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A guide to the Caspar Lumber Company motion picture film, 1904-1925
P81-047 (SAFR 14725)
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Title: Caspar Lumber Company motion picture film
Date: 1904-1925
Identifier/Call Number: P81-047 (SAFR 14725)
Creator:
Caspar Lumber Company
Physical Description:
1 item.
Repository:
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Physical Location: San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Language(s):
In English.
This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.
Public domain. No restrictions on use.
Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other
case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
P79-182a (film reels transferred permanently to this collection), P85-124
The descriptions in this collection guide were compiled using the best available sources of information. Such sources include
the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material and subject matter
experts. While every effort was made to provide accurate information, in the event that you find any errors in this guide
please contact the reference staff in order for us to evaulate and make corrections to this guide.
Please cite the title and collection number in any correspondence with our staff.
[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item
Number], P81-047 (SAFR 14725), Caspar Lumber Company motion picture film, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
SAFR-00001
In 1961, Richard Tooker, loaned 2 reels of original nitrate film to the San Francisco Maritime Museum and the first reel was
copied (P81-047). Later the 2 reels of nitrate film were donated (P78-182a) but weren't copied until 1979 by which time only
parts of the two original nitrate film reels remained undamaged. In 1987, the 1961 copy of the first reel (P81-047) was combined
with the remains of the second reel from P78-182a and thirty feet of color film, formerly P85-124 was added and the entire
edited version was cataloged as P81-047.
Historical or Biographical Note
The Caspar Lumber Company was incorporated in 1880 with J.G. Jackson as President and the purchase of his mill, timber and
railroad holdings by the company.
Jacob Green Jackson, founder of the Caspar Lumber Company, was born on March 16, 1817 at East St. Johnsbury, Vermont. In December,
1851, he came to California. In 1864, Jackson purchased the Kelley & Randall sawmill at Caspar renaming it the Jacob Green
Mill.
Jackson purchased his first schooner, "Cora", about 1870 and built a railroad in 1874 from his mill to timber operations.
This became known as the Caspar Creek Railroad, then the Caspar & Hare Creek Railroad and eventually becoming the Caspar,
South Ford and Eastern Railroad incorporated on July 8, 1903. The Caspar Lumber Company was incorporated on November 4, 1880
and by then the mill had a tramway and a chute in place to load schooners. Caspar acquired the schooners Elvenia, Abbie and
Maxim. Jacob Green Jackson died on April 17, 1901.
By March 1939, the steamer Caspar was laid up since Caspar Lumber Co. could not find enough work for her to remain in operation
and ended the company's long history of maritime service. In December 1945, after a strike, the company closed down the railroad
operations and switched solely to truck transportation. Finally, Caspar sold its stock and operations to the Union Lumber
Co. and the milled closed on November 18, 1955.
Borden, Stanley T. Caspar Lumber Company. San Mateo, California: The Western Railroader, 1966. http://www.mendorailhistory.org/books/western-railroader/caspar/index.html.
Caspar Lumber Company motion picture (SAFR 14725, P81-047) consists of a 16mm black-and-white and color, silent motion picture
film of activities at the Caspar Lumber Co., Caspar, Calif., approximatley 1904-1920.
The 525 feet single reel film has a run time of 00:20:06.
Digital video available on the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/csfmm_00005 and digitized by the California
Audiovisual Preservation Project (CAVPP).
Single reel of film.