Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Newton Cope collection
- Dates:
- 1868-1922
- Abstract:
- The collection consists of invoices, bills, vouchers, and routine correspondence from the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads and subsidiary lines.
- Extent:
- 1 Linear Feet 1 record carton
- Language:
- English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Newton Cope Collection, MS 63, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of invoices, bills, vouchers, and routine correspondence from the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads and subsidiary lines.
The documents relate largely to the purchase of supplies for railroad construction and operations. There are also documents relating to problems and complaints of freight customers. In addition, the collection contains wanted circulars for train robbers in the early twentieth century, as well as letters relating to the robberies.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Newton Aloysius Cope (1922-2005) was a San Francisco social figure and a collector of Western antiques. He was born in Bakersfield, California on April 28, 1922, to Newton Aloysius (1895-1932) and Rose Delima [Mayer] (1901-1973) Cope. He was the third of five children (Ellen Marie, Wiliam Joseph, Newton Aloysius, Carl Edward, Lawrence Sherman Cope).
After the death of his father in 1932, his mother moved the family to the Sacramento area. He attended schools in Sacramento and attended UC Berkeley. Cope entered the Army Air Force in 1942 and became a pilot instructor. He was stationed at Davis-Monthan and Thunderbird AFBs in Arizona and Mather AFB in Sacramento. He achieved the rank of Second Lieutenant. In 1950, Mr. Cope was called up for the Korean War. He was then a Captain in the Air Force Reserve. He was training at McClellan AFB in Sacramento in April 1951 when, on returning from a flight to Alameda, his engine stalled. He crash-landed at Del Paso Country Club but received no injuries.
After the war, Mr. Cope worked for J.J. Jacobs Cadillac and Buick Companies in Sacramento, purchasing the Buick Agency in 1951. He sold the agency in 1959 and purchased several buildings in Old Sacramento. Brothers Carl, Newton, and Lawrence Cope restored the vacant firehouse at 1112 Second Street in Old Sacramento and opened The Firehouse Restaurant in 1960. The Firehouse Restaurant was in the original 1853 building that housed the Sacramento No. 3 Engine Company. Mr. Cope is credited with being one of the first people to see the benefits of and work towards the restoration of Old Sacramento. He sold The Firehouse in 1999.
In 1945 Cope married Marilyn Jacobs of Sacramento. They had three children, Catherine, Newton A, Jr., and John. In 1967 the marriage ended in divorce and in the same year, he married Dorothy Fritz MacMasters, heiress to a San Francisco and Los Angeles real‐estate fortune. Cope adopted her two children, and they had two children together, Serena and Callaghan. Dorothy passed away in 1976. Mr. Cope then became engaged to Lee Radziwill, the sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The couple met when Mrs. Radziwill, an interior designer, went to supervise the refurbishing of the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill, which Mr. Cope owned. Jackie Kennedy Onassis and her mother, Janet, insisted Radziwill get a pricey prenuptial agreement to Cope, however he resisted, and the wedding was called off on the very day (though the two still took their planned honeymoon). Some sources state that Radziwill called off the marriage, but others state Cope called it off. The gala wedding fizzled, but the couple went on the honeymoon to the Caribbean anyway. In 1989, Cope married Marion Rumsey Moore.
Since 1967, Cope has been associated with Nob Hill Properties, Inc. of San Francisco, the owner of The Huntington Hotel and several other properties in San Francisco and Napa. He assumed the role of President in 1976. After becoming President, the company continued to acquire properties, adding La Playa Hotel in 1982 and Cottages by the Sea in 1990, both in Carmel. The company also owned several buildings in San Francisco. At the time of his death, Mr. Cope was Chairman of the Board. Cope was a member of the Pacific Union Club and the Cypress Point Club.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Newton Cope, Sr., 1977
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged chronologically.
- Physical location:
- Statewide Museum Collection Center
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-03-18 15:24:49 +0000 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library Staff.
- Terms of access:
-
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 District Collections Manager. 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:
-
[Identification of item], Newton Cope Collection, MS 63, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
111 I StreetSacramento, CA 95814, US
- Contact:
- (916) 323-8073