Ralph P. Bieber Photographs of the Overland Trail: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Jane Apostol and Diann Benti.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2005
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

Title: Ralph P. Bieber Photographs of the Overland Trail
Dates (inclusive): 1950s-1960s
Collection Number: photCL 469
Creator: Bieber, Ralph P. (Ralph Paul), 1894- photographer.
Extent: 726 photographs in 13 boxes + 3 pieces of ephemera in 1 envelope.
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The collection contains photographs by historian Ralph P. Bieber (1894-1891) documenting the central overland route to California as it appeared in the 1950s. The images show the route through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and California that was used by pioneers and gold seekers beginning in the mid-19th century. Bieber also created categories such as "Donner Party sites," "Gold Discovery Sites," and "Sites associated with John C. Fremont."
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on April 8, 2015.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Ralph P. Bieber Photographs of the Overland Trail, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Gift of Ralph P. Bieber's son, William P. Bieber, in 1986.

Custodial History

Transferred from the Manuscript Department, December 2004.

Processing/Project Information

Photo Archives volunteer Jane Apostol rehoused the collection and prepared the container list portion of the finding aid in 2005. Diann Benti updated and created and created a machine readable version of the finding aid in March 2015.

Biographical Note

Ralph P. Bieber (1894-1981) was a historian of the American West who served on the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis for many years. Between 1931 and 1940, Bieber edited the Southwest Historical Series for publisher Arthur H. Clark. As a result of his editorial duties, Bieber became increasingly fascinated with the great migration to California during the Gold Rush era. He ultimately began a project of his own to document the overland experience during the critical first year of the Gold Rush. He ferreted out thousands of sources, taking voluminous and highly-detailed notes that comprise the manuscript portion of his collection. He also made several trips along the central route to California, and the photographs here are the result of trips taken in the 1950s.

Scope and Content

This collection contains photographs by historian Ralph P. Bieber documenting the central overland route to California as it appeared in the 1950s. Bieber visited the sites in conjunction with a project to record every aspect of the trails and circumstances associated with the migration of people to California during the Gold Rush years and subsequently. The images document the route through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and California. Bieber organized and annotated the photographs himself, and his original order, based primarily on print size, has been maintained. Additionally, Bieber created photographic categories such as “Donner Party Sites,” “Gold Discovery Sites,” and “Sites associated with John C. Frémont.” Note that Bieber did not arrange the photographs geographically.

Related materials in the Huntington Library

The Huntington also holds a large collection of research files (approximately 50 boxes) assembled by Ralph P. Bieber in the course of editing the Southwest Historical Series for the Arthur H. Clark Company and undertaking a book (never completed) on the first year of the California Gold Rush. Researchers who wish to obtain more information about the research files should contact the H. Russell Smith Foundation Curator of Western Historical Manuscripts.

Arrangement

The collection is organized first by size of the photograph (8 x 10 in., 11 x 14 in., 3.5 x 5.5 in.) and then alphabetically by location name within each size.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Subjects

Overland journeys to the Pacific -- History -- Photographs.
California -- Gold Discoveries -- History -- Photographs.
Overland Trails -- Photographs.

Forms/Genres

Photographs.


 

Collection

 
Box 1

Prints 1-146

Item 1-7

Ash Hollow, Nebraska

Item 8

Bannock Creek, Idaho. A few miles west of Portneuf River

Item 9

Baptist Mission to the Potawatomi Indians.

Item 10-12

Bear River, California

Item 13

Bear River, Wyoming

Item 14

Beer Spring, Idaho

Item 15-19

Benicia, California

Item 20-22

Bidwell Bar, California, and Feather River

Item 23-24

Brady’s Hot Springs, Nevada

Item 25-26

California Trail Deaths

Item 27

Camp Creek California, west of Leek Spring

Item 28-47

Carson Pass, Carson Canyon, Carson River, Carson Sink

Item 48

Castle Rock. South of the North Platte River

Item 49-50

Chimney Rock, south of North Platte River

Item 51-67

City of Rocks, Idaho

Item 68-71

Coloma, California

Item 72

View of Courthouse Rock (right) and Jail Rock (left), Nebraska

Item 73-79

Devil’s Gate, Wyoming

Item 80-91

Donner Party sites

Item 92-96

Fort Hall, Idaho

Item 97-101

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

Item 102-109

Sites associated with John C. Frémont

Item 110-117

Gold discovery sites

Item 118-121

Green River and Sublette Cut-off

Item 122-124

Hastings Cut-off

Item 125-126

Hooper Spring, Idaho

Item 127

Horseshoe Spring, Idaho.

Item 128-130

Hot Springs (Thousand Springs), Nevada

Item 131-135

Humboldt River and Humboldt Sink

Item 136-140.4

Independence, Missouri

Item 141-146

Independence Rock, Wyoming. (A short distance west of present Casper, Wyoming.)

Box 2

Prints 147-275

Item 147

Jackson Cemetery, Jackson, California

Item 148

Jackson Hole

Item 149

(Johnson’s Ranch.) Bear River (dry bed), near Wheatland, California (Butte County)

Item 150-151

Kansas River

Item 152

Kelsey, California

Item 153

Little Goose Creek, Nevada

Item 154

(Lassen’s Cut-Off.) Black Rock Desert, near Sulphur, Nevada

Item 155

Leek Spring, California

Item 156

Long Bar, California

Item 157-178

John Marsh home, near Mt. Diablo, California.

Item 159-159.1

Martinez, California, city cemetery

Item 160-166

Missouri River

Item 167-168

Mokelumne River, California, at Big Bar

Item 169-170

Monterey, California

Item 171-175

Mormon Bar, Mormon Island Memorial Cemetery

Item 176-179

Mount Ophir, California

Item 180-186

Names Hill, Wyoming. (South of LaBarge, north of Mormon Ferry of Green River.)

Item 187-189

North Platte River

Item 190-192

Pacific Creek and Pacific Spring, Wyoming

Item 193-194

Placerita Canyon, California

Item 195

Portneuf River, Idaho

Item 196-198

Presidio, San Francisco, 1776-1846

Item 199-201

Raft River, Idaho

Item 202

Red Buttes, Wyoming

Item 203-206

Register Cliff, Wyoming

Item 207-208

Rocky Ford Crossing of the Kansas River

Item 209-212

Ruts of the California Trail (Wyoming)

Item 213

Sacramento, California

Item 214-218

Sacrament, Gravestones in City Cemetery

Item 219

St. Joseph, Missouri, cemetery

Item 220-222

Scotts Bluff, Nebraska

Item 223-226

Shawnee Methodist Mission, Kansas

Item 227-228

Sheep Rock, Idaho

Item 229

Sierra Nevada, California

Item 230

Smiths Fork River, Wyoming

Item 231-232

Snake River, Idaho

Item 233

Range, Humboldt County, Nevada

Item 234

Sonora Cemetery, Sonora, California

Item 235

Fork of the American River, at Sacramento, California

Item 236-237

South Pass, Wyoming

Item 238-242

South Platte River, Nebraska

Item 243-245

Split Rock, Wyoming

Item 246-247

Stanislaus River, California

Item 248-249

Sublette Cut-Off

Item 250-252

Sutter’s Fort, Sacramento

Item 253

Sweetwater River, Wyoming

Item 254-255

Tragedy Spring, California

Item 256-257

Truckee River, California

Item 258-260

Wall Defile (Carlin Canyon), Nevada

Item 261-264

Warm Spring, Wyoming

Item 265-266

Wells, Nevada

Item 267-268

Wind River Mountains, Wyoming

Item 269-271

Woods Creek, Tuolumne County, California

Item 272-275

Woods Crossing

 
Box 3

Prints 276-344

Item 276

American Falls of the Snake River, Idaho

Item 277

Ash Hollow, Nebraska

Item 278-279

Bear River and Bear River Valley, California

Item 280

Benicia Cemetery, Benicia, California

Item 281-282

Bidwell’s Bar, California

Item 283

Big Bar of the Mokelumne River, California

Item 284-285

Black Rock Desert

Item 286

Carquinez Straits, California

Item 287-292

Carson Canyon and Carson Pass, California; Carson River and Carson Sink, Nevada

Item 293-284

Chimney Rock, Nebraska

Item 295-299

City of Rocks, (near Almo, Cassia County, Idaho)

Item 300

Courthouse Rock, Morrill County, Nebraska

Item 301-302

Devil’s Gate, Wyoming

Item 303-305

Fort Hall, Idaho

Item 306-307

Fort Kearny, Nebraska

Item 308-309

Fort Laramie, Wyoming

Item 310-312

Gold Discovery Site (January 24, 1848)

Item 313

Gold Hill, California.

Item 314-315

Goodyear’s Bar, California

Item 316-319

Gravelly Ford of the Humboldt River

Item 320-321

Hot Springs, Nevada

Item 322-326

Humboldt River and Humboldt Sink, Nevada

Item 327-328

Independence Rock, Wyoming

Item 329

Jackson Creek, at Jackson, California

Item 330

Jail Rock, Morrill County, Nebraska

Item 331-332

Jefferson City, Missouri

Item 333

Kansas River

Item 334

Laramie Peak

Item 335-338

Lassen Cut-Off and Lassen’s Ranch

Item 339-341

Little Goose Creek, Nevada

Item 342

Long Bar, California, on North Fork of Feather River

Item 343-344

Mariposa, California

Box 4

Prints 345-396

Item 345-346

Home of John Marsh [Contra Costa County, California]

Item 347

Martinez, California, City Cemetery

Item 348-351

Missouri River

Item 352-353

River, California

Item 354-356

Mount Ophir, California

Item 357

Placerita Canyon historical marker on the site of the gold discovery here on March 9, 1842

Item 358

Platte River, Nebraska

Item 359-360

Presidio of San Francisco, California

Item 361-362

Saint Louis, Missouri, river front

Item 363-364

Sheep Rock, Idaho

Item 365

Sonoma Range, Nevada

Item 366-367

South Fork of the American River

Item 368-369

South Fork of the Yuba River

Item 370-373

South Pass, Wyoming

Item 374

South Platte River, Nebraska

Item 375-376

Stanislaus River, California

Item 377

Sublette Cut-Off. Green River, at site of Mormon Ferry

Item 378-379

Sullivan’s Creek, California

Item 380

Sutter’s Fort, Sacramento, California

Item 381

Table Mountain, California

Item 382-387

Truckee Pass and Truckee River

Item 388

Tuolumne River at Jacksonville, California

Item 389-390

Wall Defile (Carlin Canyon), Nevada

Item 391

Webber Creek. Southeast of Coloma, California

Item 392-393

Wells, Nevada

Item 394

Wind River Mountains, Wyoming

Item 395

Woods Creek Crossing, south of Jamestown, California

Item 396

Yankee Hill, California, from its base

Box 5

Prints 397-411

 

Antrim illustrations: Tampico to Mazatlan

Scope and Content Note

Photographs of watercolor paintings and black and white drawings in Antrim, Journals, 1849, of Scenes in Journey of Antrim Across Mexico (Tampico to Mazatlan) in 1849, on way to gold mines of California. Originals in Division of Manuscripts, Library of Congress. (Negatives on file at Huntington.)
 

From watercolor paintings

Item  397

Main plaza of Tampico, looking north.

Item  398

Part of the main plaza of San Louis Potosi.

Item  399

Main plaza of Guadalaxhara.

Item  400

The harbour and part of the city of Mazatlan, looking southwest.

 

From black-and-white drawings

Item  401

Camp, guards &c., on the north bank of Paneuco River, looking west by southwest. [At Tampico, Mexico.]

Item  402

Entering the city proper of San Louis Potosi. Looking South.

 

Aerial views of Union County, New Mexico

Item  403

Union County.

Item  404

McNee’s Crossing.

Item  405-406

Round Mound, Santa Fe Trail.

Item  407

East of Round Mound. Scale 2"=1 mile.

Item  408

East of Round Mound. Enlarged to 8"=1 mile.

 

U.S.G.S. Topographic Maps

Item  409

California Colfax Sheet, edition of June 1892.

Item  410

Colfax Quadrangle, edition of 1938; reprinted 1941.

Item  411

Placerville Sheet, edition of July 1893; reprinted 1931.

 

3.5 x 5.5 in. prints

Note

The 3.5 x 5.5 inch prints have corresponding negatives (in boxes 12-13), except as noted in the detailed list of prints.
Box 6

Prints, Items 412-695

Items 412-416

Kansas, Missouri (Bieber: Roll 1)

Items 417-422

Kansas, Nebraska (Bieber: Roll 2)

Items 423-428

Wyoming (Bieber: Roll 3)

Items 429-434

Wyoming (Bieber: Roll 4)

Items 435-440

Wyoming, Idaho (1959)(Bieber: Roll 5)

Items 441-446

Idaho, Nevada (Bieber: Roll 6)

Items 447-452

Nevada (Bieber: Roll 7)

Items 453-458

Nevada and Unidentified (Bieber: Roll 8)

Items 459-464

Unidentified landscapes (Bieber: Roll 9)

Items 465-470

Unidentified landscapes (Bieber, Roll 10)

Items 471-472

Jacksonville, California and Unidentified landscape (Bieber: Roll 11)

Items 473-478

California (Bieber: Roll 12)

Items 479-484

Stanislaus River, California (Bieber: Roll 13)

Items 485-498

[Old Oregon Trail]

Items 499-506

[Hudspeth’s Cut-Off, Idaho]

Items 507-511

Southwest Indian Country

Items 512-531

Arizona (Monument Valley, Wupatki National Monument,

Items 532-572

New Mexico (Acoma Indian Pueblo, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Chaco Canyon: Pueblo Bonito, El Morro National Park: Inscription Rock, Zuni, and unidentified Pueblo ruins)

Items 573-596

Head Start graduation ceremonies for Pueblo children

Items 597-600

Churches

Items 601-604

Unprinted, unidentified negatives

Items 605-635

Wyoming (addenda)

Items 636-639

Miscellaneous unidentified buildings and people

Items 640-649

Color prints: Arizona

Items 673-695

Color prints: New Mexico

 

Rolled film negatives and prints

Note

Each item number for Boxes 7-11 corresponds to a box containing roll of 135 mm film and an accompanying 3.5 x 5 in. uncut roll of prints.
Box 7

Items 696-701: Kansas and Nebraska

Item 696

Alcove Spring, Kansas

Item 697

Alcove Spring, Kansas

Item 698

Alcove Spring, Kansas

Item 699

Wakarusa and Little Wakarusa, Kansas. August 1961.

Item 700

Little Blue River (Kansas and Nebraska)

Item 701

Kansas and Nebrasksa

Box 8

Items 702-707: Kansas and Nebraska

Box 9

Items 708-713: Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and California

Box 10

Items 714-719: New Mexico and California

Note

#719: negatives only.
Box 11

Items 720-726: New Mexico and California

 

3.5 x 5.5 in. film negatives

Box 12

Negatives for 412-559

Box 13

Negatives for 560-695

 

Ephemera

Envelope 1

Ephemera

Item  eph. 1

List of pictures taken on 1957 Western trip: Missouri to Wyoming; also California. (31 handwritten pages of notes. 1 page marked 1959.)

Item  eph. 2

Handbook on Fort Laramie National Monument, Wyoming.

Item  eph. 3

Photographic copy of poster, “Emigration to California.”