Gilsonite mining digital photograph collection
Collection
Identifier: P0873
Scope and Contents
The images in P0873 are derived from one typewritten report and two theses in Geology and Mining Engineering from the University of Utah, all of which dealt with the subject of gilsonite, a unique mineral found only in eastern Utah's Uintah Basin. It was noticed that all of these documents contained original photographs that were in danger of being either damaged or lost. Therefore it was decided to scan the prints digitally and assemble them as an artificial photograph collection centered around the subject of "Gilsonite Mining." The original documents are housed in the Western Americana division of Special Collections, and are listed in the library's online catalog. The three documents are:
-"Gilsonite : a general discussion with special reference to the Arrowchis Lease of the Western Gilsonite and Elaterite Company" by Arthur L. Crawford. [Salt Lake City, Utah?] : [s.n.], [1940]
-"Gilsonite" by John L. Kemmerer. Thesis (M.S.) Dept. of Geology, University of Utah, 1934.
-"Dissertation on the history, occurrence, mining, and economics of gilsonite" by Irving Craig Roberts and Glen A. Carey. Thesis (B.S.) Department of Mining Engineering, University of Utah, 1949
Since the images in this collection come from three separate sources, they were identified by the initials of the author, i.e. those from the Crawford report are listed as AAC..."; those from the Kemmerer thesis as AJK...'; and those of the Roberts-Carey thesis as AGC-IR...' The images from the Roberts-Carey thesis are listed as AGC_IR' because the order of the names was reversed on the cover of the document itself. Additionally, the images from the Crawford report are listed as A...ind' and A...a' and A...b'. The designation Aind" indicates that this image is an index image, in which more than one image appears on a page in the report. The Aa' and Ab' images are those individual images separated out.
Please note that the numbers given in this collection do not correspond with the "Fig." [Figure] numbers given to the image in the original documents. This is because there were other illustrations used in the documentsB reproductions of maps, drawings of mines, charts, and so on -- that were not scanned as part of this collection. The "fig." number in the report is given in parentheses in each image description. This collection is digital only.
-"Gilsonite : a general discussion with special reference to the Arrowchis Lease of the Western Gilsonite and Elaterite Company" by Arthur L. Crawford. [Salt Lake City, Utah?] : [s.n.], [1940]
-"Gilsonite" by John L. Kemmerer. Thesis (M.S.) Dept. of Geology, University of Utah, 1934.
-"Dissertation on the history, occurrence, mining, and economics of gilsonite" by Irving Craig Roberts and Glen A. Carey. Thesis (B.S.) Department of Mining Engineering, University of Utah, 1949
Since the images in this collection come from three separate sources, they were identified by the initials of the author, i.e. those from the Crawford report are listed as AAC..."; those from the Kemmerer thesis as AJK...'; and those of the Roberts-Carey thesis as AGC-IR...' The images from the Roberts-Carey thesis are listed as AGC_IR' because the order of the names was reversed on the cover of the document itself. Additionally, the images from the Crawford report are listed as A...ind' and A...a' and A...b'. The designation Aind" indicates that this image is an index image, in which more than one image appears on a page in the report. The Aa' and Ab' images are those individual images separated out.
Please note that the numbers given in this collection do not correspond with the "Fig." [Figure] numbers given to the image in the original documents. This is because there were other illustrations used in the documentsB reproductions of maps, drawings of mines, charts, and so on -- that were not scanned as part of this collection. The "fig." number in the report is given in parentheses in each image description. This collection is digital only.
Dates
- 1934-1949
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Organizational History
HISTORY OF GILSONITE MINING IN UTAH
Gilsonite is a hydrocarbon mineral similar to coal and petroleum in its chemical makeup. The name comes from one of its early promoters, Samuel Gilson; its scientific name is "Uintahite." It is found in commercial quantities only in the Uintah Basin of eastern Utah, and has been mined there since the 1880s. It was first mined in the area near Myton and Fort Duchesne, Utah, although later veins were explored and exploited farther east, near the Utah-Colorado border and south of present-day US Highway 40. Gilsonite, being easily fractured, was for many years mined with simple miner's tools, sacked in cloth bags, and hauled in wagons to markets via the Nine Mile Canyon road to Price, Utah, where there was a connection with the Denver and Rio Grande Railway. By the turn of the 20th century, however, these veins were being only intermittently mined because of depletion of ore and a number of spectacular fires and explosions that destroyed the mining machinery and timbering in the mines. The discovery and exploitation of the veins near the Colorado border made the route to Price, Utah, impractical, so ore was hauled in wagons to Craig, Colorado, and only occasionally to Price. Starting in 1903, a railroad was built from Mack, Colorado (just west of Grand Junction, Colorado) to the towns of Dragon, Watson, and Rainbow, about sixty miles southeast of Vernal, Utah. These towns became centers of gilsonite mining until the late 1930s. The miners, the employees of the Uintah Railway ('The Gilsonite Route'), their families, and associated workers lived in these towns, which had stores, saloons, warehouses, churches, schools, and other infrastructure. Additionally, the railroad served as the primary route to the other towns of the Uintah Basin, especially Vernal, Utah. A stage routeBat first horse and later automobilesBwas established to link Vernal with the Uintah Railway. The difficulty of maintaining the route of the railroad, the depletion of ore, and discovery of new veins near Bonanza, Utah, caused the focus of gilsonite mining to shift to that area. The railroad was abandoned in 1938, and the tracks were taken up the next year. The three small towns were abandoned and today virtually nothing remains of them. To overcome the problems of getting gilsonite to market, the American Gilsonite Company-successor to the many companies that tried to mine and market the mineral-finally built a slurry pipeline from their Bonanza mines in 1956. The gilsonite ore-- which is almost unique among minerals in that it requires no refining, smelting, or other processes to be used-- was mixed with water and pumped some fifty miles over the Tavaputs Plateau (following, for the most part, the route of the Uintah Railway) to a refinery near Mack, Colorado, which was built by the American Gilsonite Company at a cost of $16 million. Today, gilsonite is still being mined, and is used in plastics, varnishes, paints, oilfield applications, inks, and many other products.
Gilsonite is a hydrocarbon mineral similar to coal and petroleum in its chemical makeup. The name comes from one of its early promoters, Samuel Gilson; its scientific name is "Uintahite." It is found in commercial quantities only in the Uintah Basin of eastern Utah, and has been mined there since the 1880s. It was first mined in the area near Myton and Fort Duchesne, Utah, although later veins were explored and exploited farther east, near the Utah-Colorado border and south of present-day US Highway 40. Gilsonite, being easily fractured, was for many years mined with simple miner's tools, sacked in cloth bags, and hauled in wagons to markets via the Nine Mile Canyon road to Price, Utah, where there was a connection with the Denver and Rio Grande Railway. By the turn of the 20th century, however, these veins were being only intermittently mined because of depletion of ore and a number of spectacular fires and explosions that destroyed the mining machinery and timbering in the mines. The discovery and exploitation of the veins near the Colorado border made the route to Price, Utah, impractical, so ore was hauled in wagons to Craig, Colorado, and only occasionally to Price. Starting in 1903, a railroad was built from Mack, Colorado (just west of Grand Junction, Colorado) to the towns of Dragon, Watson, and Rainbow, about sixty miles southeast of Vernal, Utah. These towns became centers of gilsonite mining until the late 1930s. The miners, the employees of the Uintah Railway ('The Gilsonite Route'), their families, and associated workers lived in these towns, which had stores, saloons, warehouses, churches, schools, and other infrastructure. Additionally, the railroad served as the primary route to the other towns of the Uintah Basin, especially Vernal, Utah. A stage routeBat first horse and later automobilesBwas established to link Vernal with the Uintah Railway. The difficulty of maintaining the route of the railroad, the depletion of ore, and discovery of new veins near Bonanza, Utah, caused the focus of gilsonite mining to shift to that area. The railroad was abandoned in 1938, and the tracks were taken up the next year. The three small towns were abandoned and today virtually nothing remains of them. To overcome the problems of getting gilsonite to market, the American Gilsonite Company-successor to the many companies that tried to mine and market the mineral-finally built a slurry pipeline from their Bonanza mines in 1956. The gilsonite ore-- which is almost unique among minerals in that it requires no refining, smelting, or other processes to be used-- was mixed with water and pumped some fifty miles over the Tavaputs Plateau (following, for the most part, the route of the Uintah Railway) to a refinery near Mack, Colorado, which was built by the American Gilsonite Company at a cost of $16 million. Today, gilsonite is still being mined, and is used in plastics, varnishes, paints, oilfield applications, inks, and many other products.
Extent
33 Items
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The The Gilsonite Mining digital photograph collection consists of scans of images documenting gilsonite mining techniques.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged by photographer and author.
Processing Information
Processed by Roy Webb in 2001.
- Title
- Guide to the gilsonite mining digital photograph collection
- Author
- Finding aid created by Roy Webb.
- Date
- 2001 (last modified: 2018)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu