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Jack Bowden Logging Railroads Collection

 Collection
Identifier: SHL013

Scope and Contents note

The collection consists of research material on Oregon, northern California, and northwestern Nevada logging and freight railroads, logging companies and mills in the area, correspondence, drafted maps, images, DVDs and maps. It is arranged into Series I: Logging Railroads (9 boxes), Series II: Local History (1 box), Series III: Audio Visual (2 boxes), and Series IV: Maps (2 boxes and 1 cabinet).

Dates

  • Creation: 1910-2005

Creator

Conditions Governing Access note

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use note

Before materials from the Shaw Historical Library may be quoted in print or otherwise reproduced in whole or in part in any publication, exhibit, broadcast or other manner, the user must obtain permission from the owner of the physical property and the holder of the copyright. Copyright status for collections in the Shaw Historical Library varies. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Jack Bowden (John Curtis Bowden) translated a life-long love of railroads into a career with the Southern Pacific Railroad, two books and a research collection created over 60 years. He grew up in small towns on both side of the Oregon-California border, after his father found work with Southern Pacific Railroad in 1926. Jack spent his career also working for the Southern Pacific Railroad in Oregon, California and Nevada. He went to work after his high school graduation as a railroad clerk, but most of his career was spent as a brakeman and conductor. He retired from the railroad in 1995.

Jack Bowden collected materials about regional railroads for more than 60 years. With Tom Dill, Jack wrote The Modoc: Southern Pacific’s Backdoor to Oregon (2002). He also wrote and illustrated the definitive book Railroad Logging in Klamath Country (2003). His other writing included articles and illustrations for The Trumpeter, the Klamath County Historical Society newsletter.

Jack Bowden was born on January 2, 1934 in Provolt, Oregon. In 1955 he married his wife, Marlene. They have two sons, John David Bowden and Michael Wayne Bowden.

Extent

8 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The collection consists of research material on Oregon, northern California, and northwestern Nevada logging and freight railroads, logging companies and mills in the area, correspondence, drafted maps, images, DVDs and maps. Jack Bowden (John Curtis Bowden) translated a life-long love of railroads into a career with the Southern Pacific Railroad, two books and a research collection created over 60 years.

Arrangement note

The collection is arranged into Series I: Logging Railroads, Series II: Local History, Series III: Audio Visual, and Series IV: Maps.

Location note

Shaw Historical Library

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Donated to the Shaw Historical Library by Jack Bowden.

Related Archival Materials note

Copies of Jack Bowden’s books, Railroad Logging in Klamath Country (2003) and The Modoc: Southern Pacific’s Backdoor to Oregon (2002) with Tom Dill are in the holdings of the Shaw Historical Library.

A December, 2010 oral history interview with Jack Bowden is part of the Oral History Collection of the Shaw Historical Library.

Copies of the Klamath County Historical Society's newsletter, The Trumpeter, are also in the holdings of the Shaw Historical Library.

Separated Materials note

Bowden's books and pamphlets have been individually cataloged into the Shaw Historical Library's collection.

General Physical Description note

14 boxes and 1 map cabinet

Processing Information note

Materials arranged into series by subject during processing.

Title
Guide to the Jack Bowden Logging Railroads Collection 1910-2005
Author
Finding aid prepared by Anne Hiller Clark
Date
2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in: English English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Institute of Technology Libraries, Shaw Historical Library Repository

Contact:
3201 Campus Drive
Klamath Falls OR 97603 United States
5418851965