Descriptive Summary
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives
Photograph Collection
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-3000
Phone: 435 797-8248
Fax: 435 797-2880
Email: scweb@usu.edu
UUS_P0126
Death Valley region photographs
1905-1925
1925
1 box (11 photoprints)
.5 linear ft.
gelatin silver, b&w;
10.5 x 15 cm. or smaller.
The Death Valley Region Photograph Collection
consists of eleven silver gelatin POP prints purchased from Amalgre Books of
Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997. The collection consists of images taken in the
late 1920s in the Death Valley area of Nevada and California including the ghost towns
of Rhyolite, Aurora, and Calico. "Shorty" Harris, or an associate, took some of the
images.
Collection materials are in English.
Restrictions
Open to public research.
Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of
the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her
transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and
hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents
from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.
Permission to publish material from the Death Valley region photographs must
be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections
Department Head.
Death Valley region photographs, 1905-1925. (P0126). Utah State University. Special
Collections & Archives Department.
Purchased from Amalgre Books, Bloomington, Indiana, in April of 1997.
Register completed by Peter Schmidt, May 1997, and revised by Daniel Davis, February 20,
2002.
Organized numerical by photo number.
The Death Valley Region Photograph Collection consists of eleven silver gelatin POP
prints purchased from Amalgre Books of Bloomington, Indiana in April of 1997. The
collection consists of images taken in the late 1920s in the Death Valley area of Nevada
and California including the ghost towns of Rhyolite, Aurora, and Calico. "Shorty"
Harris, or an associate, took some of the images.
Rhyolite, Nevada was founded in 1904 after Shorty Harris and Ed Cross discovered
Rhyolite Quartz at the Bullfrog mine. By 1906 the town had two railroad lines and a
population of 10,000. The mines, however, did not produce as expected and by the early
1910s Rhyolite was abandoned.
Aurora, Nevada was a silver mining boom town founded in 1860. The heyday of Aurora ran
throughout the 1860s (Mark Twain briefly lived there), but it slowly declined after
1870. It went through a rebirth in 1912 when a new stamp mill and cyanide plant were
built at the mines. In 1917, however, the mill closed down and by the early 1920s Aurora
was abandoned.
Calico, California was initially founded as a silver mining town in 1882 but by 1890 the
cost of recovering the silver became prohibitive. The town, however, continued to exist
until 1907 due to the production of Borax.
Images
Harris,
Shorty, 1857-1934.
Carder,
William E., 1831-1864.
Hearses (Vehicles)--Pictorial
works.
Vernacular
architecture--Nevada--Aurora--Pictorial works.
Ghost
towns--Nevada--Aurora--Pictorial works.
Ghost
towns--Nevada--Rhyolite--Pictorial works.
Bars (Drinking
establishments)--Nevada--Aurora--Pictorial works.
Hotels--Nevada--Aurora--Pictorial works.
Automobiles--Pictorial
works.
Death Valley
(Calif. and Nev.)--Pictorial works.
Container List
Death Valley region
undated
1
1
1:01
Esmeralda Hotel in Aurora, Nevada
Esmeralda Hotel in Aurora, Nevada [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
2
1:02
Gallagher & Brown liquor store/saloon in Aurora, Nevada, exterior
Gallagher & Brown liquor store/saloon in Aurora, Nevada, exterior [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
3
1:03
Horse-drawn hearse in Aurora, Nevada
Horse-drawn hearse in Aurora, Nevada [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
4
1:04
Gravestone of William E. Carder who was killed and buried in Aurora, Nevada
Gravestone of William E. Carder who was killed and buried in Aurora, Nevada [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
5
1:05
View of Rhyolite, Nevada
View of Rhyolite, Nevada [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
6
1:06
View of Rhyolite, Nevada showing the Overbury Building
View of Rhyolite, Nevada showing the Overbury Building [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
7
1:07
The train depot of the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad in Rhyolite, Nevada
The train depot of the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad in Rhyolite, Nevada [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
8
1:08
The Bottle House in Rhyolite, Nevada
The Bottle House in Rhyolite, Nevada [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
9
1:09
View across Death Valley from Chloride Cliff
View across Death Valley from Chloride Cliff [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
10
1:10
Shorty Harris and companion eating next to an automobile, Death Valley
Shorty Harris and companion eating next to an automobile, Death Valley [Click to access]
1920-1929
1
11
1:11
Twenty-mule train near Calico, California
Twenty-mule train near Calico, California [Click to access]
1905