Abstract
The James Cashman Sr. Photograph Collection (approximately 1905 to 1975) consists of black-and-white photographic prints, negatives, slides, and albums as well as a glass plate negative. The photographs depict four major subjects: Cashman's family, friends, and associates; Cashman's businesses; the Hoover Dam and Colorado River; and various locations across Nevada.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The James Cashman Sr. Photograph Collection (approximately 1905 to 1975) consists of black-and-white photographic prints, negatives, slides, and albums as well as a glass plate negative. The photographs depict four major subjects: Cashman's family, friends, and associates; Cashman's businesses; the Hoover Dam and Colorado River; and various locations across Nevada. Notable images depict Cashman's businesses in Searchlight and Las Vegas, Nevada, Cashman with multiple prominent Las Vegas residents, and the Cashman family in the first half of the twentieth century. The collection also depicts the Cashman Colorado River ferry service, the Hoover Dam project, Cashman Field and the Cashman baseball team in Las Vegas, and street scenes of Searchlight and Las Vegas in the early 1900s.
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 are arranged by topic.
Biographical / Historical Note
James "Big Jim" Cashman was born in Ladue, Missouri on December 16, 1884 to Benjamin Franklin Cashman and Ella Mary Stovall. Cashman moved to Searchlight, Nevada in 1904. By 1910 Cashman opened an automobile garage in Searchlight, and eventually expanded into selling automobiles. Cashman moved from Searchlight to Las Vegas, Nevada once the mining boom in Searchlight ended around 1920, and opened a garage next the Overland Hotel on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. Cashman married Leah Barker in 1923 and together had two children: Tona in 1924, and James Jr. in 1926.
The voters of Clark County, Nevada elected Cashman as county commissioner from 1920 to 1928. During this time, he operated a ferry service across the Colorado River, until the beginning of the Hoover Dam project, which he advocated. In 1931 Cashman sold six Caterpillar Inc. diesel tractors to Six Companies Inc., which established him as a partner on the project. Upon completion of the Hoover Dam, Cashman operated scenic tours of Lake Mead and continued operating an automobile dealership until his retirement in 1955, when he passed control of his companies to his children.
Cashman remained active in organizations in Las Vegas such as the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Las Vegas Rotary Club until his death, on December 30, 1962 due to a heart condition. Clark County named James Cashman Middle School in honor of James Cashman Sr. and his family's contributions to the development of the city. The family was inducted into the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' (UNLV) Nevada Business Hall of Fame in 2007.
Sources:
"Big Jim Cashman." Cashman Equipment. Accessed December 31, 2019. https://www.cashmanequipment.com/about/cashman-history/big-jim
"Commissioner James Cashman." Clark County Nevada. Accessed December 31, 2019. http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/parks/Documents/centennial/commissioners/commissioner-j-cashman.pdf
Fechita, Bogdan. ""Big" Jim Cashman, Everything Started with 10¢." Casino Inside (Romania). Accessed December 31, 2019. https://www.casinoinside.ro/%E2%80%9Ebig-jim-cashman-totul-a-inceput-cu-10%C2%A2/?lang=en
Genealogy files about "James Cashman." Accessed December 31, 2019. Accessed from Ancestry.com and FindaGrave.com.
Preferred Citation
James Cashman Sr. Photograph Collection, approximately 1905-1975. PH-00013. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 1983 by Tona Cashman Seifert and James Cashman Jr.; accession numbers 1983-059 and T-041.
Processing Note
In 2019, as part of a backlog elimination project, Ryan DiPaolo arranged and described the materials, wrote the finding aid, and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.