Guide to the Leete (Benjamin Franklin) Correspondence MS 159

CSRM Library & Archives Staff

California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives

2024

Contributing Institution: California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives

Title: Leete (Benjamin Franklin) correspondence

Identifier/Call Number: MS 159

Physical Description: 1.2 Linear Feet 4 folders

Date (inclusive): 1857-1859

Abstract: Includes four letters belonging to B. F. Leete generated during his position as a civil engineer for the California Central Railroad.

Physical Location: Statewide Museum Collections Center I2.210.I5

Language of Material: English .

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library Staff

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchase, 1995

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically from earliest written letter to the latest.

Biographical / Historical

Benjamin Franklin Leete (1831-1927) was a civil engineer for the California Central Railroad, and later president of Eagle Salt Works in western Nevada. For additional biographical information, see Thomas H. Thompson and Albert A. West, HISTORY OF NEVADA (1881). Additional materials are held by the Nevada Historical Society (Reno).

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Leete (Benjamin Franklin) Correspodence, MS 159, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.

Scope and Contents

¶ Includes four letters belonging to B. F. Leete generated during his position as a civil engineer for the California Central Railroad. The first two letters deal specifically with the issues that stemmed from building railroad bridges in Buffalo, New York, and Sacramento, California. In Buffalo, the subject is the proposal to build the bridge itself. In the case of Sacramento, Leete complains about the quality of workers who built the bridge, and that they did not build any actual rail tracks.¶

¶ The third letter covers a report from Leete to the Omega Ditch Company regarding a fire that burned down a sawmill and Leete's use of pipes for construction. The fourth and final letter in the collection was sent to Leete regarding the cost for his purchase of water pipes. ¶

Conditions Governing Use

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

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Railroads--California--History

California--Sacramento

folder 1

Buffalo Railroad Bridge (September 21, 1857)

folder 2

American River Railroad Bridge (November 17, 1858)

folder 3

Sawmill Fire (July 7, 1859)

folder 4

Purchase of Water Pipe (July 7, 1859)