Archive Of Items Relating To Kimball Brother's Stagecoach Lines

LAURENCE PROSPER AND ROBERT TAYLOR KIMBALL KIMBALL

Publication: Kimball Brothers, circa 1907, Rhyolite, Nevada

A remarkable collection documenting the Kimball Brothers' stagecoach and transfer operations in western Nevada and the Death Valley mining districts during the great mining boom of the early twentieth century.

The Kimball Brothers' stage operation was centered at Rhyolite, Nevada, the short-lived mining metropolis that arose in the Bullfrog mining district after the discovery of gold in the area in 1904. At the height of the boom, the Kimballs became one of the principal transportation operators connecting Rhyolite with the rapidly developing mining camps scattered across the harsh desert country of western Nevada and Death Valley.

Contemporary historical accounts describe the Kimballs as the "staging kings of Rhyolite." Their operations connected Rhyolite with such important camps and districts as Goldfield, Lee, Skidoo, Keane Springs, Keane Wonder, Greenwater, and other Death Valley mining settlements, providing transportation for passengers, mail, baggage, express, and supplies. Their stage lines were particularly important before the expanding railroad network rendered many of the desert routes unnecessary.

ITEMS INCLUDE:

1). Kimball Bros. Stage Pass "Good For One Fare" with Fifty Pounds of Baggage Free. Manuscript note on the reverse side tells us that the drivers were Jim Gibson and Wallis Young.

2). Large format 21 x 25 cm (8 1/4" x 9 3/4") photograph of a group of men surrounding two stagecoaches and teams. Manuscript note at foot of image: "Stages for Goldfield + Lee leaving Ryolite Nev., with L. M. Kimball identified. The Kimball Brothers established regular Rhyolite - Lee service during the 1906 mining boom, with stages leaving Rhyolite every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This photograph captures the Kimball operation at precisely the moment when stagecoach transportation remained indispensable to the newly established mining communities but was beginning to compete with the rapidly expanding railroad network.

3). RPPC of above image, titled: Rhyolite-Goldfield Stage with a manuscript note on the reverse identifying six of the men pictured as Jim Gibson, Wallis Young, Ed Love, Lin Kimball, Robert Taylor Kimball, and L.P. Kimball.

4). Postcard titled Four Horse Stage Loaded With Passengers For Rhyolite, Nevada. Manuscript note on the reverse side identifies three of the riders namely Ed Love, L. P. Kimball, and Lem McGarry. This image demonstrates the role of the stage not simply as a freight or mail carrier but as a passenger conveyance carrying miners, businessmen, entrepreneurs and other travelers into the rapidly expanding Rhyolite district.

5). Nine unissued checks from Kimball Brothers Stage and Transfer Company.

6). Three letters relating to members of the Kimball family and their later activities in Beatty, Nevada. Two are typed and one is handwritten in ink. One typed letter, dated May 30, 1929, was sent from Beatty, Nevada, to R. T. Kimball advising him that an engineering company is interested in examining the Copper Queen Group. However, if these parties do not proceed with the proposal, he would be at liberty to deal with R. T. Kimball. The second typed letter is dated December 10, 1937 and signed by "Uncle Lawrence." It is a newsy family letter containing a penciled postscript and provides a glimpse into the later life and family relationships of the Kimballs after the great Rhyolite mining boom had disappeared. The third letter, dated February 3, 1934, is handwritten on Beatty Improvement Association letterhead and addressed "Dear Gilbert," and signed "Lawrence." The letter concerns family matters and provides additional evidence of the continuing presence and activities of the Kimball family in Beatty during the 1930s.

This collection is significant on several levels. It documents the Kimball Brothers' stage and transfer business; the transportation infrastructure of Rhyolite and the Bullfrog mining district; stage transportation between western Nevada and the Death Valley mining camps; the movement of passengers, baggage, mail, express and supplies; the actual stagecoaches, horse teams and personnel employed by the company; named stage drivers including Jim Gibson and Wallis Young; members of the Kimball family, including Laurence Prosper Kimball and Robert Taylor Kimball; and the later continuation of the Kimball family's association with Beatty, Nevada.

An unusually well-documented collection relating to the Kimball Brothers, Rhyolite, the Bullfrog mining boom, western Nevada stage transportation, and the early twentieth-century Death Valley mining frontier. All in very good condition.