AHJ_ah00094 Inventory of the W. O. Owen papers, 1890-1942 Owen (William Octavius) papers Processed by D.C. Thompson The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/
2006

University of Wyoming

 Finding aid encoded by Ann Mulfort March 2006 Finding aid is in English W. O. Owen papers, 1890-1942 Collection number: 00094 University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. Publication date: 2006 Contact Information American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/ June 2003

"©" 2006 University of Wyoming

 Collection Summary Owen, W. O. (William Octavius), 1859-1947 W. O. Owen papers 1890-1942 00094 2 cubic ft. (4 document boxes, 1 slim document box + oversize) University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. English W. O. Owen was a surveyor, civil engineer, and early resident of Laramie, Wyoming, best known for his successful ascent of the Grand Teton in 1898. The collection contains autobiographical manuscripts by Owen, correspondence, photographs, maps, and printed materials. Biography of W. O. Owen

William O. Owen (1859-1947) arrived in the newly-established Union Pacific railroad town of Laramie, Wyoming, on June 14, 1868, with his mother, Sarah Cullimore Owen Montgomery, and two sisters, Eva and Etta Owen. As a child, he witnessed some of the operations of Laramie’s vigilante committee. In 1874 he began work as a surveyor under the direction of William Downey, and he surveyed the boundary line between Albany and Carbon Counties in 1883. In the same year, Owen and two companions undertook a bicycle tour of Yellowstone National Park. In 1894 he was elected state auditor of Wyoming, a position he held for four years. In 1891 Owen made his first attempt to reach the summit of the Grand Teton, but his attempts were unsuccessful until 1898, when he reached the top with three companions. Upon publication of this achievement, however, he became embroiled in a bitter controversy with Nathaniel P. Langford as to whether Owen’s party was the first to scale the mountain or whether Langford had succeeded in doing so in 1872. In 1924, at the age of 65, Owen made the ascent a second time. Owen married Emma Matilda Wilson in 1888. The couple had no children.

 Scope and Content

The collection contains an autobiography and manuscripts by Owen; correspondence and news clippings about Wyoming history; correspondence, affidavits, and publications regarding the controversy between Owen and Nathaniel P. Langford as to who was the first to reach the summit of the Grand Teton; and personal and family photographs, as well as photographs of climbing expeditions. Also included are a number of notebooks, which contain a mixture of information including both mountaineering and personal data.

 Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

 Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

 Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by W. O. Owen at the date of processing.

 Acquisition Information

The W. O. Owen papers were received from Owen’s niece, Alice Downey Nelson, in 1950. A few further items were added in 1960.

 Processing Information

The collection was processed by D.C. Thompson in June 2003.

 Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, W. O. Owen papers, 1890-1942, Collection Number 00094, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

 Access Terms Langford, Nathaniel Pitt, 1832-1911. Surveyors--Wyoming--Biography. Surveying--Wyoming. Mountaineering--Wyoming--Teton County. Mountaineers--Wyoming--Biography. Civil engineers--Wyoming--Biography. Teton Range (Wyo. and Idaho). Grand Teton (Wyo. : Peak). Jackson Hole (Wyo.) Laramie (Wyo.) Wyoming--History--To 1889. Wyoming--History--1890-1918. Wyoming--History--1919-1945. Notebooks. Photographs. Mountaineers. Engineers. <?xm-replace_text {Title as Subject}?> Social Life and Customs Sports and Recreation Science Wyoming Container List Series I. Personal and Historical

Information about William O. Owen and material collected or written by Owen about Wyoming history, primarily in the Laramie and Jackson Hole areas. Some data regarding climbing in the Tetons is included in notebooks.

 1 1 Autobiographical Notes circa 1924 1 2-6 Autobiography to 1883 (photocopy and transcript) undated 1 7 Correspondence: regarding Tom Sun, James Bridger, Teton Jackson, etc. 1900-1942 1 8 Jackson Hole History: regarding John Tonnar, Robert Ray Hamilton, R.E. Miller, etc. 1928-1930 1 9 Newspaper Clippings: by and about William O. Owen 1915-1934 1 10 Newspaper Clippings: Wyoming places & people including Edmo LeClaire, S.N. Leek, Fort Laramie, Tennessee Thompson, Virginia Dale stage station, M.C. Brown, Gros Ventre flood of 1927, etc. 1928-1931 1 11 Notebooks: Astronomy and Mathematics notes; Rankin’s Ride 1925-1931 1 12 Notebooks: Dayton’s Statements / Rocky Mountain Club (2 items) undated 1 13 Notebooks: Laramie Old Times data / Untitled (2 items) 1927-1929 2 1 Notebooks: Mathematical Formulas and Examples 1918-1925 2 2 Notebooks: Pathfinder’s Trip Traced: transcript of newspaper article 1895-1898, undated 2 3 Notebooks: Teton References undated 2 4 Notebooks: Untitled, Addresses undated 2 5 Notebooks: Untitled, Political clippings 1897

2 6 Notebooks: Yosemite Trip 1918 2 7 Photographs: California Album circa 1898-circa 1908 2 8 Photographs: Crown Prince of Sweden Visit to Jackson, Wyoming circa 1926 2 9 Photographs: Family and Friends circa 1900-circa 1920s 2 10 Photographs: Flood undated 2 11 Photographs: Markers and Historic Sites undated 2 12 Photographs: Moqui Mother and Child (Negative copyrighted by W.O. Owen) 1906, 1933 2 13 Photographs: Owen, William O. 1927-circa 1933 2 14 Photographs: Owens’s Jackson (Wyo.) cottage circa 1929 2 15 Photographs: Waterfalls undated 2 16 Photographs: Yellowstone Park circa 1915 2 17 Poems: To Mount Owen; Untitled circa 1933 2 18 Publications by Owen: “An Adventure in the Teton Mountains,” from Outdoor Life 1899 2 19 Publications by Owen: “Daylight Observations of Polaris,” 1903 2 20 Publications by Owen: “First Bicycle Tour of the Yellowstone National Park,” includes photographs 1891 2 21 Publications by Owen: “Jo Rankin’s Great Ride,” undated 2 22 Publications by Others: “Theodore Roosevelt,” by Owen Wister; etc. 1901-1929 2 23 Surveys: Western Boundary of Wyoming undated Series II. Mountaineering

Correspondence, photographs, and other materials regarding climbing in the Tetons. Documents supporting or examining Owen’s right to claim the first ascent of the Grand Teton.

 3 1 Correspondence: Grand Teton controversy, etc. 1896-1901 3 2-4 Correspondence: Grand Teton controversy, etc. 1923-1936 3 5 Documents Regarding Controversy: affidavits, etc. 1898-1929 3 6 Legislative Resolutions 1927-1929 3 7-9 Manuscripts: Ascent of the Grant Teton, by W.O. Owen, includes transcript undated 3 10 Manuscripts: Fremont’s Peak, by W.O. Owen undated 3 11 Manuscripts: The Grand Teton – First Fatal Accident, by W.O. Owen 1925 3 12 Manuscripts: Report of the Party of 1923, by Q.A. Blackburn circa 1923 3 13 Manuscripts: W.O. Owen’s Ascent of the Grand Teton undated 3 14-16 Newspaper Clippings: Ascent of the Grant Teton, etc.; articles by Owen and others; some items in typed transcript form only 1892-1931 4 1-3 Photographs: Ascent of the Grant Teton 1897-1898 4 4 Photographs: Ascent of the Grant Teton circa 1920s 4 5 Photographs: Ascent of Mount Owen and Buck Mountain 1920s 4 6 Photographs: Camps and Climbers 1890s 4 7 Photographs: Climbers circa 1920s 4 8-9 Photographs: The Grand Teton 1897-1898 4 10 Photographs: The Grand Teton circa 1920s 4 11 Photographs: Tetons 1890s 4 12 Photographs: Tetons – Lake and Rivers 1890s 4 13 Photographs: Tetons circa 1920s 5 1 Publications: “The Ascent of the Grand Teton,” by W.O. Owen 1901 5 2 Publications by Others: ”The Teton Peaks and Their Ascents” and “Billy Owen and the Tetons,” by F.M. Fryxell; “The Grand Teton,” by Kenneth A. Henderson; “Climbing the Grand Teton,” by Ernest Dawson in Sierra Club Bulletin, with notes by Owen; etc. 1927-circa 1932 5 3 Speech: “First Ascent of the Grand Teton,” by W.O. Owen 1929 5 4 Speech: “The Tetons Bid You Welcome,” by Grace Raymond Hebard, includes news clipping regarding dedication ceremonies of Grand Teton National Park 1929 Series III. Oversize

Maps and newspapers

 Design for a Martha Washington work table, by W.O. Owen (2 pieces) 1924 Map of Coal Lands, S.W. Downey, Albany County undated Map of Deer Creek undated Map of Rattlesnake Creek Pipe Line 1890 Map of Red Buttes Railroad spur 1896 Map of the Teton Country and Jackson Hole, Wyoming: surveyed and Drawn by W.O. Owen, U.S. Deputy Surveyor 1897 Map of Untitled sections (North Platte River and Pass Creek) undated Map of Wyoming Central Land and Improvement Company 1885 Newspaper: Forest and Stream, containing statements regarding controversy over first ascent of Grand Teton November 5, 1898, December 31, 1898 Newspapers: Laramie Republican-Boomerang, containing accounts of Owen’s life 1928-1929 Newspapers: New York Herald, containing account of Owen’s ascent of Grand Teton September 18, 1898 Series IV. Safe Material Safe Envelopes 1-2 Autobiography to 1883 (fragile condition) undated