University of Wyoming
Samuel H. Chittenden was employed as a survey engineer during construction of the Union Pacific transcontinental rail line in 1868. During this time he wrote many letters to his family in East River, Connecticut, describing his life and conditions and events in the construction camps.
The collection contains two original letters, one written from Fort Sanders (near present Laramie, Wyoming), March 2, 1868; and one from Bear River City (near present Fort Bridger, Wyoming), November 22, 1868, which mentions events of the Bear River City riot of November 19. Also included in the collection are photocopies of pages from
A third original letter was written by Nathan O. Doolittle from Laramie, Wyoming Territory, to Samuel Chittenden in 1874, describing Doolittle’s work for the railroad. Also included is a note to Chittenden from another friend.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
There are no other known archival collections created by Samuel Chittenden at the date of processing. For more information about the Chittenden family, see:
The photocopies were given to the American Heritage Center by
The collection was processed by D.C. Thompson in August 2001.
Item Description, Samuel Chittenden papers, 1868, 1874, 1983-1985, Collection Number 10736, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Digital reproductions of this entire collection (3 PDFs) are available at