Administrative Information

Alternative Form Available

The entire collection is available online through the Southwestern United States photograph collection .

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Southwestern United States photograph collection, Collection #C0201, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University.

Acquisition Information

Purchased in 2003.

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections and Archives staff. EAD markup completed by Kristen Korfitzen in November 2011.

Historical Information

The photographs in this collection document American travel at the turn of the century. Travel, during the latter part of the 19th century, was dominated by railroads. At the time these images were taken around 1893, over 87,801 miles of track had been laid in the United States. With the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, Americans were easily able to traverse the country facilitating the rapid settling of the Western United States.

Scope and Content

This collection documents late 19th century rail travel and the urbanization of the Southwestern United States. Images in this collection include pictures of railroad passengers and employees of differing race and social class. Also included are images of New Orleans and Southwestern towns and cities and the people who inhabited them. The photographs also document leisure travel during the 19th century and feature tourists at the seashore and several hotels.

Though many of the photographs remain unidentified, they likely feature popular tourist destinations for those traveling by rail through the Southwest. Two of the photographs depict Colorado national parks, and many depict Mission-style churches. An article pasted into the back of the original photo album suggests that many of the train photographs could have been taken on the Colorado and Southern Railway, which ran through Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.

Arrangement

Photographs in this collection are arranged as they were in their orginal photo album. The photographs begin with images of New Orleans and illustrate travel through the Southwestern United States.

Related Material

Special Collections and Archives holds a number of other photograph collections, including some from the late 19th century.

Index Terms

Geographical Names:

• New Orleans (La.)--Photographs.
• Southwestern States--Photographs.

Subjects:

• Architecture--Southwestern States--Photographs.
• Mexican Americans--Photographs.
• Railroad stations--United States--Photographs.
• Railroad travel--United States--Photographs.

Document Types:

• Albumen prints.

Adjunct Descriptive Data