Special Collections and Archives cares for thousands of rare books that do not circulate like traditional library books but can be used by patrons in our Reading Room. The largest collection of rare books is known as the Day-Northwest Collection, named for Jerome J. Day. Day was a silver mining magnate, a State Senator for Latah County (1909-1912), and a University of Idaho Regent (1933-1941). Upon his death, Day’s extensive personal library of books, some 3,000 volumes largely focused on Pacific Northwest history, were donated to the University of Idaho Library’s rare book department.
Within the collection is The Report on the Construction of a Military Road. Built between 1859 and 1862 and nowadays known as the “Mullan Road,” it was a 624-mile wagon road that passed through the Idaho Panhandle. A company led by Captain John Mullan surveyed and laid the road between Fort Benton, Montana and Fort Walla Walla, Washington. It connected the Great Plains to the Pacific Northwest.
Gustav Sohon served as illustrator, topographer, and interpreter on the project. His sketches and illustrations later were used to create the maps and charts of the topography in the final report.
Shown here are some pages from the report.
The maps are attached to the book and much larger than the Archives’ scanner can accomodate. It was necessary to scan the map in sections and then reassemble it digitally. The completed images show not only the fold lines on the map but the curves in the paper that the folds caused.
Resources
Day Northwest (Day-NW) Book collection, circa 1800s - Present
Report on the construction of a military road from Fort Walla-Walla to Fort Benton, Day Northwest (Day-NW) Book collection, UA963 .A5 1863
McDermott, Paul D. and Ronald E. Grim, The Case of the Mullan Road, Washington State Historical Society.