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Charles R. Butler papers, 1950-1990

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Butler, Charles R., 1923-
Title
Charles R. Butler papers
Dates
1950-1990 (inclusive)
Quantity
36 cubic ft. (87 boxes)
Collection Number
09761
Summary
Includes correspondence, mine and mining records, investigations and evaluations, land status reports and numerous types of maps and plats by this geological consultant.
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
Restrictions on Access

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

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Charles R. Butler, geologist, consultant and entrepreneur, was born in Mason City, Iowa, in 1923. He was involved in the exploration, development and management of uranium mining operations during the uranium "boom" of the 1950s. He became a consultant to the mining industry, tried his hand at mining and milling and as a land man did courthouse and field land studies to determine the land status of mining properties on public, private and Indian lands.

He has been in active practice in southwest Colorado for over forty years and has worked as a mining geologist in all the western states (including Alaska) plus Canada and Mexico.

Charles R. Butler was born in Mason City, Iowa, in 1923. He grew up there and went to college for two years in Ames. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served for three years. About this time he took a correspondence course in mineralogy and decided to pursue a career in geology. Towards this end he enrolled at the University of Colorado and received a B.S. and an M.S. in geology.

He worked a short time with the U.S. Geological Survey before being hired by the Walter Duncan Mining Company to investigate the uranium mining business. He became manager of the Walter Duncan Mining Company uranium mining operations for the next ten years. He branched out as an entrepreneur and independent consultant to the mining industry searching out and evaluating properties and determining land status (claims for surface ownership, mineral rights, gas and oil) of public and private lands. He has worked in the Western U.S., Alaska, Canada, Mexico and maintains an active practice as a geologist in Durango, Colorado.

Mr. Butler has been a director of the Colorado Mining Association for thirty-five (plus) years; is a long-time member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers; has served a term on the Colorado Mining Industry Development Board; and has held a license as a real estate broker in Colorado for years.

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Content Description

Includes correspondence, mine and mining records, investigations and evaluations, land status reports and numerous types of maps and plats.

Also includes personal papers regarding civic and professional activities concerned with environmental issues and public land policies.

Mr. Butler provided an inventory along with the material, and the collection has been maintained in that order. Folder titles were retained as written, dates were added. The order of series specified by Mr. Butler has also been maintained. Government documents (1 cubic foot) were transferred to Coe Library.

The Charles R. Butler Papers, 1893-1990 (bulk 1950-1990), include correspondence, maps, plats, operation reports, notes, deeds, exhibits, analyses, mining records, land status reports, financial accounts pertaining to the history and development of the mining industry in the west during the second half of the 20th century. These records are particularly strong in their description of the "Uranium Boom" on the Colorado Plateau during the 1950s and the "bust" that followed. Maps are available throughout these papers: plats, township and range, aerial, land status, topographical, claim, drill hole, mineral land status, mining district, property maps.

Mines, mining and land status in relationship to mining are the keynotes for the collection. As prospecting was allowed on the Indian reservations the papers include some information about Navajo uranium mines and Navajo miners who worked in other mines.

The Alaska and Triaqua projects are especially interesting in that they were summer season only operations due to their location. The antimony mine was in the interior of Alaska with no road to it, and the Triaqua silver mine was at 10,000 ft. altitude in the Rocky Mountains.

The land status reports cover mining in most of the western states and represent an inestimable amount of time spent clearing land titles and claims.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

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

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Charles R. Butler Papers, Collection Number 09761, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged into eighteen series.

Related Materials

Related Materials

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

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

The Charles R. Butler Papers, pertaining to the history and development of the mining industry, were accepted by the American Heritage Center from the donor with a deed of gift September 1990. Mr. Butler, forty years in active practice as a geologist, has retained certain files in his office to be deposited at a later date.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Inez Dillon Prinster in 1991.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Geology, Economic.
  • Mines and mineral resources -- West (U.S.)
  • Navajo Indians.
  • Petroleum -- Prospecting.
  • Prospecting -- West (U.S.)
  • Selenium.
  • Uranium mines and mining -- West (U.S.)

Corporate Names

  • Colorado Mining Association.
  • Rotary International.
  • Walter Duncan Mining Company.

Geographical Names

  • Colorado plateau.
  • West (U.S.) -- Genealogy.
  • West (U.S.) -- Maps.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Maps.
  • Photographs.
  • Plats.

Processed by Inez Dillon Prinster
2006

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

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