William H. Wright papers

The William H. Wright Papers consist of correspondence, printed materials, personal papers, and photographs that document the mining industry in the St. Helens Mining District of southwestern Washington. The papers also document stockholder relations with specific Washington and Oregon mining corporations. The bulk of the material relates to financial investments that William H. Wright and his wife, Ella, made in the Cascadia Mining and Development Company, the Levens Ledge Gold Mining Company, and the Polar Star Mining Company. The papers span the years 1897-1954, and include letters addressed to Wright's wife, in-laws, and son.

Series I. Correspondence is organized into three subseries: Family Correspondence, Business Correspondence and Third Party Correspondence. Family Correspondence consists primarily of letters from William Wright's brother-in-law, Eugene A. Sessions. According to a letter he wrote in 1898, Sessions was a proprietor of a grocery and supply store in Portland, Oregon. His letters to his sister and her husband, mostly addressed to the latter, describe mining investment opportunities in the mining district around St. Helens, and trace Session's career as a mining investor and entrepreneur and the increasing financial involvement of the Wrights in his ventures. Sessions' letters also discuss the growth and financial state of his mining and other business enterprises, which included the Cascadia Mining and Development Co., the Levens Ledge Gold Mining Co., and the Polar Star Mining Co. Letters from Sessions to his parents in Woodstock, Illinois are also present.

Business Correspondence consists primarily of stockholder letters to the Wrights from the Cascadia Mining and Development Company and the Polar Star Mining Company as well as letters replying to William Wright's inquiries about these corporations in the 1930s. Third Party Correspondence includes letters reporting on E. A. Sessions's mining properties in the St. Helens Mining District as well as two letters written by Henry E. Wright concerning his father's financial interests in corporations in the area.

Series II. Printed Materials consists of prospectuses and brochures for the Cascadia Mining and Development Company and the Levens Ledge Gold Mining Company of Portland, Oregon.

Series III. Personal Papers is organized into Financial and Legal Papers and Other Papers. Other Papers includes newspaper clippings, a map of the St. Helens Mining District, and a phone book containing birth and death dates for members of the Sessions and Wright families.

Series IV. Photographs consists of three photographs by James H. Eaton: "Soda Springs Camp", a captioned image picturing pack animals, men, and one woman in June 1897; "Minnie Lee", an image of the entrance of the Minnie Lee mine; and "Polar Star", an image of four unidentified miners in front of the entrance of the Polar Star mine. An uncaptioned mounted photograph by J. A. Meiser of two loggers sitting in the cleft of a tree they've nearly sawn through is also present.