M.L. (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom papers, 1855-2005

Overview of the Collection

Creator
M.L. (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom
Title
M.L. (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom papers
Dates
1855-2005 (inclusive)
1855-1968 (bulk)
Quantity
0.5 linear ft.
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0239Stangroom (collection)
Summary
The collection comprises papers generated by Bellingham Bay and British Columbia Railroad engineer M.L. (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom, including correspondence regarding his experiences, work and travel in the Sierra Nevada Region circa 1855-1973.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

M. L. (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom was born in 1832 in England. After attending school in Switzerland, he relocated back to England where he worked for the North Staffordshire Railway. Following a brief stay in India, Stangroom immigrated to the United States, landing initially in New York. Stangroom then traveled to California and Nevada where he engaged in mining speculation and railroad surveying. In 1888, at the request of railroad magnate Pierre Cornwall, Stangroom moved to Bellingham, Washington to assist in building the Bellingham Bay and British Columbia railway. In 1901 he was appointed State Supervising Engineer in Seattle. Stangroom died in 1913 at the age of 81.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The M. L. (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom papers document the early career and activities of an engineer for the Bellingham Bay & British Columbia Railroad. The collection spans the years 1855-2005, with the bulk of the material ranging from 1855-1968. Stangroom's personal papers include a resume and fifteen-page report regarding the construction of the Bellingham Bay & British Columbia railroad (for which he served as engineer).

The bulk of the collection comprises letters from Stangroom to his mother and siblings regarding his travels and experiences in the western United States. In a letter dated 1855, Stangroom writes of his plan to go to the United States from India to enjoy better business prospects. Subsequent correspondence documents Stangroom’s experiences in California and the Sierra-Nevada region circa 1855-1873. His letters include reference to the Chinese quarter of Sacramento, the Placerville mining community, and the adverse road and weather conditions he encountered during his travels. Stangroom describes his experiences prospecting for gold in the Sierra Nevadas, life in the mining town of Michigan Bluff in Placer County, California, and the mining processes of the 1850s and 1860s. He writes of a town destroyed by fire in 1856, and also of interactions between white settlers and Native Americans. A June 1858 letter describes how Californians are driven “stark raving mad” by the lure of gold in British Columbia, with hundreds of men leaving daily for the Fraser River. Later letters from 1865 and 1866 refer to Stangroom’s work for the Western Pacific Railroad, and to surveying a line between Sacramento and Stockton.

Stangroom’s letters provide rich description of western landscapes including California redwood forests and the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The correspondence reveals aspects of his personal and family life, including his courtship and eventual marriage to Emily Stewart in December 1856 in Sulphur Springs, California. An 1857 letter reflects the isolation of many miners and California settlers: when Emily Stangroom falls ill, there is no physician nearby to attend her.

The collection also contains condolence letters to Stangroom’s daughter Zoe Stangroom Kindall, written after the death of her husband, and newspaper clippings documenting M. L. Stangroom’s achievements. Other documents include an affidavit from Mabel Stangroom Egan affirming her relationship to her sister, Zoe Stangroom.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

M.L. (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The M.L (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom papers are organized in accordance with the following series arrangement

  • Series I. M.L. (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom papers 1855-2005
  • Series II. Zoe Stangroom Kindall papers 1940-1968

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Acquisition Information

Josephine McNeill, granddaughter of M.L. Stangroom, donated his papers to the Center for Pacific Northwest Stuies in February 2006.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series I:  M.L. (Marc La Riviere) Stangroom Papers , 1855-2005 Return to Top

Folder 1/2 contains information about Stangroom’s leadership in building a railroad line to connect Bellingham Bay with the Canadian Pacific Railway, as well as creating and operating two saw mills, and supplying the towns of Old and New Whatcom with water from Lake Whatcom.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1 undated, circa 1901
1/2 undated
1/3


circa 1855-1873
1/4
Newspaper Clippings re M.L. Stangroom
undated, 2005

Series II:  Zoe Stangroom Kindall papers, 1940-1968 Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/5
Mabel Stangroom affidavit for Zoe Stangroom Kindall 1940
1/6
Condolence Letter on the death of Joseph W. Kindall
1967-1968

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Gold miners--Sierra Nevada Region (Calif. and Nev.)--History--Sources.
  • Gold mines and mining--Sierra Nevada Region (Calif. And Nev.)--History--Sources.
  • Mining camps--California--Placer County--History--Sources.
  • Prospecting--Sierra Nevada Region (Calif. and Nev.)--History--Sources.
  • Railroad engineers--United States--Correspondence.
  • Railroads--California--History--Sources.
  • Railroads--Washington (State)--Whatcom County--History--Sources.

Personal Names

  • Stangroom, M. L. (Marc La Riviere), 1832-1913.--Archives.

Corporate Names

  • Bellingham Bay and British Columbia Railroad Co. (creator)

Geographical Names

  • California--Description and travel--Sources.
  • Placer County (Calif.)--Description and travel--Sources.
  • Sierra Nevada Region (Calif. and Nev.)--Description and travel--Sources.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Personal correspondence.
  • Records (Documents)