Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection, 1890-1945

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Bowman, Anthony Will, 1938-
Title
Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection
Dates
1890-1945 (inclusive)
1913-1930 (bulk)
Quantity
2 boxes, (2 linear ft. )
Collection Number
UUS_P0328
Summary
Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection consists of 422 photographs, most of which were removed from Bowman family scrapbooks. Part of the images document daily ranch life including herding cattle and sheep, harvesting hay, working on machinery, and recreational activities on the San Jacinto and other company owned ranches in northern Nevada and southern Idaho. Also included are scenes of ranch buildings, irrigation, and water works such as the Salmon Creek Falls Dam and the Milner diversion dam. The second part of the collection consists of photos from around Susanville, California taken by P.J. Thompson during the construction of the Fernley-Lassen branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1913 and 1914.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions
Restrictions

Open to public research.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008

Historical NoteReturn to Top

>Utah Construction Company.

Edmund O., William H., and Warren L. Wattis founded the Utah Construction Company in January 1900, in Ogden, Utah. Early investors such as David Eccles, Thomas D. Dee, and James Pingree helped it to become a major national (and later international) company. Much of its early work consisted of building the South Pacific Railroad but the company also branched out into ranching and dam building. In addition to being one of five companies that built Hoover Dam in the 1930s they also worked on the Grand Coulee, Pineview, Hetch Hetchy, and Wanship Dams. During WWII the Utah Construction Company completed many World War II defense contracts. After the war it became involved with mining (coal and iron), dredging, and land development. Changing their name to the Utah Construction and Mining Company, and then to Utah International, Inc., headquarters were relocated to San Francisco, California. Much of the mining was conducted in Peru and Australia, and in 1976 a friendly take over by General Electric led to another sale to Broken Hill Proprietary (an Australian company) in 1983.

Company Owned Ranches.

In 1868 a Texas cattleman named John Sparks brought a herd of Texas Longhorns into Northeast Nevada. By partnering with neighboring ranchers and buying out others, Sparks managed to create a huge, successful operation. In 1908 the ranch owned three major brands: the Shoesole, Winecup, and HD. Sparks sold the ranch (which ran east to the Minidoka Forest Reserve, west to Bruneau, Idaho, north to the Snake River, and south to the Great American Desert, Nevada) to the Vineyard Land and Stock Company. The Utah Construction Company then purchased the ranch and increased the holdings to 3 million acres. The acreage was divided into 38 ranches and occupied most of the Northeast corner of Nevada as well as parts of Utah and Idaho. The ranch was headquartered in Montello, Nevada and would be managed by Archie (A.W.) Bowman. Bowman lived at San Jacinto located thirty miles south of Rogerson, Idaho. In 1945 the Company's ranch holdings were sold to Wilkins and Wunderlich of Denver, Colorado, and eventually divided into smaller lots for resale.

Archibald Warren Bowman (1884-1967) was born on October 8th in South Weber, Utah. In 1919 he met Nora Linjer (born August 28, 1893 in Alexandria, Minnesota), a schoolteacher friend of his sister Verna. The two married on February 20, 1920 in River Falls, Wisconsin while he was the Superintendent of the San Jacinto Ranch. They would have one daughter, Verna Lou. After the ranch was sold in 1945 they moved to Elko, Nevada. Archie died in January 1967 in Salt Lake City and Nora passed away in March 1973.

  • Bowman, N. J., (1958) Only the Mountains Remain.
  • File MS678, Report on the Utah Construction Co. Ranch located in Nevada and Southern Idaho, Utah State University, Special Collections & Archives, Merrill Library.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection consists of 422 photographs most of which were removed from Bowman family scrapbooks. Part of the images document daily ranch life including herding cattle and sheep, harvesting hay, working on machinery, and recreational activities on the San Jacinto and other company owned ranches in northern Nevada and southern Idaho. Also included are scenes of ranch buildings, irrigation, and water works such as the Salmon Creek Falls Dam and the Milner diversion dam. The second part of the collection consists of photos from around Susanville, California taken by P.J. Thompson during the construction of the Fernley-Lassen branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1913 and 1914.

Most photos in good condition, but some photographs have been torn.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

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 Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation

Utah Construction Company/Bowman photograph collection, 1890-1945 (P0328). Utah State University. Special Collections & Archives Department.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arrangement: Topical.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Nora Linjer Bowman and Anthony Will Bowman.

Processing Note

Before the photo albums came to Special Collections & Archives, old photographs were ripped out and replaced with new images leaving the torn remnants behind. Register completed by Jennifer Feik and Daniel Davis, December 2003.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Ranch Scenes, 1918-1939Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 1

Container(s) Description Dates
1:01:01: Branding sheep
undated
1:01:02: Unknown man and woman on horses w/pack mules
undated
1:01:03: Cow herd in snow
undated
1:01:04: Cattle in corrals
undated
1:01:05: View of ranch land
undated
1:01:06: Sheep herders
undated
1:01:07: Flood conditions, Ridge Ranch
March 18, 1939
1:01:08: Unknown man with horse
1930-1939
1:01:09: View of ranch buildings
undated
1:01:10: Cattle
undated
1:01:11-13: Cattle on range
undated
1:01:14: Cow camp
undated
1:01:15: Cattle on range
undated
1:01:16-17: Horse
undated
1:01:18-19: Ranch land
undated
1:01:20: Cattle grazing
undated
1:01:21: Mules
undated
1:01:22: Cattle grazing
undated
1:01:23: Rounding up cattle
undated
1:01:24-25: Pack trip in the Humboldt Reserve
1929
1:01:26-28: Trees and mountains
undated
1:01:29-30: Bulls
undated
1:01:31-34: Cattle
undated
1:01:35-36: Cattle run
undated
1:01:37-38: Cattle
undated
1:01:39: Three unidentified people on horseback
undated
1:01:40: Horse and dog on top of Gollifer Mountain
undated
1:01:41: Cow outfit bedded down
undated
1:01:42: Catching horses in rope corral
undated
1:01:43: Bill Evans on horse
undated
1:01:44: Bill Trotter on horse
undated
1:01:45: Men in camp
undated
1:01:46: Rounding up horses
undated
1:01:47: Cowboys
undated
1:01:48: Cattle
undated
1:01:49: Record Bluff near Montello, Nevada
undated
1:01:50-51: Ranch buildings, probably San Jacinto
undated
1:01:52: Cowboy cook
undated
1:01:53: Large "dust devil" (twister)
undated
1:01:54: Goose Creek Ford
undated
1:01:55: Formation near Record Bluff
undated
1:01:56: Henry Harris
1890-1899
1:01:57: Cattle
undated
1:01:58: Man with horses
undated
1:01:59-60: Horses
undated
1:01:61: Man pointing
undated

Photo Album Pages, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 2

Container(s) Description Dates
1:02:01: Horses
undated
1:02:02: Two horses
undated
1:02:03: Potatoes
undated
1:02:04-05: Houses
undated
1:02:06: Unknown man
undated
1:02:07: Cattle
undated
1:02:08: View of ranch
undated
1:02:09-12: Cowboys
undated
1:02:13: Horse
undated
1:02:14-19: Cowboys
undated
1:02:20-21: Unidentified man
undated
1:02:22: Cowboys
undated
1:02:23: Horse on range
undated
1:02:24-26: Cowboys
undated
1:02:27: Horses
undated
1:02:28: Cowboy
undated
1:02:29-31: People, horses, and cars in snow
undated
1:02:32-33: Cattle (sugar beet factory in distance)
undated
1:02:34-35: Cowboys
undated
1:02:36-38: Ranch land
undated
1:02:39-42: Cowboys
undated
1:02:43: Horses
undated
1:02:44: Utah Construction Company building, Montello, Nevada
undated
1:02:45: Cowboys
undated
1:02:46: Horse
undated
1:02:47-48: Cowboys
undated
1:02:49-51: Ranch views, with buildings
undated
1:02:52-55: Cowboys
undated
1:02:56-57: Cows
undated
1:02:58: Man with hogs
undated
1:02:59: Man with horse
undated
1:02:60: Calves
undated
1:02:61-68: Cattle in Nevada
1918
1:02:69-70: Houses
undated
1:02:71: Montello Nevada train depot
1918
1:02:72: Dirt Road
undated
1:02:73-75: Horses
undated
1:02:76-78: Unloading sheep from train
undated
1:02:79: Man and woman with Coyote skins
1920-1929
1:02:80: Newspaper article about the ranch being sold
April 5, 1945

Photos Removed from Scrapbook, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 3

Container(s) Description Dates
1:03:01: 280 men shoveling 6 ft. of snow for Fernley-Lassen branch of South Pacific railroad, duplicate of 1:04:17
1913-1914
1:03:02: Flooded fields
May 15, 1917
1:03:03: Trailing cattle from Rancho Grande to San Jacinto
undated
1:03:04: Cows
undated
1:03:05: Sheep
undated
1:03:06: Cattle
undated
1:03:07: Unidentified man with axe
undated
1:03:08: Unidentified woman
1918
1:03:09: Unidentified man with three unidentified women
1918
1:03:10: Unidentified man on roof
undated
1:03:11: Unidentified man
undated
1:03:12-13: Unidentified fisherman
undated
1:03:14: Unidentified woman
1925
1:03:15: Family swimming in mountains
1920-1929
1:03:16: Three unidentified women, one unidentified man
1930-1939
1:03:17: Three women, two men
1926
1:03:18: Cyanotype of haying scene
undated

Photos Removed from Boards. (Photos probably taken by P.J. Thompson), undatedReturn to Top

Container(s): Box 1, Folder 4

Container(s) Description Dates
1:04:01: San Jacinto Cowboys: Dennie Lane, Gib Jones on "Red," Dave Richards, ___Galerrica, Eddie Frank, Bill Bailey, Willis Drake, Lonnie White
1918
1:04:02: San Jacinto cattle in fields
1920-1929
1:04:03: Steam shovel working on Fernley-Lassen branch of South Pacific Railroad near Susanville, California. depot
undated
1:04:04: Railroad construction near Susanville, California
February 1914
1:04:05: 20 mule train hauling freight
1913
1:04:06: 20 mule train hauling freight in Susanville, California for Fernley-Lassen Branch of South Pacific Railroad
see A-1401.
undated
1:04:07: Steam shovel in operation near Susanville, CA. Working on Fernley-Lassen Branch of South Pacific Railroad
undated
1:04:08: Steam engine
undated
1:04:09: Fork in Fernley-Lassen Branch of Railroad
February 1914
1:04:10: Work crew on Fernley-Lassen Branch of South Pacific railroad
1914
1:04:11: Railroad construction work train; Fernley-Lassen Branch
1914
1:04:12: Railroad construction on Fernley-Lassen Branch near the summit
undated
1:04:13: Laying track near Susanville, California, for Fernley-Lassen Branch
February 1914
1:04:14: Railroad construction, clearing snow for Fernley-Lassen branch of South Pacific
undated
1:04:15: Shoveling snow for construction of Fernley-Lassen branch of South Pacific, near Susanville, California
undated
1:04:16: Fernley-Lassen branch of South Pacific Railroad. Shoveling snow near Susanville, California
1914
1:04:17: 280 men shoveling 6 ft. of snow for Fernley-Lassen branch of South Pacific railroad
1913-1914
1:04:18: "Solitude," Trees in the snow
undated
1:04:19: Steam shovel in operation near Susanville, California, for Fernley-Lassen branch of South Pacific
undated
1:04:20: Susanville, California, construction on Fernley-Lassen branch of South Pacific Railroad
1913

Scrapbook of scenes of the San Jacinto Ranch, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s): Box 2

Container(s) Description Dates
2:01: Hereford cattle on the range
undated
2:02: Chuck wagon and bed wagon
undated
2:03: Hereford cattle at trough
undated
2:04: Hereford cattle on the range
undated
2:05: Cow camp
undated
2:06: Tent
undated
2:07: Three unidentified people eating
undated
2:08-09: Two women and one man working on harvester(?) labeled "Red River Special."
undated
2:10: Cow camp with wagon
undated
2:11: Donkey, "Pinto Jack."
undated
2:12: Cow camp with wagon
undated
2:13: Sheep in corral with train in background
undated
2:14: Cowboys herding cattle on the range
undated
2:15: Cowboy with lasso and horses
undated
2:16: Interior of Bowman ranch house
undated
2:17-18: Hereford cattle on the range
undated
2:19: Cowboy driving sheep
duplicate of 2:56.
undated
2:20: Hereford cattle in corral
undated
2:21: Cat with kittens
undated
2:22-23: Hereford cattle
undated
2:24: Two men and one woman standing by Hotel in Contact Nevada
1918
2:25: Bowman ranch house
undated
2:26: Trailing cattle in snow
duplicate of 1:03:03 and A-1399b.
undated
2:27-28: Hereford cattle
undated
2:29: Loading Hereford cattle onto boxcars
undated
2:30: Branding, Ray Wattis
duplicate of A-1399d.
undated
2:31-34: Family camping trip
1918
2:35: Windmill
undated
2:36-37: Family camping trip
1918
2:38: Man in car
1918
2:39: Car stuck in ditch
1918
2:40: Trough and corral
undated
2:41: Roping a horse
undated
2:42: Measuring water flow, San Jacinto, Nevada
1919
2:43: Salmon Dam, Idaho
1912
2:44: Dipping Cattle
undated
2:45: View of canyon below Salmon Dam
undated
2:46-47: Salmon Dam
1912
2:48: Sheep on range
undated
2:49: Ranch land
undated
2:50: Side of house with trees in winter
undated
2:51: Cowboys sleeping
undated
2:52: Mules feeding on hay
undated
2:53: Pigs being fed by hand
undated
2:54: Roping a colt
undated
2:55: Cowboy on horse
undated
2:56: Cowboy driving sheep
duplicate of 2:19.
undated
2:57: Cowboy
undated
2:58: Corral and troughs
undated
2:59: Hereford cattle on the range
undated
2:60: Two women on fence
undated
2:61: Three women with dead sage grouse in Nevada
1918
2:62: Four men and three women in camp
1918
2:63: Wagon team crossing water
undated
2:64: Cattle on the range
undated
2:65: Camp
undated
2:66: Cowboys on horses
undated
2:67: Wild horse roundup
undated
2:68: Cookhouse and dining room
undated
2:69: Bowman ranch house
undated
2:70: Horses in corral
undated
2:71: Hereford cattle in snow
undated
2:72-74: Hereford cattle on range
undated
2:75: Malad river Canyon, Hagerman, Idaho
undated
2:76: Paynie Ferry
undated
2:77: Milner Diversion Dam, Idaho
undated
2:78: Thousand Springs, Idaho
undated
2:79: View of Milner(?) Dam
undated
2:80: Man by Milner(?) Canal
undated
2:81: Hereford cattle in corral
undated
2:82-83: Views of Milner Diversion Dam
undated
2:84: Hereford cattle on the range
undated
2:85: Coyote pelts
undated
2:86: Cattle in snow
undated
2:87: Hops covered bunk house with three unidentified people outside
undated
2:88: Three cowboys and wagon
undated
2:89: Mountian view
undated
2:90: cowboys and cattle on range
undated
2:91: Cowboy roping calf
undated
2:92: Cowboy in corral
undated
2:93-96: Cattle on the range
undated
2:97: View of small ranch
undated
2:98-100: Cowboys pushing cattle
undated
2:101: Cowboys and horses
undated
2:102-104: Cattle on the range
undated
2:105: Interior of Bowman's San Jacinto ranch house
undated
2:106: Longhorn cattle in corral
undated
2:107: Interior of Bowman's San Jacinto ranch house
undated
2:108: Cattle drive to loading pens, Tecoma, Nevada
1920
2:109: Flooding
undated
2:110: Dipping cattle
1920
2:111: Interior of Bowman ranch house
undated
2:112: Men and women in mountains with horses and pack-mules
undated
2:113: Two men sitting on car
undated
2:114: Girl with two dead grouse
1919
2:115: Two men with string of trout
undated
2:116: Young boy with baby pig
undated
2:117: Changing horse shoes
undated
2:118: Bunk house
undated
2:119-120: Ranch houses
undated
2:121: Turkeys in pen
undated
2:122: Three women
1919
2:123: Two cowgirls
undated
2:124: Unidentified woman
1919
2:125: Cattle on range
undated
2:126: Cowgirl
undated
2:127: Picnic lunch
1920
2:128: Old man next to young boy on horse
undated
2:129: Young boy on horse
undated
2:130: Unidentified woman
undated
2:131: Cowgirl
undated
2:132: Young cowboy
undated
2:133: Group of people on horseback
undated
2:134: Girl on horse
undated
2:135: Two unknown women and one unknown man
undated
2:136: Man and horse
undated
2:137: Two unknown women and one unknown man
undated
2:138: Two colts
undated
2:139: Two colts and mother
undated
2:140: Angus cow
undated
2:141: Coyote
undated
2:142: Horse
undated
2:143: Young girl with dogs
undated
2:144: Man and woman
undated
2:145: Cowboy relaxing
undated
2:146: Cowboys in corral
undated
2:147: Chicken and turkeys
undated
2:148: Sheep in corral
undated
2:149-152: Cowboys loading cattle onto train
undated
2:153: Mock hold up
undated
2:154: Cowboy fun, spanking
undated
2:155: Three cowboys
undated
2:156: Calf in loading pen
undated
2:157: Man and women with dog and cat
undated
2:158: Dogs with dead wolf
undated
2:159: Outhouse
undated
2:160: Chickens next to house
undated
2:161: Sheep on the range
undated
2:162: Longhorn cattle in corral
undated
2:163: Man with gun and dead deer, "My 1918 Buck W.A.K."
undated
2:164: Man sitting on chuckwagon
undated
2:165: Wagon and horses
undated
2:166: Camp scene
undated

Historic Photo-Board Collection. San Jacinto Ranch, undatedReturn to Top

Description Dates
A-1389a-b: Butchering beef for winter
1920
A-1389c: Shearing sheep
1920
A-1390a: Verna Lou Bowman on tire swing
undated
A-1390b: Dennie Lane and Eddie Frank in a car
1918
A-1390c: Loading ice onto truck
1918
A-1390d: Car stuck in mud
1918
A-1391a: Man with horse
1918
A-1391b: Man holding dead bobcat
1918
A-1391c: Coyote pelts
1918
A-1391d: Horses in corral
1918
A-1392a: Trail Camp on cattle drive through Nevada
1918
A-1392b: Bed wagon on cattle drive through Nevada
1918
A-1392c: Cowboys shooting craps on cattle drive through Nevada
1918
A-1393. : Branding Irons of the Utah construction Company San Jacinto Ranch, Wine cup and Shoe sole ranches, 1914-1946
undated
A-1396a-d: Interior of Bowman's San Jacinto ranch house
1920-1929
A-1397a: Wild horses in corrals
1920-1929
A-1397b: Loading pins at Tecoma, Nevada
1920-1929
A-1397c: Cattle drive to Tecoma, Nevada
1920-1929
A-1397d: Goshute Indians in camp
1920-1929
A-1398a: Montello, Nevada, Utah Construction Company Ranch headquarters
1921
A-1398b: Buggy at post office, San Jacinto, Nevada
1917
A-1398c: Post office at San Jacinto, Nevada
1917
A-1398d: Old freight stop (stone building), San Jacinto, Nevada
1920-1929
A-1399a: Roping cattle
1920-1929
A-1399b: Trailing herd through deep snow
1920-1929
A-1399c: Cattle dips
1920-1929
A-1399d: Branding, man without hat is Ray Wattis
1920-1929
A-1400a: Cowboy breaking a horse at San Jacinto
1918
A-1400b: Ray Wattis (foreground) watching cowboy break a horse
1918
A-1400c: Paul Jones bucked off while breaking a horse
undated
A-1680a: A.W. Bowman in field
1918
A-1680b: Bunk house
1918
A-1680c: Cook house with bells
1918
A-1681a: Shoeing horses in corral
1918
A-1681b: Loading ice in ice house
1918
A-1681c: Ranch buildings and equipment
1918
A-1684a: Man in mountains
1920-1929
A-1684b: "The U C Land & Cattle Co. 12 Mile Ranch,"
1920-1929
A-1684c: Ranch building
1920-1929
A-1688a: View of mountains
1918
A-1688b: Cars in snow
1918
A-1688c: Chuckwagon and cook
1918
A-1689a: Remuda
1915
A-1689b: Mules
1915
A-1689c: Cowboy on horse
1915
A-1690a: Drilling(?) equipment
1920-1929
A-1690b-c: A.W. Bowman's car in mountains
1920-1929
A-1690d: Cowboys eating with Chuckwagon
1920-1929
A-1694a-b: Coyote hides
1920-1929
A-1694c: Cattle in loading corrals at Tecoma, Nevada, school in background
1920-1929
A-1695a: Branding
1918
A-1695b: Goshute Indians in Canyon
1918
A-1695c: Trail camp
1918
A-1695d: Cowboy with lariat
1918
A-1697a-b: San Jacinto ranch buildings
1918
A-1697c: Reinforced banks of river-bed (Probably Salmon Falls Creek Nevada)
1918
A-1698a: Cowboys
1918
A-1698b-c: Mules, "Pinto Jack,"
1918
A-1699a: Three Cowboys with lariats
1918
A-1699b: Unidentified northeast Nevada ranch
1918
A-1699c: San Jacinto Ranch buildings, Nevada
1918
A-1712a: Man with two-wheeled wagon
1920-1929
A-1712b: Wild horses in corral
1920-1929
A-1712c: Men feeding hogs
1920-1929
A-1712d: Butchering hogs
1920-1929

Utah Contruction Company, undatedReturn to Top

Description Dates
A-1403: The Holts Caterpillar; Susanville, California, photo by P.I. Thompson
1913
A-1420: Southern Pacific Railroad near Susanville, California, Fernley-Lassen Branch, photo by P.L. Thompson
1913-1914
A-1601: Susanville, California, scenic view, photo by P.L. Thompson
1913
A-1606: Hauling a Steam Boiler(?)
1913
A-1623: Mt. Lassen in Eruption, photo by P.J. Thompson
August 22, 1914

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Dams--Idaho--Design and construction--Photographs.
  • Railroads--California--Design and construction--Photographs.
  • Ranch life--Idaho--Photographs.
  • Ranch life--Nevada--Photographs.

Personal Names

  • Bowman, Archibald Warren, 1884-1967.
  • Bowman, Nora Linjer, 1893-1973.
  • Bowman, Nora Linjer, 1893-1973. (contributor)

Corporate Names

  • Utah International Inc. (contributor)
  • Utah Construction Company. (contributor)
  • Utah International Inc.

Geographical Names

  • Montello (Nevada)--Photographs.
  • Salmon Dam (Idaho)--Photographs.
  • San Jacinto (Nevada)--Photographs.
  • San Jacinto Ranch (Nevada)--Photographs.
  • Susanville (Calif.)--Photographs.
  • Tecoma (Nevada)--Photographs.