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Amasa B. Campbell Papers

Accession #: Ms38
Title: Amasa B. Campbell Papers
Participants:
Physical Description: 3 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Description: Biographical Note: Amasa B. Campbell left his native Ohio in 1867 to work for the Union Pacific Railroad. After its completion in 1869, he went to Utah and became involved in mining. In 1887 he came to Spokane Falls, entered into a partnership with John A. Finch, and began investing in the Coeur d'Alene mining district. Together they developed the Gem, Standard, and Hecla mines, all of which proved to be extremely profitable. Campbell and Finch opened and developed the Enterprise and Standard mines in the Slocan district of British Columbia in 1893. They were involved in nearly every successful mining venture in the Inland Empire. Campbell invested heavily in timber in the Grays Harbor district of western Washington. He was also involved in many Spokane business enterprises, including the Washington Water Power Company, Traders National Bank, Spokane and Eastern Trust Company, Spokane International Railway, and the Spokane Southern Traction Company. At the time of his death in 1912, Campbell was one of Spokane's millionaires whose wealth had resulted from wise investments in the Coeur d'Alene mining district. Content Description: The collection dated primarily from 1898, when the family moved into Campbell House. It consists of incoming business correspondence, 1905, 1907-1908, 1910-1911; and copies of outgoing correspondence in letter press books, numbering nearly 5,000 letters. While there are numerous gaps, the correspondence seems to be representative. Also included are canceled checks and personal check registers for Mrs. Grace M. Campbell, 1904-1922, covering her personal and household expenses. They indicate something of the standard of living for an early twentieth century woman of considerable wealth. Custodial History : Materials were found in a closet in the basement of the Campbell House by restoration architect Albert Staehli in the course of a detailed structural evaluation of the house in 1984. The materials had apparently been in the closet since the death of Amasa B. Campbell in 1912. After the death of Campbell's wife, Grace, in 1924, their daughter donated the home to the Eastern Washington State Historical Society for use as a museum. Sources: Fahey, John. Campbell House. Spokane, Wash.: Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society, 2005. Bean, Margaret. Campbell House. Spokane, Wash.: Eastern Washington State Historical Society, Campbell House Committee, 1965. Related Materials: See also Amasa B. Campbell Estate Papers (MsSC 226), Helen Campbell Diaries (MsSC 224), Allan Campbell Powell Papers (MsSC 327), Campbell and Campbell House Slides, Campbell House Research Files, Hecla Mining Company Records (Ms 71), Iris Nilsson Letters (MsSC 309), Helen Campbell and Bill Powell Photographs, Finch Investment Company Records (Ms 52), Campbell House Architectural Drawings, and Campbell House Decorator's Plan. Online finding aid available: http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv64307.
Category: Manuscript Collection
Related Objects:
2485.1 (W. Thomas Smith, Painting; Portrait, Portrait of Amasa Campbell, 1904)
Credit Line: Amasa B. Campbell Papers (Ms 38), Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA.

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