Abstract
The Fred A. and Clara G. Monson Papers (1860s-1976) consist of photographs, postcards, scrapbooks, greeting and sympathy cards, and documents related to Fred Monson's employment and the Monson's Las Vegas "Rock House" residence.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Fred A. and Clara G. Monson Papers (1860s-1976) consist of photographs, postcards, scrapbooks, greeting and sympathy cards, and documents related to Fred Monson's employment and Monson's Las Vegas "Rock House" residence. The bulk of the photographs date to the 1930s and 1940s, and include images of family, hunting trips, excursions to various western states, the construction of Monson's stone-built "Rock House" in 1946, and an image of the interior of Monson's Machine shop, taken about 1926.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in original order.
Biographical / Historical Note
Fred and Clara Monson settled in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1922, deciding on the location after their car broke down on the outskirts of the city. Monson quickly established himself in business, first operating a machine shop and then moving into mining and construction. For many years he owned and operated lead and silver mines near Tonopah, Nevada, as well as stone quarries in Crystal, Nevada and Ione, California. Additionally, he ran the Monson Sand and Gravel Plants in Boulder City and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Monson purchased extensive property in the city, eventually building fifteen homes for resale. The Monson's private home was called the "Rock House," a structure he built himself between 1946 and 1947. It was constructed almost entirely from travertine and white quartz, quarried from his mines in huge slabs.
Although Fred and Clara Monson had no children, they enjoyed a close relationship with their niece from her birth; many of the photographs in the collection show this relationship. Fred Monson died in 1959, at the age of 72; his wife Clara survived him, dying in 1978.
Source:
Las Vegas Review-Journal clipping, dated 1959.
Preferred Citation
Fred A. and Clara G. Monson Papers, 1860s-1976. MS-00207. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Accession numbers T-139 and 1971-003.
Processing Note
In 2018, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Melise Leech rehoused the materials and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace.