Hercules Powder Company photograph album

Finding aid created by California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives staff using RecordEXPRESS

California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

111 I Street

Sacramento, California 95814

(916) 323-8073

Library.CSRM@parks.ca.gov

http://csrmf.org/visit/library

2021

Descriptive Summary

Title: Hercules Powder Company photograph album

Dates: Circa 1910

Collection Number: MS 782

Creator/Collector: Hercules Powder Company

Extent: 1 album

Online items available

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Sacramento, California 95814

Abstract: Photographs of the Hercules Powder Company

Language of Material: English

Access

This collection is open for research at our off-site storage facility with one week's notice. Contact Library & Archives staff to arrange for access.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

Hercules Powder Company photograph album. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Grahame Hardy family

Biography/Administrative History

The DuPont corporation and Lafkin & Rand Powder Company incorporated the Hercules Powder Company in 1882 to manufacture Hercules powder (a special form of dynamite). The company was dissolved in DuPont in 1904, but was newly created in 1912. In 1966, the company changed its name to Hercules, Inc. and was sold to the Ashland Corporation in 2008.

Scope and Content of Collection

Many large format and panoramic photographs of the Hercules Powder Company located on San Pablo Bay between Richmond and Martinez. Includes photos of marine equipment such as kelp cutters, lighters, and tugs. Kelp was a raw material used in dynamite. Most of the photos in this album are of the vessels and equipment used for kelp harvesting and processing. The end product was potash that was used at the plant and shipped to other manufacturers. [Album 22]