297

Contracts and correspondence regarding the Eureka manganese mine up through the Great Depression.

Various places, 1917-1932
Approximately 50 items (0.1 linear feet) in 2 folders; generally minor wear.

  • Notes: Legh Wilber Reid Jr. (1867-1961), grandson of railroad executive James H. Reid (see lot 296 above), was a teacher in Haverford, PA. He learned that a piece of family land in Page County, VA had deposits of manganese, a metal used in stainless steel production, and attempted to contract it out for commercial production. This lot consists of his contracts with the Shenandoah Valley Manganese Corporation and the Eureka Manganese Company, legal proceedings, and correspondence. The mine was not terribly productive or profitable, and just as major capital improvements were made, the Great Depression hit. The desperate letters from mining engineer Paul Tyler in 1931 and 1932 illustrate the difficulty of mining during a depression. On 8 May 1931, he wrote: "As a result of world conditions and the Depression in the American iron and steel industries, a demand for manganese has virtually ceased to exist during the last 6 or 8 months."

    While we try to avoid wild exaggeration, we are not aware that any manganese mining archives of this significance have ever appeared at auction. 
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November 20, 2025 10:30 AM EST
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