. Ruth Mitchell papers must be obtained from the
Edgar Bentley Mitchell was born in Logan, Utah, on September 13, 1911. He remained in Logan throughout his childhood, graduating from Logan High School in 1930 before departing for his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' mission in Tahiti. Mitchell served there for four years, becoming fluent in the Tahitian language and serving as a valuable translator of Latter-day Saint literature. Upon his return to Utah in 1934, Mitchell attended Utah State University for two years and maintained an interest in ranching on the family dry farm in the Hansel Valley, Utah. He married Erma Ruth Maughan on May 27, 1936 in the Logan Latter-day Saint temple. In 1944 Mitchell was called back to Tahiti as mission president, a position he held until 1949.
Mitchell returned to Logan and soon began to invest his energies in the local tourist industry. He opened Mitchell Motel in 1950, located within the block of Highway 89 and 1200 East. While operating this business, Mitchell served as a director, vice president, and president of the Utah Motel Association as well as chairman of the policy-making board of governors for the American Motor Hotel Association. He was also Utah's representative for the Best Western Motel Association and a president of the Logan Motel Association. Mitchell was extensively involved in the formation of the 89'-ers International Highway Association, Inc., an organization which sought to promote tourism along U.S. Highway 89 as well as connecting routes in Canada and Mexico. His service as a director for this group required him to travel extensively, which he often did by plane; he earned his pilot's license in 1950. Mitchell also used his piloting skills as a captain in the Civil Air Patrol and squadron commander of the Logan Cache Wing in 1956-1957.
Unfortunately, it was this love of flying that would lead to Mitchell's death. On Friday, December 18, 1959, Mitchell picked up a brand-new Cessna 157 from the plant in Wichita, Kansas, which he planned to ferry back to Logan for Valley Airmotive Corporation. He flew to Rock Springs, Wyoming, arriving at 2:00 pm. without incident. He departed three and a half hours later, and was en route to Logan when he encountered some unexpected bad weather over the Wasatch Range. Apparently disoriented, Mitchell smashed into the east face of Beirdneau Peak, located about eight and a half miles east of Logan-Cache Airport, at about 8:30 p.m. An aerial search for the wreckage located the plane the next morning, and a rescue posse reached the crash site later that day. Mitchell's body, reportedly "badly broken," was brought from the mountains on horseback that evening.
Source:
This small collection contains papers from Mitchell's career as operator of Mitchell Motel and promoter of regional tourism. A majority of the materials relate to his role in the foundation and organization of the 89'-ers International Highway Association, Inc., including meeting minutes, financial statements, correspondence, and promotional materials. Also a part of this collection are materials relating to the Utah Motel Association, the American Motor Hotel Association, the Civil Air Patrol, and the Mitchell Motel. Additional materials were located in USU Special Collections and Archives in 2025, and added to the collection as box 4.
Arranged in numeric sequence according to box and folder.
Meetings minutes, financial records, promotional materials, correspondence