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Mine Inspection Trip Reports

 Collection
Identifier: SC MS 0036

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents of the Collection: Typescript reports covering three mine inspection trips made by students and faculty during the summers of 1922, 1924, and 1926. Each report covers the same general trip, through New York, Ontario, Canada, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and lasted about 30 days. The 1922 report was submitted as a senior thesis and includes drawings, maps and photographs of the route traveled, mines inspected and geologic features observed. Binder measures 25 x 21 x 2 cm black buckram, 53 pages with 52 black and white photographs and assorted maps, drawings and illustrations and 8 inserts in pocket in back of report. The 1922 report has a related scrapbook of 127 black and white photographs (SC Photo 0015) of the trip itinerary and assorted material. The 1924 report is primarily an itinerary travelogue with some narration about road adventures illustrated with travel postcards of the areas visited. Black buckram binder measures 25 x 21 x 1.5 cm with 4 color lithograph postcard folders, 24 thumbnail black and white photographs, 45 color lithographic postcards and 20 black and white photographs glued onto 27 pages. The 1926 report is a description of the mines, mills and geologic features with no narration of a road trip and no illustrations only technical text. Black buckram binder measures 25 x 21 x 1.5 cm with 55 pages of text.

Corporate Names

Lehigh University. Dept. of Mining Engineering. International Salt Company Retsof Salt Mining Company Kerr Salt Company Niagara Falls Power Company Carborundum Company Nipissing Mines Company Ltd. Hollinger Consolidated Gold Mines, Ltd. Mond Nickel Company International Nickel Company Michigan Northern Power Company Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad Cornwall Ore Bank Company (Lebanon, Pennsylvania) Pioneer Iron Company Calumet & Hecla Consolidated Copper Company Champion Copper Company Copper Range Consolidated Company Michigan College of Mines, Houghton

Personal Names

Bartlett, Ralph Lincoln, Assoc. Professor “Bart” Callen, Alfred Copeland EM‘09, MS’11, Professor Cox, John Philip EM’27 Eckfeldt, Howard LU ‘96, Professor “Skipper” Egolf, Harry Louis EM’25 Fisher, Lloyd W. ‘21, Instructor of Geology Fraim, Parke Benjamin EM’09, Ass’t Professor Fretz, Augustus Henry, Ass’t Professor “Harry” Harrier, Robert Austin EM’27 Howland, George Asbury ChE’25 Lewall, Charles E. ‘14, Professor Pfahler, Robert Gair EM’23 Sinwell, Paul William EM’27

Geographical Names

Creighton Mine (Ontario) Soo Canal and Locks (Sault St. Marie, Michigan) Worthington Mine Negaunee Mine (Michigan) Athens Mine Ishpeming, Michigan McClure Plant Keweenaw Peninsula (Michigan) Calumet Mill, Lake Linden, Michigan Hecla Mill, Lake Linden, Michigan Watkins Glen, New York Porcupine District, Ontario Cobalt District, Ontario

Dates

  • Event: 1922 - 1926

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection housed remotely. Users need to contact 24 hours in advance.

Conditions Governing Use

Collection is open for research.

Copyright Notice

Please inquire about copyright information.

Biographical / Historical

This collection was put together by students and faculty of Lehigh University during the summers of 1922, 1924, and 1926 as they traveled across the northeastern United States and parts of Ontario, Canada on mine inspection field trips. These mining field trips were planned by the Mining Department’s faculty primarily for Lehigh’s Junior and Senior students to give them a “bird’s eye view” of the mining industry as a whole. The students were given three academic credits for their participation. According to Robert Pfahler’s LU’23 account, the 1922 field trip was the first such college student field inspection trip organized in the country. The road trip narration incorporated visiting working mines, analyzing geologic features, railroads and canals along with an adventurous travelogue. Thirty-six students and three professors participated in the first road trip camping out for a month on an itinerary of 3,000 miles of the northeastern United States and Ontario, Canada. SC Photo 0015 “The Lehigh University Summer Inspection Tour 1922” provides a list of all the participants with Paul F. Benz LU’22 as photographer. The second trip made in 1924 included more than 3,500 miles and is largely a travelogue narrative by George A. Howland a chemical engineering student with the Class of 1925. The group included 32 people. The report is well illustrated with colored lithograph postcards and black and white photographs. The Summer of 1926 trip report was made by R. A. Harrier, John P. Cox and Paul W. Sinwell. They expressed their enthusiastic endorsement of the educational value of making the inspection trip. It was their intent to make the report accurate and concise of the facts and figures on the various mines, mills and geologic aspects they visited. This 1926 report demonstrates the academic value of knowledge the students gained during the trips generally covering the same route as the previous two inspection trips. This report gives no information as to miles traveled or number of persons making the trip.

Extent

.5 Linear Feet : 3 reports in 1 box

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Three typescript reports of Lehigh University Mining Engineering Department’s mine inspection trips made 1922, 1924, 1926. Two of the reports are travelogue itineraries as well as noting mines and mills observed, the third is a more technical discussion of the mines visited. Reports are by Robert G. Pfahler EM‘23, George A. Howland EM’27, Robert A. Harrier EM’27, John P. Cox EM’27, and Paul W. Sinwell EM’27 all studying for the Engineer of Mining degrees. According to the notes in the collection, these college field inspection trips were the first of their kind in the country.

Arrangement

Material in this collection is arranged by chronology.

Status
In Progress
Author
Eleanor Nothelfer
Date
2019-01-31
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Lehigh University Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Lehigh University
Linderman Library
30 Library Drive
Bethlehem PA 18045 USA
610-758-4506
610-758-6091 (Fax)