University of Wyoming. Department of Geology and Geophysics records

University of Wyoming. Department of Geology and Geophysics records, 1881-2016

Overview of the Collection

Creator: University of Wyoming. Department of Geology and Geophysics
Title: University of Wyoming. Department of Geology and Geophysics records
Dates: 1881-2016 (inclusive)
Date of CollectionDate of Collection

Website capture 2016-ongoing (inclusive)
Date of CollectionDate of Collection
Quantity: 39.97 cubic ft. (76 boxes) + digital material
Collection Number: 545004
Summary: The collection contains extensive letterpress copybooks and correspondence from 1901-1929 relating to the Wyoming State Geologist and department records of the operations and teachings of the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Wyoming.
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: There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
Languages: English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Geology Department began at the University of Wyoming in 1887. The summer science camp was instituted in 1925. In 1933 the State Geologist position was added to the Geology department and the first Ph. D. graduated from the department in 1953. The department worked with the state to find more efficient means to produce Wyoming’s natural resources.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection contains materials relating to the State Geologist and the operations and teaching of the department. The State Geologist records include extensive letterpress copybooks and correspondence from 1901-1929, some of it with Val B. Maghee, an oil and gas inspector and also in regards to the Geological Survey of Wyoming Bulletin and oil well inspections. The departmental records include subject files, reports and publications by department members, department newsletters, journals, lantern slides, photographs, minutes of meetings, and trial proceedings regarding the oil rights of Al Mountford allegedly taken by department faculty member A.C. Boyle. This collection also contains access to the archived Department of Geology and Geophysics website.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

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

Restrictions on Use

Statement on Potentially Harmful Language and Images Found in Collections

The American Heritage Center aspires to approach all areas of our work in ways that are respectful to those who create, use, and are represented in our collections. For a variety of reasons, however, users may encounter offensive or harmful language or images in some of our finding aids, catalogs, and collection materials.

Note that the AHC does not censor or alter contents of the collections as they provide context and evidence of a time, people, place, or event. Therefore, we encourage users to bring questions and concerns about descriptions in our finding aids to our attention via email or anonymous web-form. For more information, read our full statement.

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Related Materials

There are no known other archival collections created by University of Wyoming, Department of Geology and Geophysics at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

This material was received from the University of Wyoming, Department of Geology and Geophysics from 1970-2022.

Processing Note

The collection was processed by Misti Stangel in July 1999, revised in September 2003 and August 2013, and updated by Andrew Schuster in 2018 and Jamie Greene in October 2015 and October 2023.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I. State Geologist RecordsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	1	Biennial Report	1924
1	2-5	Correspondence	1901-1903
2	1-5	Correspondence	1903-1905
3	1-4	Correspondence	1905-1907
4	1-5	Correspondence	1906-1907
5	1-4	Correspondence	1907
6	1-5	Correspondence	1907-1908
7	1-5	Correspondence	1908-1909
8	1-5	Correspondence	1908-1911
9	1-5	Correspondence	1911-1912
10	1-6	Correspondence	1912-1913
11	1-5	Correspondence	1912-1913
12	1-5	Correspondence	1914
13	1-5	Correspondence	1914-1915
14	1-5	Correspondence	1915-1916
15	1-5	Correspondence	1916-1917
16	1-6	Correspondence	1916-1917
17	1-6	Correspondence	1917-1919
18	1-6	Correspondence	1918-1920
19	1-5	Correspondence	1919-1920
20	1-6	Correspondence	1919-1921
21	1-6	Correspondence	1921-1923
22	1-5	Correspondence	1921-1924
23	1-4	Correspondence	1923-1925
24	1-4	Correspondence	1923-1925
25	1-4	Correspondence	1924-1925
26	1-5	Correspondence	1924-1928
27	1-5	Correspondence	1926
28	1-4	Correspondence	1926-1928
29	1-5	Correspondence	1926-1929
30	1-3	Correspondence	1927-1929
30	4	Correspondence: Adams, Horace E.	1912-1913
43	1	Correspondence: Address, Speeches, etc.	undated
43	2	Correspondence: Geology Newspaper Clippings	undated
43	3	Correspondence: GSA Information Circulars	undated
43	4	Correspondence: History UW Research Notes	undated
43	5	Correspondence: Pictures: Students & Professors	undated
43	6	Correspondence: Lectures, Addresses & Essays	1922-1923
43	7	Correspondence	1927
43	8	Correspondence: Faculty Athletic Committee	1927-1929
43	9	Correspondence: Midwest Review	1928
43	10	Correspondence	1930-1931
43	11	Correspondence: Union Pacific Railroad & Inland Oil Index	1930
43	12-15	Correspondence	1932-1947
44	1-6	Correspondence	1932-1947
44	7	Correspondence: Semi-centennial Celebration	1934-1935
44	8	Correspondence: Geology & Mineralogy	1935
44	9	Correspondence: President Crane	1936-1937
44	10	Correspondence: Semi-Centennial	1936-1937
45	1-6	Correspondence	1936-1939
45	7	Correspondence: President Crane	1938-1941
45	8	Correspondence: Independent Petroleum Association of America	1939
46	1	Correspondence: Graduate School Advisory Council	1946-1951
46	2-6	Correspondence	1948
46	7-10	Correspondence	1949
46	11	Correspondence: University Staff & Faculty	1948
46	12-15	Correspondence	1950
47	1-6	Correspondence	1951
47	7	Correspondence: Kansas Geological Society	1951
47	8	Correspondence: Property Dept.	1951
47	9	Correspondence: Sigma XI	1951
47	10	Correspondence: College of Liberal Arts Annual Report	1951-1952
47	11-16	Correspondence	1952
48	1-10	Correspondence	1952
48	11	Correspondence: National Science Foundation Reservations	1952
48	12	Correspondence: Wyoming Geological Association	1952
48	13	Correspondence	1953
48	14	Correspondence: Dean Richard	1953
48	15	Correspondence: President G.D. Humphrey	1953
48	16	Correspondence: Probation Policy Committee	1953
48	17	Correspondence: Student Employment Committee Minutes	1953
48	18	Correspondence: Staff Meetings Dept. of Geology	1953
48	19-23	Correspondence	1953-1954
49	1-15	Correspondence	1954-1955
49	16	Correspondence: Dean Bruce	undated
49	17	Correspondence: President Humphrey	undated
49	18	Correspondence: Wyoming Geol Association	undated
49	19-20	Correspondence	1955
49	21-27	Correspondence	1955-1956
50	1-14	Correspondence	1955-1956
50	15	Correspondence: Department Personnel AB Show	undated
50	16	Correspondence: Husky Oil Scholarship	undated
50	17	Correspondence: President Humphrey	1955-1956
50	18	Correspondence: Magnolia Petroleum Scholarship	undated
50	19	Correspondence: McLaughlin Geology Fund #6284	undated
50	20	Correspondence	1956
50	21-25	Correspondence	1956-1957
51	1-11	Correspondence	1957-1958
52	1-14	Correspondence	1958-1961
52	15-16	Correspondence: Blackstone & Knight Correspondence	1961
52	17-20	Correspondence	1961-1963
53	1-2	Correspondence	1962-1963
53	3	Correspondence: WGS	1963-1971
53	4-9	Correspondence	1963-1964
54	1-8	Correspondence	1964-1965
55	1-9	Correspondence	1965-1966
56	1-9	Correspondence	1965-1967
57	1-5	Correspondence	1967
57	6	Correspondence: Oil Shale	1967
57	7	Correspondence: Portrait	1967
58	8-12	Correspondence	1967-1968
58	1-4	Correspondence	1968
58	5	Correspondence: Humble Lecture Series	1968
58	6	Correspondence: Physics Dept.	1968
58	7-11	Correspondence	1968-1969
59	1-6	Correspondence	1969
59	7	Correspondence: Wea	1969
59	8-11	Correspondence	1969-1970
60	1-10	Correspondence	1969-1971
61	1-11, 13-15	Correspondence	1971-1972
61	12	Correspondence: Library	undated
30	5	Correspondence: Areal Geology Inquiries	1923-1924
30	6	Correspondence: Auditor	1922-1923
30	7	Correspondence: Bain, H. Forester	1912-1913
30	8	Correspondence: Baker, A.	1912
30	9	Correspondence: Brown, Oliver L.	1912-1913
30	10	Correspondence: Commissioner of Public Lands	1914-1916
30	11	Correspondence: Dry Farm Congress	1915
30	12	Correspondence: Ermlich, George J.	1925-1927
31	1	Correspondence: John, Hay	1914-1915
31	2	Correspondence: Hintze, F.F.	1914-1915
31	3	Correspondence: Hoyt, Phil S.	1923-1924
31	4-6	Correspondence: Maghee, Val B.	1923-1924
32	1-5	Correspondence	1924-1926
32	6	Correspondence: Staley C.G.	1921-1923
32	7	Correspondence: State Fair	1920-1921
33	1	Correspondence: State Geologist Salary	1914-1915
33	2	Correspondence: Wanted Information Not Available	1923-1924
33	3	Correspondence: White, Owen W.	1921-1922
33	4	Geological Survey of Wyoming Bulletins	1934-1941-
33	5	Geological Survey of Wyoming Bulletins	1941-1949
33	6	Geological Survey of Wyoming Report of Investigations	1939
33	7	Letterpress Copybooks	1901-1903
34	1-3	Letterpress Copybooks	1903-1906
35	1-2	Letterpress Copybooks	1906-1908
62	1	Maps	1915
35	3	Office of the State Geologist Bulletin: Bulletin	1914-1926
35	4	Office of the State Geologist Bulletin: Circular	1929
35	5	Record of Wells	1924
35	6	Red Canyon Case	1924
36	1	Reports: The Atlantic Gold District and the North Laramie Mountains	1916
36	2	Reports: Developed and Underdeveloped Mineral Resources of Wyoming	1929
36	3	Reports: Future of Mining in Wyoming	1926-1927
36	4	Reports: Mining in Wyoming	1901-1907
36	5	Reports: State Lands	1925-1927

Series II. Geology Department RecordsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
37	1	Annual Review of the Wyoming Mining Industry	1931
74		Art: Portraits of past Geologist	undated
71		Articles by Katherine Fowler	1930-1933
		Artifacts:
Box	Folder
72-73		Camera - Seneca Camera	undated
75		Camera tripods	undated
72		Canteen	undated
75		Clothing (shirts and a pair of shorts)	undated
72		Cow bell	undated
75		Machetes (2)	undated
72		Necklace	undated
72		EM-GE Alarm-Pistol, Mod. 2, shoots 6mm blank cartridges only	undated
76		Safari hats or pith helmets (2) in metal hat travel case	undated
Box	Folder
37	2	Big Horn Oil Field Monthly Report	1929-1930
37	3	Biographical Sketches	1940
		Books:
Box	Folder
70		"Fossil Discoveries in Wyoming"	1970
71		"The Handbook of Sierra Leone" by T.N. Goddard	1925
71		"Sierra Leone: A Modern Portrait" by Roy Lewis	1954
71		"Stepping-Stones: The Reminiscences of a Women Geologist in the 20th Century" by Katherine Fowler-Billings	1996
Box	Folder
37	4-5	Correspondence	1909-1966
67, 68, 69		Correspondence: Blackstone, Don	1949-2001
	Folder
37	6	Correspondence: Bureau of Mines	1926
37	7	Correspondence: Geological Society of America	1947
38	1-3	Correspondence: Land Grant Centennial	1960-1962
38	4	Correspondence: Miller, P.T.	1939-1944
38	5	Correspondence: Morrill, J.L.	1942-1945
38	6	Degree Comparisons	undated
38	7	Departmental Reports	1927-1934
		Exhibits:
Box	Folder
74		Kay Fowler-Billings, women geologist	undated
71		S.H. Knight photography	undated
Box	Folder
39	1	Graduate Study Committee Minutes	1939-1944
39	2	History of Mining in Wyoming	1925-1927
70		Inventory of the County Archives of Wyoming	1942
66		Journal	undated
70		Journal: Koos Hagg's field book	2005
70		Journal: Mears Science Camp	1969-1970, 1973
	Folder
39	3-4	Land Grant College: Centennial	1959-1962
39	5	Land Grant College: Planning	1962
63-65		Lantern slides (link to detailed listing)	1899-1910
70		Lantern slides: Oak Creek	undated
66		Ledger - donations to department	undated
	Folder
39	6	Legislation - Oil and Gas	1919-1921
62	2-3	Maps	undated
70		Newsletter: "PROfile" published by University of Wyoming, Department of Geology and Geophysics	1994-2005
	Folder
62	7	Newspaper Clippings	1933-1944
70		Photo album: "Department Things: summer field trips, spring field trips, and Women in Science"	2006-2009
70		Photographs: Field school	1898-1990s
70		Photographs: S. H. Knight's Ph.D. supervisor	undated
	Folder
62	8	Press Bulletin	1919-1921
39	9	Press Releases	undated
39	10	Publications List	undated
71		Publications: Graduate Studies in Geology and Geophysics recruitment publication	1996-1997
39	11	Pyramid Investment Company	1913-1925
40	1	Reports: Analyses of Crude Oils from Some of the More Recently Discovered Rocky Mountain Fields	1937
40	2	Reports: Congressional Committee	1938
40	3	Reports: Frontier-Niobrara Contact in Laramie Basin, Wyoming	1936
40	4	Reports: Geology of Freezeout Mountain-Bald Mountain Area, Carbon County, Wyoming	1941
40	5	Reports: Geology and Groundwater Resources of Platte County, Wyoming	1960
40	6	Reports: Mining	1914-1929
40	7	Reports: A New Ichthyosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Mowry Formation of Wyoming	1939
40	8	Reports: Phosphorus in Wyoming Pasture, Hay and Other Feeds	1939
40	9	Reports: Plants Made Poisonous by Selenium Absorbed from the Soil	1936
40	10	Reports: Porosity of the Sundance Sand in the Lance Creek Oil Field, Wyoming	1938
40	11	Reports: Progress and Work of the Natural Resources Research Institute	1934-1946
40	12	Reports: Prospectus, Articles of Incorporation and By-laws of the Table Mountain Mining Company	1881
40	13	Reports: Publications in Science	1948
40	14	Reports: Selenium in Soils and Vegetation Associated with Rocks of Permain and Triassic Age	1937
40	15	Reports: The Selenium Problem in Relation to Public Health	1936
40	16	Reports: Some of Wyoming's Vertebrate Fossils	undated
40	17	Reports: Stratigraphy of Sundance Formation and Related Jurassic Rocks in Wyoming and their Petroleum Aspects	1937
40	18	Reports: The Use of Indicator Plants in Locating Seleniferous Areas in Western United States	1939
40	19	Staff Meeting Information	1956-1958
40	20	State Mining and Industrial Congress: Address	1929-1930
41	1	State Mining and Industrial Congress: Minutes	1927
41	2	State Mining and Industrial Congress: Programs	1927-1963
41	3	State Mining and Industrial Congress: Sign in Book	1928
41	4	Summer Camp: Registrants	1925-1941
41	5	Summer Camp: Report	1927
41	6	Survey of Glass Products	1938-1939
41	7	Trial Proceedings of A.C. Boyle	1925
42	1-2	Union Pacific System Industrial Development	1923-1929
Digital		Website	2016-ongoing

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Geology -- Wyoming
Oil wells -- Wyoming

Personal Names

Boyle, Albert C. (Albert Clarence), 1879-
Maghee, Val B.
Mountford, Al

Corporate Names

University of Wyoming. History
University of Wyoming. Science camp
Wyoming. State Geologist

Geographical Names

Wyoming -- History -- 1890-1918.
Wyoming -- History -- 1919-1945.
Wyoming -- History -- 1946-1999.
Wyoming -- History -- 2000-
Wyoming -- History -- To 1889.

Form or Genre Terms

Letterpress copybooks

Titles within the Collection

Bulletin (Geological Survey of Wyoming)

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents