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Guide to the James R. Evans Diary
MS 201
MS 201
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Table of contents
Title: James R. Evans Diary
Identifier/Call Number: MS 201
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1923-1924 and undated
Abstract: The collection contains one diary written by James R. Evans beginning in March 1923 and records events related to prospecting
in the Imperial Valley and the surrounding desert.
creator:
Evans, James R.
This collection is open for research.
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Collection processed by Jody Valente on January 24, 2012.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
James R. Evans Diary, MS 201, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Biographical / Historical Notes
James R. Evans was a geologist, mining engineer, and prospector who traveled through California’s Imperial Valley in the 1920s.
Little biographical information is revealed about Evans within the journal. During a significant part of the diary, he travels
and lives with Anne L. Evans, though he does not explicitly state that she is his wife. At one point in the diary, he includes
excerpts from her diary revealing that his nickname is “Jim” or “Jimmy.”
James R. Evans’ diary begins in March 1923. The diary is typed, but includes several handwritten notes by Evans. The first
twenty pages of the journal include entries on his travels from San Diego to his intended destination of 29 Palms, noting
day of the week and time recorded, though dates (month, day and/or year) are not included. The second portion of the diary
commences on page 22 and takes on a different tone. Evans documents places traveled and the people he meets along the way,
with many entries recorded in a storytelling manner. He frequently stays at Shaver’s Well, notes the various other wells where
he camps, and documents prospecting trips that take him toward 29 Palms, Mecca, the Salton Sea, Cottonwood, and El Centro.
Only one date is recorded in the latter part of the diary: and it is February 5, 1924, when a meteor passes through where
Evans is camped. Throughout the diary, he notes the hold that both the desert and that mining have over man, noting that he
is no exception.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number 860919.
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Evans, Anne L.
Evans, James R.
Greer, Jim
Black Eagle (Calif.)
Cottonwood (Calif.)
Dale Mining Camp (Calif.)
Desert Queen Ranch (Calif.)
Imperial Valley (Calif. and Mexico)
Mining
Prospecting
San Diego (Calif.)
Shaver's Well (Calif.)