Tesla Coal Mines and Carnegie, California Photographs, circa 1895

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Summary

Abstract:
Collection of photographs of the Tesla Coal Mines and the neighboring company town of Carnegie, showing group portraits of the miners (which include children, and men of Asian and African American descent) as well as views of the mine shafts, surrounding buildings, etc.
Extent:
0.2 linear feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Tesla Coal Mines and Carnegie, California Photographs, MC375, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection of photographs of the Tesla Coal Mines and the neighboring company town of Carnegie, showing group portraits of the miners (which include children, and men of Asian and African American descent) as well as views of the mine shafts, surrounding buildings, etc. Six of the photographs are signed either on the plate or in blind on the mount by G.E. Gould, who captioned two on the plate as being Tesla Coal Mines and one as Carnegie. Two photographs are blindstamped by J.W. Stateler, another San Francisco-based photographer. The remainder of the photos are unsigned and uncaptioned. The photos share provenance and contain similar subject matter so the bookseller assumed the photos are all of the same locations.

Biographical / historical:

John Treadwell, a millionaire who made his fortune in gold mining, opened Tesla Coal Mines in 1890, twelve miles outside Livermore, California. A company town quickly sprang up around the mines, which Treadwell formally named Tesla in 1897, after inventor Nikola Tesla, because he initially wanted to build a coal-burning power plant there (a plan which never materialized). A second, smaller company town was also established four miles away, named Carnegie after the steel magnate.

Between 1890 and 1900, Tesla Coal Mines produced over 80,000 tons of coal, making it the leading coal producer in California. Although Treadwell opted to nix his power plant idea, for fear of competition from hydroelectric power plants, he instead built the first successful coal briquetting plant in the U.S., and coal briquets soon became a popular household heating and cooking fuel. However, a 1905 fire destroyed the plant, eventually forcing the mines to shut down permanently in 1911.

Historical information provided by the bookseller, Kate Mitas Books.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Kate Mitas Books, 2024.
Processing information:

Vanessa Cardona-Ocegueda created this finding aid with information supplied by Kate Mitas Books.

Physical location:
Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored off site.
Physical description:
Ten black and white photographs approx. 6-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches on approx. 9 x 11 inch heavy cardstock mounts; one 4-1/2 x 11-1/2 inch black and white photo on a 7 x 13-3/4 inch mount; one 3-1/2 x 12-1/4 inch black and white photo on 6-1/2 x 14-3/4 inch mount; one 3-1/2 x 12-1/4 inch cyanotype on 6-1/2 x 14-3/4 inch mount.
Physical facet:
13 photographs
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open to research.

Terms of access:

All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Tesla Coal Mines and Carnegie, California Photographs, MC375, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
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