Topolobampo Collection
Mandeville Special Collections Library
Mandeville Special Collections Library
The UCSD Libraries
9500 Gilman Drive
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California 92093-0175
Phone: (858) 534-2533
Fax: (858) 534-5950
URL: http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/
Copyright 2005
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Creator:
Owen, Albert Kimsey
Title: Topolobampo Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1872 - 1910
Extent:
2.30 linear feet
(4 archive boxes and 8 oversize folders)
Abstract: The Topolobampo Collection contains Albert Kimsey Owen's business records and promotional materials related to the colony
and railroad enterprise established on Topolobampo Bay, Sinaloa, Mexico between 1872 and 1910. Materials include business
correspondence, writings by Owen, legal documents, descriptions of corporate entities, promotional materials, images of the
colony, maps, and plans of Pacific City. Prominent correspondents include C.B. Hoffman, John W. Lovell, J.H. Rice, and Arthur
E. Stilwell. Corporations represented in the collection include the Credit Foncier Company; the Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific
Railroad and Telegraph Company; the Mexican Western Railroad; and the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway Company. Materials
that describe day-to-day life in the colony are not represented in the collection.
The collection is arranged in four series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) WRITINGS BY OWEN, 3) SUBJECT MATERIALS, and 4) MAPS AND PLANS.
Repository:
University of California, San Diego. Geisel Library. Mandeville Special Collections Library.
La Jolla, California 92093-0175
Collection number: MSS 0106
Language of Material:
Collection materials in English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Information
Not Available
Preferred Citation
Topolobampo Collection, MSS 0106. Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Historical Background
Albert Kimsey Owen was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, on May 17, 1847. In 1863, Owen moved to Fort Craig, New Mexico, and
by 1870 he was working as a surveyor in Chester. In the spring of 1872, he was hired by William S. Rosecrans and William
J. Palmer to survey the west coast of Mexico for an extension of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad; it was then that he first
reconnoitered the bay of Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Owen immediately realized Topolobampo's commercial potential as a port for the mining regions of northern Mexico, as an outlet
for trade with Asia, and as the terminus of a railroad that would connect the eastern seaboard with a southern point on the
Pacific coast. After Palmer and Rosecrans failed to obtain a railroad concession, Owen surveyed and planned a town at Topolobampo
harbor and, in 1880, organized a corporation with a group of New England investors called the Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific
Railroad and Telegraph Company. In 1881, with the help of Porfirio Diaz, he obtained a concession to build the first section
of track, to establish a colony and to build a city surrounding the harbor.
Owen's vision for the colony reflected his notion of utopian socialism, which he called "Integral Co-operation," and as chairman
of the Credit Foncier Company, the corporate owner of colony lands, he was able to determine much of the character of the
community. Colonists were required to subscribe in writing to the tenets of the company, which espoused eliminating private
wealth and the use of money in favor of a system of credits for labor. Eight hours of sleep, eight hours of work and eight
hours of culture and entertainment were among the guidelines that attracted colonists. Moreover, colonists were assured that
they would build, operate and own the railroad, telegraphs, banks, water supply, and that they would share equal stakes in
all aspects of running the town. All members were seen as equals and had to share equally in working the land and building
the colony.
The first twenty-seven colonists arrived on November 10, 1886. Disorganized and without sufficient funding, the colony soon
moved thirty miles inland to farm more productive land; later, they also rented agricultural lands at La Logia. The inability
to secure a reliable source of water for agriculture and human consumption plagued colonists, and in 1891 colonists began
"Los Tastes Ditch" to divert water from the Fuerte River toward Topolobampo Bay. Eventually, silting and low river flows
made the canal unreliable. Colonists were also aided by Christian B. Hoffman, who created the Kansas-Sinaloa Investment Company
to raise capital.
In the early 1890s, many colonists favored individual land ownership rather than corporate ownership. This dispute divided
the community and eventually caused Owen, a supporter of corporate ownership, to leave the colony and abandon his faith in
the ideals of "Integral Co-operation." Subsequently, he engaged Joseph Hampl as his agent in Topolobampo. In 1900, Owen convinced
Arthur E. Stilwell and a group of Kansas City bankers to form the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway Company. Work began
in 1903, and the line to Topolobampo was in operation by 1909. The colony was abandoned by the turn of the century.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Topolobampo Collection contains Albert K. Owen's business records related to the promotion and development of the land,
railroad and community at the bay of Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico, between 1872 and 1910. It provides a unique example of
foreign capitalist development and colonization in late nineteenth-century Mexico. The collection contains correspondence,
writings, legal documents, notes, published articles, maps, and plans that document the origins of Topolobampo, the ideas
associated with the formation of the colony and highlight the ensuing legal and social problems that plagued the community.
Materials that describe day-to-day life in the colony are not represented in the collection. The collection is arranged in
four series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) WRITINGS BY OWEN, 3) SUBJECT MATERIALS, and 4) MAPS AND PLANS.
SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE
The CORRESPONDENCE series begins with a chronological list of correspondents in the collection. The series contains letters
to and from Owen, as well as business letters between individuals who played prominent or peripheral roles in the development
of Topolobampo. Significant correspondents include John W. Lovell, C. B. Hoffman, J. H. Rice, and Arthur E. Stilwell. Also
included are five letters addressed to Mexican President Porfirio Diaz, and Diaz' response to the "intrigues" (legal disputes
over land ownership) taking place in the colony (March 3, 1894).
The contents of Owen's letters range from his personal reasons for creating the colony (January 22, 1890) to allusions to
the lawsuit and land disputes that took place in the 1890s. Early letters describe Topolobampo as a business and commercial
venture. Later, more voluminous correspondence is preoccupied with the future of the community and the mundane problems of
water, food supply and ownership disputes that ailed the community.
SERIES 2: WRITINGS BY OWEN
The WRITINGS BY OWEN series contains many of Owen's promotional, analytical and narrative writings. His thoughts on utopian
society are articulated in his essay "The Albert Owen Plan of Integral Cooperation." The essay "New Year's Card for Friends:
What I Believe and What I Am" provides an introspective glimpse of Owen's nature. Owen's first encounter with the bay at
Topolobampo is recorded in his "Topolobampo journal." The WRITINGS are arranged alphabetically.
SERIES 3: SUBJECT MATERIALS
The SUBJECT MATERIALS series documents the logistics of the Topolobampo enterprise and includes descriptions of the numerous
corporations involved in promoting and financing the project. Also included are detailed descriptions of the rail line divisions,
order forms for locomotives and other equipment, railroad brochures, pamphlets, general descriptions of loans, minutes of
stockholders' meetings, memoranda discussing the legal aspects of the colony, and a record of the sale and transfer of ownership
of "Los Tastes Ditch."
Important corporate entities include the Credit Foncier Company; the Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph
Company; the Home Investment Company; the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad; the Mexican Western Railroad; and numerous
"Pacific City" enterprises. Of particular interest is a paste-up promotional brochure for the Home Investment Company that
contains an essay on socialism and city block plans.
Legal documents tracing title to the Topolobampo lands are located in this series, as are newspaper articles about the colony.
The series also contains a photograph of A. K. Owen, an engraving of the colony site on the bay and a pamphlet by the Credit
Foncier Company called "The Topolobampo Colonists" that includes images of the colony.
SERIES 4: MAPS AND PLANS
The MAPS AND PLANS series is arranged in three subseries: A) Colony Maps, B) Pacific City Plans and C) Railroad Maps. The
Colony Maps subseries contains maps of the Topolobampo region, including the Fuerte Valley and the land distribution among
the various owners. Of particular interest is the "Plat of Engineer Farm," which includes a table with the names of farmers
and acreage in production.
The Pacific City Plans subseries contains two plans for Pacific City, formerly Gonzales City, that show its layout relative
to the harbor as well as the names of streets and location of plazas. Also included are detailed model block plans designed
by Owen, with elevations rendered in Arab-styled architecture.
Finally, the Railroad Maps subseries includes two maps for the proposed Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph
Company, Owen's first railroad project. In addition, the subseries contains a map of the route for the proposed Mexican Western
Railway and two maps of the completed Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Owen, Albert Kimsey -- Archives
Díaz, Porfirio, 1830-1915
Credit Foncier Company
Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company
Mexican Western Railroad Company
Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway Company
Railroads -- Mexico
Railroads -- Mexico -- Maps
Utopian socialism
Utopias -- History -- 19th century
Utopias -- Mexico -- Topolobampo
Real estate development -- Mexico -- Topolobampo
Topolobampo (Mexico) -- History
Mexico -- History -- 1867-1910
Contributors
Díaz, Porfirio, 1830-1915, -- correspondent
Lowell, John W., -- correspondent
Hoffman, C. B., -- correspondent
Rice, J. H., -- correspondent
Stilwell, Arthur Edward, 1861-1928, -- correspondent
Collection Contents
box 1, folder 1
Chronological list of correspondents
box 1, folder 7
Correspondence
1889
Note
Contains a document that raises questions and poses problems regarding the colonization concession.
box 1, folder 8
Correspondence
1890
Note
Contains a 24-page, handwritten letter dated January 24, 1890, in which Owen recounts aspirations and objectives regarding
the Topolobampo Colony, at this point known as Pacific City.
box 2, folder 7
Address by Albert K. Owen to Cooperators at Woolrich, England
Note
Carbon copy, March 15, 1894.
box 2, folder 8
Albert Owen Plan of Integral Cooperation: The Problem Stated
box 2, folder 9
Instructions to Colonists Who Go to Sinaloa During the Eight Months Beginning November, 1st 1887
box 2, folder 10
Looking at What Can Be Done Now -- Not Backward, Not Forward
Note
Printed pamphlet, December 1, 1910.
box 2, folder 12
National and State Auto-Highways
box 2, folder 13
New Route to the Pacific
Note
Published letter, June 13, 1880.
box 2, folder 14
New Years Card for Friends: What I Believe and What I Am
box 2, folder 15
Newspaper articles by Owen
box 2, folder 16
Paris: A Glance at the City on the Seine by a Tourist
box 2, folder 17
Problems of the Hour: Seven Brief Studies
box 2, folder 18
Proposition from A. K. Owen to...
1888
box 2, folder 20
Remarks
Note
Printed pamphlet, October 20, 1892.
box 2, folder 21
Remarks to the Subscribers of the Credit Foncier Company
Note
Printed pamphlet, September 25, 1888.
box 2, folder 23
There Is a Light in Asia
Note
Carbon copy, December 25, 1891.
box 2, folder 24
Three-headed Hydra of Society: How to Exterminate the Monster
box 2, folder 25
To Convert Christians
Note
Carbon copy, December 8, 1892.
box 2, folder 26, oversize FB12604
Topolobampo journal, September 9 - October 26, 1872
box 2, folder 28
Credit Foncier Company - Integral Co-operation
box 2, folder 29
Credit Foncier Company - A Lesson to Study
Note
Typescript, February 22, 1890.
box 2, folder 30
Credit Foncier Company - List of Births and Deaths in the Topolobampo Colony
1892 - 1893
box 2, folder 31
Credit Foncier Company - List of Colonists, June 30, 1893
box 2, folder 32
Credit Foncier Company - Official Report of Capt. R.R. Leary, US S.S. Iroquois to Secretary of the Navy, US
Note
Printed broadside, December 13, 1887.
box 2, folder 33, oversize FB12605
Credit Foncier Company - The Purposes of the Topolobampo Colonists: Our Principles
box 2, folder 34
Credit Foncier Company - Statement of Account form
box 2, folder 35
Credit Foncier Company - The Situation, the Opportunity and the Duty
box 2, folder 36
Credit Foncier Company - To the Board of Directors of the Credit Foncier Company, Bay-side, Topolobampo
box 2, folder 37, oversize FB12606
Credit Foncier Company - To the Stockholders of the Credit Foncier Company
Note
Printed broadside, March 16, 1887.
box 2, folder 38, oversize FB12609
Credit Foncier Company - The Topolobampo Colonists
Note
Pamphlet with images of the colony.
box 2, folder 39
Credit Foncier Company - Vote of Confidence to A.K. Owen
Note
Typescript, March 8, 1893.
box 2, folder 40
CREDIT FONCIER OF SINALOA - Extracts from the CREDIT FONCIER OF SINALOA published at Topolobampo...
Note
Printed broadside, February 15, 1891.
box 2, folder 41
CREDIT FONCIER OF SINALOA - Memoranda of Agreement
1892
box 2, folder 42
CREDIT FONCIER OF SINALOA - The Topolobampo Colonists: What is Said of Them
Note
Printed pamphlet, September 1, 1892.
box 2, folder 43, oversize FB12608
Drawing of Topolobampo Bay
1887
Note
By Ella B. Stanley and published in HARPER'S WEEKLY.
box 2, folder 44
Financial Proposition: To Organize the Three Companies
box 2, folder 45
Foreign Corporations Doing Business in Mexico: Code of Commerce, Articles 265-267
box 2, folder 46, oversize FB12607
Hampl, Jose - El Canal de Los Tastes
Note
Printed broadside, February 2, 1902.
box 2, folder 47, oversize FB12607
Hampl, Jose - La Colonia de Topolobampo
box 2, folder 48
Hampl, Jose - Interesante
box 2, folder 49, oversize FB12607
Hampl, Jose - Los Terrenos de Los Mochis
Note
Printed broadside, March 15, 1902.
box 2, folder 50
Home Investment Company - Let Us Preach the Gospel of Higher Association
Note
Paste-up promotional pamphlet for Home City, including Owen's notes and an essay on socialism.
box 2, folder 51
Home Investment Company - The Plan
Note
Printed broadside with annotation.
box 2, folder 52
Home Investment Company - An Up-to-date Business Plan, For Business Men, to Unite Savings, Labor, Lands...
Note
Printed broadside, ca. 1899.
box 2, folder 53
Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad - Memorandum of Contract (Between A.K. Owen and A.F. Stilwell)
Note
Manuscript drafts and typescript final version, April 1, 1900.
box 2, folder 54
Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway Company - Schedule
box 2, folder 55
Kansas-Sinaloa Investment Company - Memoranda
1891 - 1892
box 2, folder 56
Legal documents related to Topolobampo land titles
1877 - 1897
box 2, folder 57
Legal documents related to Topolobampo land titles
1900 - 1903
box 2, folder 58
Loan agreement between A.K. Owen and Kinsley Dryden Doyle
box 3, folder 2
Mexican Northern Railroad - Memorandum
box 3, folder 3
Mexican Western Railroad
Note
Collection of carbon copy documents related to the development, financing and procurement of materials for the first 32 miles
of track beginning at Topolobampo harbor.
box 3, folder 4
Mexican Western Railroad - Memorandum Made by S.C Jackson
box 3, folder 5
Mexican Western Railroad - Sample stock certificate
box 3, folder 6
Mines - Reports
Note
Collection of mining reports for resources in the Topolobampo area.
box 3, folder 7
Newspaper articles about Topolobampo
1881 - 1903
box 3, folder 8
North Mexico Company - Articles of Incorporation
Note
Carbon copy draft, November 13, 1896.
box 3, folder 9
North Mexico Contraction and Purveying Company - Memorandum
box 3, folder 10
North Mexico Contracting Company - Description of company
box 3, folder 11
North Mexico Contracting Company - Subscription agreement
Note
Typescript copy, April 1902.
box 3, folder 12
Pacific-Kansas Investment Company - Subscriptions
box 3, folder 13
Pacific City - Descriptions of the site
box 3, folder 14
Pacific City - A Home For Every Citizen
box 3, folder 15
Pacific City - Land Resources Directly Contributing to Pacific City Site, Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico
box 3, folder 17
Pacific City - Moneys spent by and Through Albert K. Owen to acquire and develop Pacific City Site...
1873 - 1903
box 3, folder 18
Pacific City Colonization Company - The Assets of the Pacific City Colonization Company
box 3, folder 19
Pacific City Contracting and Purveying Company - A Business Proposition...
box 3, folder 20
Pacific City Contracting Company - Possible Business
box 3, folder 21
Pacific City Contracting Company - A Proposition How to Build a New City Quickly...
Note
Also includes a description of the company.
box 3, folder 22
Pacific City Development Company - Memoranda No. 3 and No. 4
box 3, folder 23
Pacific City Development Company - Subscriptions
1903
box 3, folder 24
Pacific City Terminal and Contracting Company - Description of the company, memoranda and subscriptions
box 3, folder 25
Photograph of A.K. Owen
1894
box 3, folder 26
Power of attorney - A.K. Owen
box 3, folder 27
Promotional exerpts from newspaper articles
1891 - 1905
box 3, folder 28
Reports of experts on Topolobampo
box 3, folder 29
Sinaloa and Chicago Railroad - Promotional brochure
box 3, folder 30
Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company - Agreement to form the company
Note
Manuscript (in Spanish), May 26, 1886.
box 3, folder 31
Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company - Description of the corporation by Owen
box 3, folder 32
Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company
Note
Indenture Agreement with the Mexican American Construction Company.
box 3, folder 33
Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company
1890
Note
Memorandum of Agreement with John H. Rice and the Kansas-Sinaloa Investment Company. Carbon copy.
box 3, folder 34
Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Company
1886
Note
Stockholders' Meeting.
box 3, folder 35
Topolobampo Contracting Company - Memorandum
box 3, folder 36
Topolobampo Terminal, Contracting and Purveying Company - A Statement
box 4, folder 1, oversize MC04403
box 4, folder 2, oversize MC04403
Map of the Fuerte Valley from Topolobampo Bay to Kilometre 65 of R.R. Line Showing Land Lines...
1891
Note
2 copies-- 1 annotated "Supplement to 'The New City'."
box 4, folder 3, oversize MC04403
Map of the Fuerte Valley from Topolobampo Bay to Kilometre 65 of R.R. Line Showing Land Lines, Sanitary Zone..
box 4, folder 4, oversize MC04403
Map showing lands owned by Messrs. Carmen and Ybarra on the N. Side of Topolvampo (sic) Bay...
Note
Surveyed by Frederick G. Fitch, C. E. (May 1873).
box 4, folder 5, oversize MC04403
Plan of Topolobampo Harbor and Vicinity
1882
box 4, folder 6, oversize MC04403
Plat of Engineer Farm, Mexico
box 4, folder 7, oversize MC04403
Topolobampo Harbor
Note
Department of the Navy, Oceanographic Office, 22 January 1868.
box 4, folder 8, oversize MC04404
box 4, folder 9, oversize MC04404
Model Block, Pacific City. Associated Cottage Residences 1/2 Acre Lots, With Centralized Kitchens...
box 4, folder 10, oversize MC04404
Model Block, Pacific Colony, Sinaloa, Mexico
Note
Designed by A.K. Owens, drawn by J. R. Villalon (2 copies).
box 4, folder 11, oversize MC04404
Model Block, Pacific Colony, Sinaloa, Mexico
Note
Designed by A.K. Owens. Also includes Studies of Arabic Ornamentation for a Model Block, Pacific Colony, Sinaloa, Mexico
(3 copies).
box 4, folder 12, oversize MC04404
Plan of Gonzalez City
1882
box 4, folder 13, oversize MC04404
Plan of Pacific City, Sinaloa-Mexico
1889
Note
By A.K. Owens (4 copies-- annotated).
box 4, folder 14, oversize MC04405
Map of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway
box 4, folder 15, oversize MC04405
Map of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway Showing Located and Preliminary Lines...
box 4, folder 16, oversize MC04405
Map of the Mexican-Western Railway from Topolobampo via Bocoyna to Chihuahua Showing the Sierra...
box 4, folder 17, oversize MC04405
Map of the Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific Railroad and Telegraph Line, Mexico
box 4, folder 18, oversize MC04405
Map of the Texas, Topolobampo and Pacific R.R. and Telegraph (Western Division) from Chihuahua and Parral...
1883
