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Royal Development Company (Trinity Mine) Records, 1896-1946

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Royal Development Company
Title
Royal Development Company (Trinity Mine) Records
Dates
1896-1946 (inclusive)
Quantity
13 Linear Ft., (12 Boxes; 9 Oversize Folders)
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0019royaldev (collection)
Summary
The records of the Royal Development Company document the use of material and labor at the Royal Development Company's Trinity Mine in Washinton's Chiwawa mining district. The records reflect an emphasis on the day-to-day operations of the mine and include numerous maps and plans regarding the mine and the surrounding area.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Royal Development Company of Leavenworth, Washington, gained its articles of incorporation on July 3rd, 1917. Trinity Mine, a subsidiary of the Royal Development Company, produced mainly copper ore mined from the Chiwawa district. The Chiwawa district includes the drainage of the Little Wenatchee, White, and Chiwawa Rivers. While the mainstay of the mine was copper silver, gold and tungsten were also found as byproducts. In 1929, about 2,500 feet of mining work was done with a workforce of 80 employees. In support of operations at the mine, the Royal Development Company operated a large and completely equipped lumber camp including a 250-500 ton mill, water power development, sawmill, and town site with 20 million feet of timber available. In early 1930 a flotation mill was erected and by 1936 the mine produced more than 10,000 tons of copper ore. However, in 1937 operations began to slow and the mine produced only 5,825 tons. As costs increased and the returns did not, operations were slowed. The company was forced into receivership in the early 1940s and the workforce was reduced to a night watchman who lived there year round. The Royal Development Company dissolved on June 28th, 1948.

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Content Description

The records of the Royal Development Company document the operations of the Trinity Mine, located in the Chiwawa mining district in Chelan County, Washington. The records span the period 1923-1946 with the bulk of materials dated pre-1936. Timesheets and payroll records, daily, shift, and mill reports, supply and tally books, maps, and plans document the manpower and material required for copper production. Accident reports document the high number of miners' injuries. There are also supply and tally books covering material stocked and bought at the company store. These records are complete and cover the period between 1923 and 1933. Also included in the records are manuals and catalogs from manufacturers. The collection does not contain internal company correspondence or organizational records.

The maps and plans of the collection comprise an organizational chart of the company, daily reports of operations, profile and topographic maps of the mine and surrounding area, and several mechanical drawings of the equipment used at the mine.

The collection was found scattered on the floors throughout the Trinity Mine complex in the mid-1970s and shows deterioration from lack of adequate storage conditions.. Due to this factor most of the material is stained and fragile. The contextual information is still available, however, and can be used to glean insights into the life and times of early 20th century miners and mining camps of Central Washington.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Royal Development Company (Trinity Mine) Records, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is organized in accordance with the following series arrangement:

  • Series I: Reports, 1923-1946
  • Series II: Inventories, 1923-1941
  • Series III: Correspondence and Construction File, 1923-1940
  • Series IV: Manuals and Catalogs, 1923-1945
  • Series V: Maps, Plans, and Oversize Material, 1896-1930
    • Subseries 1: Maps, 1914-1930
    • Subseries 2: Plans, 1896-1930
    • Subseries 3: Oversize Material, 1929-1930

Acquisition Information

The Royal Development Company (Trinity Mine) Records were donated by Nigel Adams to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in 1977.

Processing Note

James Scott completed a preliminary inventory of the records in 1977. Terence Badger, an intern at Western, completed the processing in 1996. In January 2004, Amber Raney re-engineered the collection and its finding aid. Center staff merged additional payroll and engineering drawings into the collection in July 2005.

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Bibliography

Harold Culver and W.A. Broughton, Tungsten Resources in Washington Washington State, Division of Geology, Bulletin No. 34. Olympia, WA. 1945.

Florin, Lambert. Washington Ghost Towns. Western Ghost town Series. Superior Publishing Co. Seattle WA.

Marshall T. Huntting, Inventory of Mineral Properties in Chelan County, WA., Washington State Department of Conservation and Development, Division of Geology, Report of Investigations #9, Olympia, WA. 1943.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Copper mines and mining--Washington (State)--Chelan County.
  • Logging--Washington (State)--Chelan County.
  • Lumber Camps--Washington (State)--Chelan County.
  • Mines and mineral resources--Washington (State)--Chelan County.
  • Royal Development Company
  • Sawmills.
  • Trinity Mine.

Corporate Names

  • Royal Development Co.

Geographical Names

  • Chelan County--Washington (State)
  • Trinity Mine

Finding aid prepared by Terence Badger, with revisions by Amber Raney.
1997

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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