Description
The Jeffrey Schweitzer Collection contains papers, pamphlets, maps,
photographs and books. With the exception of Series IV: Duff Chapman Papers,
most of these materials relate to mines and mining practices in the first half
of the twentieth century. Schweitzer's mining papers consist primarily of
mining reports and brief letters to interested parties regarding the status of
mining properties. For more than a decade he was Secretary of the South Jackson
Mining Company in Amador County (1912-1925), and the affairs of this mining
concern are well represented in his papers. A complete listing of Schweitzer's
books and maps is available onsite.
Background
Mining Engineer Jeffrey Schweitzer (1885-1979) graduated from the
University of California School of Mines in 1907. From 1908, he did free-lance
work investigating mines and writing reports on them for various western mining
companies. He was particularly well-informed about mining activities in Amador
County, California. Most of the individuals with whom Schweitzer corresponded
were active in the mining industry. Two of these men, John J. McSorley and
James E. Davis, were associated with mines in Amador County. Schweitzer
maintained friendships with McSorley and Davis for over fifty years. After he
retired in 1958, Schweitzer settled permanently in Jackson, Amador County.
There, he became active in various local history projects. He oversaw the town
of Jackson's acquisition of the Kennedy Mining & Milling Company Wheels as
a city park. He was also the first Director of the Amador County Historical
Society. During his last years, Schweitzer met amateur historian, Duff Chapman.
Chapman was a long-time Amador County resident who wrote about the Jackson
area. Jeffrey Schweitzer left his papers to Chapman, who in turn, gave them,
together with his own, to the University of the Pacific.