The Don Ashbaugh Papers (1950-1960) document Las Vegas history, Nevada history, and ghost towns. The collection is comprised of the working manuscript of Don Ashbaugh's book, Nevada's Turbulent Yesterday: A Study in Ghost Towns. The collection also contains typescript drafts, newspaper clippings, and a geographical index of Nevada ghost towns.
The George E. Franklin Sr. Papers consist primarily of two original manuscripts by George E. Franklin (1890-1971), an English-born writer and former Las Vegas resident. Franklin published From Cotswolds to High Sierras (Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, 1966) and The Fallacy of Appeasment (New York: Carlton Press, 1968). The collection also includes an undated newspaper article announcing Franklin's donation of the manuscripts to Nevada Southern University (now the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.)
The Liberty Engine Company No. 1 Records (1876-1927) consist of two accounting ledgers belonging to the Liberty Engine Company No. 1, the fifth volunteer fire company formed in Gold Hill, Nevada in 1868. One ledger is signed by a the wife of J. H. (John H.) Witte, who was listed in an 1880 edition of the Gold Hill Daily News as a member of the Liberty Engine Company No. 1. The collection also contains banking transactions dating from 1926 to 1927 and a handwritten account of various payments made to the heirs of a Mrs. S. K. Witte in 1906.
The collection consists of three bound volumes and a small leather folder, documenting Masonic Lodge activity in Gold Hill, Nevada between 1866 and 1917. The volumes contain lodge meeting minutes from 1866 to 1872; lodge membership records from 1866 to 1872; and lodge financial records from 1866 to 1917.
The Basic Magnesium Inc. (BMI) Records and Photographs (1933-1965) document the planning, construction, and management of the BMI magnesium manufacturing plants near present-day Henderson in Clark County, Nevada and a magnesium mining operation in Gabbs, Nye County, Nevada. Materials include chronological reports, press releases, telegrams, budgets, building diagrams, maps, and black-and-white photographic prints. The records document employee housing and infrastructure projects, magnesium production statistics, and employee data.
The Wilson Family Papers (1875-1918) document the personal and professional lives of James B. Wilson Sr., James B. Wilson Jr., and George Twison "Tweed" Wilson, early pioneers in Southern Nevada. The collection is comprised of personal correspondence, invoices and advertisements from the Wilson family business, the Sandstone Ranch, and photographs of the extended Wilson family.
Charles Lanman Papers (1864-1868) contain the title page of the Dictionary of the United States Congress and the General Government, written by Lanman, solicitation requests for biographical information from notable government figures, and written replies. Of interest with regard to Nevada are the original handwritten letters from James W. Nye and William M. Stewart.
The Willis B. Smith Collection (1958) on Western Airlines consists of two news releases from Western Airlines about the company's history and two letters to Willis B. Smith. The collection describes the founding of Western Airlines and its early flights from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California. It also contains a color photograph of a Western Air DC-10 airliner in flight.
The Stella Champo Iaconis Papers consist of a certificate for proficiency in Rapid Legible Business Writing from the Palmer Method of Business Writing given on May 11, 1927; a certificate of promotion to high school in Clark County, Nevada dated May 25, 1927; and an autograph book signed by classmates at Las Vegas High School in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1928.
The William G. Morris Papers (1909-1935) contain postcards of Southern Nevada, correspondence, receipts, and a California sales tax schedule.