geological and mineralogicalcabinets have been removed from thethird story to the basement (under thenorth wing of the building), wherecommodious rooms have been fitted fortheir reception." (Chieftain, 21 March1902, p. 3; Fig. 1).

The first curatorsCredit for assembling this materialinto a bona fide collection must certainlygo to Presidents Fayette A. Jones(1898-1902) and Charles R. Keyes(1902-1905). Jones was an engineerand Keyes a geologist, and both menhad a deep appreciation for thescience of mineralogy and the miner-als to aid in instruction. The Chieftain (29March 1902, p. 3) noted that the collectionincluded "scores of specimens...fromall parts of the world...ProfessorJones has taken great pains duringhis travels to gather together thiscollection." Keyes augmented theschool's collection with that of his ownand made it available for study by theadvanced student. Keyes' collectionconsisted of "a small but carefully selectedseries of crystals, collections of crystallinerocks, chiefly from type-localities ofEurope and this country, and workingsuites of fossils, illustratingstructures and the types of life from allthe various geological formations, bothAmerican and European, these beingespecially rich in crinoids, whichnumber upwards of 2,500 speci-mens." (Small indeed!) (NMSM, 1902,p. 97). Soon after the arrival ofPresident Keyes, the collection hadagain outgrown its assigned spaceand was moved to the first floor northwing of Old Main where it would remainthroughout its existence (NMSM,1903, p. 95). Keyes extended Jones'efforts in improving the educationalutility and display value of the collec-tion not only in regard to the typeand quality of material but to the displaycases themselves: "The school hasrecently received from the U.S.Museum of Washington, D.C., anumber of working blue prints andspecifications of unit exhibition casesfor minerals, ores, and rock speci-mens. They are unique in many waysand are the final results of selection,adaptation, and modification of all that isbest in museum exhibits from Europeand this country." (Chieftain, 28 Nov.1903, p. 4). Many of these cases, madefrom quality hardwoods and adornedwith beautiful Queen Ann styling,were constructed and served themuseum well for many years (Figs. 2,4). Keyes went one step further thanJones in recognizing the value of thecollections by proposing acomprehensive plan for a complete andseparate museum facility. The buildingwas to be fire-proof and "especiallyadapted for museum purposes withlarge display halls on the first andsecond floors, around which are ar-ranged small rooms for specialcollections, and for research [authors'emphasis] work, and with workrooms

and storerooms in the basement"(NMSM, 1902, p. 95). The proposal diedwith Keyes' departure. Both menoversaw the management and use ofthe collection and the acquisition ofnew material. Thus the first curatorswere the Institute presidentsthemselves. Thereafter, until thecollection was transferred to the NewMexico Bureau of Mines, the geo logydepartment chai rmen would serveas curator of collections.

The first mineral showsThe first few years of the twentieth cen-tury were busy ones for Fayette A. Jones.Subsequent to serving as president ofthe School of Mines until 1902, he wasfield assistant to the U.S. GeologicalSurvey collect ing mining stat ist icsfor the New Mexico mining census. Healso enjoyed a very busy consultingcareer and was a member of theNew Mexico Board of Expositionmanagers to the World's Fair in St.Louis. He was, in fact, chairman of thecommittee on mines and miningfrom 1903-04 (Twitchell, p. 83) and wasthe driving force behind the School'sand New Mexico's superb mining andmineral displays at the exposition. Hisefforts were amply rewarded: "Themajor part of the New Mex i comine ra l exh ib i t a t the LouisianaPurchase Exploration at St. Louisconsisted of collections prepared by theSchool of Mines. The display occupied aprominent place near the center ofthe Palace of Mines and Metallurgy.As the only exhibit of its kind by amining school it attracted wide attention.

Arranged in a score or more of large caseswere the leading mineral products of NewMexico, selected with special care asto value and beauty. Included were anumber of cases of remarkably rare andshowy zinc and copper minerals andores. A special series consisted of zinccarbonate minerals, which for variety,delicacy of coloration and beauty havenever been surpassed. Two im-

im-

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mense pyramids of showy crystallineores were embraced in the display.Four large special collections were ofparticular interest. These consisted of1) the largest variety of zinc and copperminerals and ores from a single locality;2) a collection of rare zinc and copperores; 3) a unique collection of showycrystals of zinc and copper minerals; and4) a complete smelting proposition from

one mine. (NMSM, 1907, pp. 90-91).From this description one maysafe ly deduce that the mines of theMagdalena district were heavilyrepresented with many f ineexamples o f smi thsoni te ,aurichalcite, azurite, and malachit eand probably native copper andcuprite as well (Fig. 3). Many of thejournalists and

critics who attended the Expositionconsidered the New Mexico display to beexcellent—second only to that ofColorado: "Next to Colorado, thegreatest mineral exhibit at the World'sFair is carried by New Mexico, and thedisplay is attracting the attention ofthe eastern world. As this exhibit waschiefly obtained and prepared by theSchool of Mines at the solicitation ofthe Board of Commissioners, the peopleof the territory are to be congratulatedthat i t has an insti tutioncommanding the highest respecto f the mining world" (Chieftain, 30June 1904, p. 1, reprinted from a St.Louis paper). Note that critics thenwere no more reliable than now: "Incompetition with the world, NewMexico takes the silver medal oneducational exhibits; the gold medalon the mineral collection; grand prizeon the ethnological exhibits; gold medal onwheat, alfalfa, and mohair; also fiftyother awards" (Chieftain, 5 Nov 1904,p. 1). Incredibly, the New Mexico Schoolof Mines, its existence hardly knownoutside the territorial borders,achieved first place against the rest ofthe world. After the Fair closed, the col-lections were returned to Socorroand were again set up in the firstfloor north wing of Old Main.Proudly and prominently featured inthe center of the north wall were thegold and silver medals (Fig. 4).

Faye t te A . Jones was never oneto remain content with pastachievements. Dur ing his secondte rm as pres ident (1913-1917) heagain thrust the New Mexico School ofMines into the limelight, this time atthe Panama-California Exposition inSan Diego in 1915. Jones was"appointed Mining Commissioner ofthe New Mexico Board of ExpositionManagers and had direct charge ofcollecting and assembling themineralogical and geologicalexhibit," one of the best ever on thewest coast (NMSM, 1916, p. 91). TheNew Mexico Pavilion, modeled afterthe famous Church of Acoma andwhich still stands today as theBalboa Park Club Building (Avery J.Smith, pers . comm.) , held exhibitsfrom all over the new state. Themineral exhibit, to which the schoolcontributed, comprised four exhibitcases "filled with specimens of NewMexico minerals. Too large for anycase, a great block of copper-bearingporphyry stands directly in front ofthe door. The native metal runs inruddy veins throughout the tawnyrock...There are hundreds of strikingcolor e ffects among the minerals.Gold, gleaming and dull; whitesilver; o range and redpyr i tes . . .whi te mee rschaum;turquoise gems...There is one largeblock of coal, weighing 3000 pounds,which is reputed to be the largestever taken from the ground.. ."(San Diego Union, 8 Aug 1915, n.p.).The New Mexico building received agold medal; the special copper exhibitand the mineral exhibit won grandprizes. Surprisingly, the spe-

New Mexico Geology August 1997 67

cial coal exhibit took the gold medal (LosAngeles Times, 15 Aug 1915, Sec. I, p.8). The New Mexico Pavilion was sopopular the Board of ExpositionManagers elected to keep it open wellinto 1916. Thereafter, the mineralcollection was returned to Socorro,quite possibly accompanied by a

grand prize. Many have openlywondered how the tiny New MexicoSchool of Mines so quickly achieved aposition of prominence among miningschools and a reputation forscholastic excellence far larger thanthe institute itself. This is part of thereason.

The mineral museum would reachits zenith during the late 1920s. By 1927,the collections were housed in

twenty -two large cases which displayover 2000 minerals and ore specimens.About 2,500 additional mineral androck specimens are kept in the drawersof wall cabinets and cases. These arefrequently used in lectures and forexamination by the students. Of theentire collection of over 5,000 specimens,about two-fifths belong to the mineralcollection, two-fifths to the rock collection,and one-fifth to the paleontologicalcollection. (NMSM, 1927, p. 25).

The entire mineralogical collections werearranged, as much as possible,systematically according to Dana'sSystem of Mineralogy (NMSM, 1927, p.25). Supplement ing the mineralmaterial were 250 plaster and 600wooden crystal models, as well as over300 carefully selected natural crys-tals. The main collection alsoincluded some 250 specimensse lected to reveal crystal development(NMSM, 1927, p. 25).

And then, in a flash, on July 5, 1928at 1:30 in the afternoon, it was gone—literally. The fire, which was thoughtto have started spontaneously in ajanitor's closet under the main stairs,roared through the bui lding soquickly, l i t t le was saved.Stenographer Harriet Herkenhoffmanaged to save the vital records of theschool by tossing them into thefireproof safe in the President Wells'office but all else was a total loss: theawards, medals , ph otographs, theJohn Wesley Powell and Charles Lyellmanuscripts, and, of course, the fossils,and minerals (Chieftain, 7 July 1928, p.1). The vision of President Keyes' 25-year-old proposal to construct a separate,fire -proof museum facility vividlycom es back to haunt us, and themagnitude of the loss isoverwhelming. Had Keyes prevailed,the original collection would be with ustoday.

Re-establishmentof the Mineral Museum

The heartbreaking task of re-establish ing the museum would fallon the shoulders of Edgar H. Wells.President of the school from 1921 to1939, he was not only professor ofgeology and mineralogy and StateGeologist, but would become the firstDirector of the Bureau of Mines in1927 (Fig. 5). Like his predecessors, EdgarWells was aware of the futility of tryingto teach the earth sciences wi thoutthe advantage of nature's mineralogicaland geological products at hand. Adetermined effort was made and soonthe Institute would announce that

material for the new museum is being col-lected during the 1928-29 school year andwith the opening of school in the fall of1929 there will be on display in BrownHall a large and representative collectionof minerals, rocks, ore, and fossils...(NMSM, 1928, p. 21).

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Significantly, the followingannouncement was also made:

The State Bureau of Mines and MineralResources is making a collection of NewMexico minerals, ores, rocks, and fossils andthese will also be on display in Brown Hall(NMSM, 1928, p. 21).

Brown Hall, of course, is the two-story bui ld ing constructed dur ing1929 to replace Old Main and namedin honor of the recently deceased C.T. Brown, for many years a well-known mining man and"unquestionably the School of Minesbest f r iend and greates tbene fac to r" (NMSM, 1925, p. 45;Porphyry, 1925, p. 11; Eveleth, 1992; Fig.6). The new museum temporarilyoccupied a room in the basement ofthe new building but soon moved to alarge second-floor room on the southend when the second floor wasfinished (NMSM, 1929, p. 16). During1930, large additions were made andby the end of the year the collectionwas said to "have reached the highstandard o f the one destroyed inthe fire." (NMSM, 1930, p. 22). Andfive years later, "valuable addit ionshave been made to the museumrecently both by collection and purchase"(NMSM, 1935, p. 24).

The former is a pretty lofty statementconsidering the fact that the originalcol lection had taken the gold medalat the 1904 World's Fair. Alas, basedupon the authors' first -handknowledge (via the museum catalogs)of what was in the new collection priorto 1938, it was wishful thinking.Many alumni from 1928 -30 don'teven recall the school having a min-eral collection (Phil Mudgett,Lawson Entwistle, pers. comm.).However, a major event was about tooccur that would allow the museum toclaim at least some of its formerglory: the purchase of the C. T.Brown material. Among the severalenterprises of Cony T. Brown, miningwas his forte. During the latter part ofthe 19th and early 20th centuries heleased and opera ted numerous minesall over New Mexico and thesouthwestern United States, many ofwhich have since become near-leg -endary for the mineral treasures theyproduced. Brown was present whenthe great lead, zinc, and coppercarbonate orebodies were developed inthe Magdalena district and whennative silver and chlorargyrite we res t i l l c o n s ide re d o re m i ne ra l sthroughout much of the miningworld (today these species areconsidered rare mineral curiosities).It's an understatement to say that heassembled a spectacular collection.Brown was an excellent horse-trader—what he couldn't collect himself heacquired by exchange; as a resulthis collection was worldwide inscope although the focus was onNew Mexico and the southwesternU.S. A rather persistent legend in thenew museum has the Brown familygiving his collection to the school uponor soon after his death (17 Jan 1925).Such is the stuff of

which legends are made : i f t rue ,the Brown collection would have beenlost in the July 1928 fire along with therest of the museum. The fact is, theschool purchased the Brown collectiondirectly from son Tom, in 1938, for theprincely sum of $200 (Regents, 1938). Onesuspects that the purchase price waspartly a token amount and partly areflection of Tom's philanthropy. Forthe Wells administration, the purchasewas a stroke of genius: the collectionhad finally achieved the high standardof the earlier one, and just in time!(This is not to slight the manycontributions made by the alumni ofthe period who routinely sentspecimens, many of them co l le c tedwhi le pursu ing the i r worldwidecareers, back to Socorro. The catalogis full of their names, and the collectionwas measurably enriched.)

The half-century mark—a time to celebrate

The Brown addition was a most fortu-itous purchase at a critical moment inhistory: the Institute would soon becelebrating its Fiftieth Anniversary inconjunction with the Coronado CuartoCentennial and the museum wouldplay a central role in the festivities.Riley M. Edwards, a member of theCoronado Cuarto CentennialCommission, was the indiv idualwho original ly suggested that themineral m u s e u m b e r e n a m e d" C o r o n a d o ' s Treasure Chest...sinceone of the objects of the famousexpedition in search of the SevenCities of Cibola and Quivira was t h ed i s c o v e r y o f m i n e r a l w e a l t h "(Chieftain, 19 Oct. 1939, p. 1; NMSM,1940, p. 22). Some funding was provided

by the Commission, possibly for someremodeling of the museum room andconstruction of new cases (C. T. Smith,pers. comm.). New Mexico GovernorMiles, principal speaker at theceremony, praised the work done by theSchool over the past half -century andhad some particularly poignant words tosay about Dr. Edgar Wells who hadsuffered a tragic death earlier in theyear. President C. E. Needham formallydedicated four new buildings on campusthat had been constructed with financialassistance through the federal WorksProgress Administration and the PublicWorks Administration. Part of the ceremo-ny for the "Treasure Chest" dedicationtook place in the museum. Wells washonored and forever remembered bydedicating one of the buildings, Wells Hall,to his memory (Albuquerque Journal,Oct. 28, 1939, n. p.; AlbuquerqueTribune, Oct. 28, 1939, n. p.). It was afitting tribute to a man who was trulydedicated to the best interests of both theschool and the students.

The years immediately following theCentennial were, at best,anticlimactic. The glory days of thefiftieth anniversary appear to havebeen quickly forgotten. P re s id e n tWe l l s was su cce e de d b y PresidentsNeedham and Reece, both of whomserved during some very troublesometimes for the school and can certain lybe forgiven if their attentions weredrawn away from such esoteric thingsas mineral museums. The realproblems began with the arrival ofthe Institute's first physicist president,E. J. Workman, subsequent to whichthe museum would become little morethan an orphaned child of the geologydepartment. Workman was a very goodpresident, but he was deeply

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invo lved with rebuilding theschool 's scholastic reputation andenrollment. Clay T. Smith arrived inSocorro in February 1947; later thatyear he was transferred to the geologydepartment and was assignedresponsibility for the museum bydepartment chairman Georges Vorbe.Vorbe was frustrated by the lack of aseparate facility dedicated to thegeology department. Such a faci l i ty,he envisioned, would include "notonly classrooms and laboratories buta we l l-appointed museum" (NMSM,Biennial Report, p. 44). The geologydepartment eventually received addi-tional space but at the expense of, notin addition to, the museum. By1950, the museum room wasconverted into a classroom, and thecollection was moved to the basement onthe north end of the building, a roomalso used by the New Mexico Bureauof Mines. A few display cases were left inthe upper hallway on the second floorso at least a few specimens remained forall to see (Clay T. Smith, pers. comm.1996). The senior author (RWE) arrivedin 1963 and clearly recalls those cases,which remained there throughout 1964.Most of the remainder, with theexception of several boxes of duplicateand low-end material that was storedin the basement of Driscoll Hall,went to the Brown Hall basement.

The basement was a dismal place for thecollection; it was poorly lighted andthe cases, as well, had no lighting fixtures.The room was not readily accessibleto the occasional visitor and, in fact, itwas kept locked most of the time(Robert Bieber-man, pers. comm.1996). Smith, who was told when hearrived in the department, "this isthe museum, look at the prettyspecimens, here 's more materia l ,and [now] do something with it"(Clay T. Smith, pers. comm. 1996),was distressed by the situation. Hevery much wanted to "do something"with the collection, but what? He hadjust two staff members and onegraduate student at his disposal andcould not adequately run thedepartment and simultaneouslyprovide the attention the museumde se rved . H i s so lu t i on appearedwhen he read the statutory language inthe Act that established the New MexicoBureau of Mines and MineralResources in 1927, particularly thatsection that stated that among theobjects and duties of the Bureauwould be "to collect typical geological andmineral specimens" (Laws of New Mexico,1927). Of course, very similar languagewas to be found in the territorial act thatcreated the School of Mines, but thatwas, by now, long forgotten. Thisdiscovery, along with the dismals i tu a t i o n i n th e b a se me n tm u se u m encouraged Clay Smi th tobadger Dr. Eugene Callaghan, thenDirector of the Bureau, to acceptresponsibility for the col lect ion, atransfer that was, Smith argued, bothreasonable and appropriate. Callaghanfinally agreed to accept respon

sibility when the Bureau could provideappropriate space.

The Bureau of Mines building

By 1957 that t ime had arrived:the Workman administration and theBoard of Regents felt the need to movethe Bureau of Mines into a dedicatedfacility. A proposal was submitted tothe state legislature to fund a 30,000-ft2

Mineral Industries Building to providespace for, among other things, "1.the mining and petroleumlaboratories of the State Bureau ofMines...2. (a) the storage of 'geological andmineral specimens and samples ofproducts...,' the collection of which theBureau is required by legislativeenactment." ("A Building," ca 1957, n.p.).The funds were appropriated, but theBureau of Mines Building wouldbecome an addition to the alreadyexisting Workman Center instead ofthe separate structure originallyenvisioned. This plus later additionswas to become home for the Bureaufor the next forty years. The Bureauof Mines wing became available in1962, but at the last minuteWorkman was hesitant to allowspace for a mineral museum. Thenew director of the Bureau, Alvin E.(Lefty) Thompson, insisted that themuseum be included in the plans andlargely because of his perseverance,the first facility on campusspecifically designed for the purposebecame the new museum (Frank E.Kottlowski, pers. comm. 1996).

The Workman Center museum

This museum was an excellent facilityfor its time: the largest of four bayswas dedicated appropriately enough toNew Mexico's minerals. The three smallerbays displayed (1) minerals of the U.S.exclusive of New Mexico, (2) mineralsof the world exclusive of the U.S., and(3) a specially built fluorescent display (Fig.7). The west wall contained a series ofshallow cases that displayed at differenttimes, the systematic (Dana Classification)mineral collection, and later, speciallydesigned displays highlighting NewMexico's more productive miningdistricts. Five additional stand-alonecases featured either new acquisitions orsales material.

The collection had barely been set upin the new museum when a newproblem appeared. E. J. Workmanretired as president in late 1964 andwas replaced by Sterling Colgate. Thenew president, like his predecessor, wasnot an earth-scientist and did not fullyappreciate the educational utility of amineral collection in the computer age. Heventured a major step further thanWorkman, however, and actuallysuggested that the Bureau sell the entirecollection and convert the museumspace into o f f i ce s (Edward Bing le r ,Jacques Renault , pers. comm.1996) . Jacques Renault was hired as apost-doc toral research assistant by Dr.Frederick Kuellmer. Kuellmer soonresigned and Renault became the de-factomineralogist

70 August 1997 New Mexico Geology

at the Bureau. He took President Colgate'ssuggestion as a very real threat andimmediately proposed a novel projectto computerize the entire museumholdings (Jacques Renault, pers.comm. 1996). Just one othercollection, that of the Smithsonian,was undergoing sophisticatedcomputerization at the time. Theproject, the results of which werepublished in Bureau Circular 111(Renault et al., 1970), highlighted threemajor aspects of the collection,aspects which had been fairlyobvious since the early days to earthscientists (vis-a-vis Keyes' earlyproposal) but apparently not soobvious to others. The first, andmost evident was the aestheticaspect: people derived much enjoy-ment from observing the colorfuland beautiful specimens. The second wasthe teaching aspect: the museumcollection played a significant role inscience education by maintaining andproviding material to teach mineralogy,crystallography, petrology, etc. Thethird is the research aspect: theBureau's collection, unlike manyothers, is a working collection inthat samples of various, andsometimes quite rare ores, rocks,and minerals, are routinelyprovided to researchers forchemical and mineralogicalanalyses, x-ray standards, etc.(Renault et al., 1970, p. 1). Should theresearcher desire a suite of base-metalsulfides from the metallogenic provincesof southwestern New Mexico, manyfrom mines which have not beenworked in nearly 100 years, thismuseum could provide it.

The computer program enabledthe researcher to quickly cross-reference the entire collection todetermine such parameters asmineral assemblages, geographiclocality, and physical location, i.e.,storage or display (Renault et al., 1970, p.3). President Colgate saw thepublication, apparently wassatisfied, and the idea of selling themuseum contents quietly died.This incident brings to mind one

additional aspect: preservation. In thisregard, the museum is an archive.Over a period of time many of the displaypieces become irreplaceable relics ofNew Mexico's and the world'smineralogical heritage as, one by one ,the mines and distr icts f romwhence they came are reclaimed bynature and more recently by man. Toremain a viable entity, the museummust maintain the public trustthrough long-term stability. Only bydoing so will donors be comfortableentrusting their valuable anddesirable objects to its care. The lastthing a donor wants to see is aunique, world-class specimen orartifact sold or traded off a year or twolater.Meanwhile, Edward Bingler had

begun the f irst systematicinventory o f the school's collection in1965. And herein lies a fine littlemystery involving the old (original)museum card file: that of the so-called

missing C. T. Brown specimens.The Brown collection occupies the first1.000 or so numbers in the cardcatalog and is followed by an unusedblock up to number 3,000. Why shouldthis be so? At least one chronicler,Jacques Renault, has attributed theunused block to that portion of the C.T. Brown collection lost in the 1928fire in Old Main, vis-a-vis the following:

The mineralogical museum was begunin the early 1900s when C. T. Brown, amember of the Board of Regents, gave2,565 specimens to the New MexicoInstitute of Mining and Technology (thencalled New Mexico School of Mines).Unfortunately, 50 percent of the Browncollection was destroyed by fire in1928... (Renault et al., 1970, p. 1).

There are two problems with this:first, the number of specimensindicated by Renault falls significantlyshort of 3,000. Second, as we have seenearlier, the school did not acquire theBrown collection until 1938, some tenyears after the fire. When Binglerbegan the inventory project, the onlycatalog in existence (other than thehandwritten ledger bookaccompanying the Brown collection)was the original card file that issti ll maintained in the museum'sarchives today as the working hardcopy.Bingler accepted the informationrecorded on the cards and proceededto cross-check that information againstthe actual specimens in thecollection (Edward Bingler, pers. comm.1996) making additions or correctionsonly where obviously necessary. Heduly catalogued the 1,000 or soBrown specimens, and not findingthe others, he, like his predecessors,left vacant the next 2,000 numbers.We (RWE and VWL) initially assumed

that the card catalog was started uponthe arrival of the Brown collectionduring the Wells administration. Itseemed reasonable that the curatorat the time may not have known howmany specimens would be arrivingand set aside a block of 3,000 for thecollection. This could explain why theremainder of the school's collection,those specimens which had beenacquired for the new collectionsubsequent to the fire, werecatalogued after the Brown col lection,beginning with no. 3001. But it wasnot to be: Clay T. Smith clearly recallshis student assistants, Jack Reinhart andWoodrow Latvala, putting togetherthe first card catalog during ca 1947-48 (Clay T. Smith, pers. comm. 1996).Smith further recalled that the geologydepartment possessed an ancienttypewriter that produced onlyupper case letters, exactly what isto be seen today on the olderac cession cards. Reinhart andLatvala would doubtless choose tocatalog the Brown specimens first(they were certain ly the mostspectacular and interesting). Themore lackluster pieces could be donelater.What then, is the solution to this

mystery? Consider the following:Brown gave many specimens to the

School of Mines during his lifetime (priorto January 1925) (Porphyry, 1925, p. 108),but these indeed would have been in theOld Main display on that fateful dayand would have been totally lost. It isillogical, therefore, to assume thatReinhart and Latvala would leave anopen block of numbers for specimensthat no longer existed. Alternatively, ashas been suggested by Clay T. Smith, aportion of the Brown collection mayhave been retained by the family, aportion that the geology departmenthad reason to believe wouldeventually be transferred to the school.No evidence has surfaced to supportthis hypothesis, however, and noadditional C. T. Brown specimenshave appeared over the years.

In the final analys is , the gap inthe numbers and the reason for i tremain unresolved, the knowledge ofwhy it was done hav ing d ied wi thRe inhart and Latvala. Regardless,the authors are certain that there areno missing Brown specimens.

When Bingler left in 1967, Renault com-pleted the inventory. The remainder of thecollection, presumably the reserveand study material that had been stored inthe basement of Driscoll Hall, wasmoved to the museum storage area,and the transfer was complete (Renaultet al., 1970, p. 1; Richard Chaves, pers.comm. 1996). The Workman Centermuseum would remain home to thecollection for the next 30 years,during which time the catalogwould expand to include more than9,000 items.

Contributions of the museum curators,1963 to present

Over the years the museumcurators have left their mark on thecollections as well as on the museumsites. The authors regretfully have nodetailed information on the role ofcurators prior to 1963 other than theevents discussed elsewhere in the text.Since about 1963, mineralogists andother professional staff of the New MexicoBureau of Mines have had theadded responsibility of curating theBureau's collections, and they all havecontributed positively to the museum'ssuccess.

Edward Bingler (1963-1967; dates showservice as curator of collections)oversaw the transfer of the mineralcollection from the geologydepartment to the Bureau. Thus thetask of designing the initial layout andorganization of the displays fell uponhis shoulders. Bingler establishedboth the systematic (Dana) collectionin the Workman Center museum (recallthat the original collection in OldMain was also set up, in part, accordingto the Dana system) and the fluorescentdisplay.

Jacques Renault (1967-1974)completed the first inventory begun byBingler and, as we have seen,completed the first computercataloguing of the museum's hold-ings. Renault also vastly improvedboth the shelving and lighting in thedisplay

New Mexico Geology August 1997 71

cases and set up what would be thefirst of the Bureau's travelingdisplays at the Albuquerque airport.This display (from 1969-1974) occupiedone of the vendor cases seen bypassengers as they traversed theconcourses. New Mexico's mining dis -tricts were highlighted on a stategeological map and mineralspecimens or o re samples producedin the districts were displayed onnearby brackets. The display, from allaccounts, was very popular.

The popularity of the airportdisplay doubtless led in the 1970s to theBureau's "mineral-mobile," a travelingdisplay in the truest sense conceivedby Renault and then director, DonBaker. A single -axle t r a i l e r wa se qu ippe d wi th a we dge -shapedbody, fold-out door panels, and museum-type shelving. Minerals and ore specimensfrom the museum collection, as well asmaps, charts, and other p ublicationstraveled throughout the state withBureau personnel, providing a visual andinstructive adjunct to educationaltalks and seminars principally atsecondary schools. Other, less-mobile traveling displays have beenestablished at various times in theSanta Rita museum, Socorro Chamber ofCommerce, New Mexico State Fair, andSocorro County Fair, to name but afew. Additionally, specimens andartifacts are routinely loaned to otherinstitutions and museums.

Joseph Taggart (1974-1978)reinventori ed and relabelled theentire collection and made materialimprovements in both the Dana andf luo re sce n t d isp lays . Taggart wascurator during a difficult time atNMIMT, a time when theft and vandal -ism were rampant campus-wide. Taggartinstalled steel security doors at bothends of the Workman Center museumhallway as well as in the museumstorage area. Hard to believe butprior to this the muse um was wideopen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!Joe was also instrumental insecuring the first of the museum'sca sh donations when ananonymous donor provided funding"in memory of Yola Coulter" for thepurchase of several spec tacularpieces. These, including the excel lentTsumeb dioptase, can be seen on dis -play today.

Robert North (1978-1988) beganorga nizing part of the New Mexicocollection according to miningdistricts and estab l ished themuseum sale s case . Pe te rModre sk i , Ramon DeMark ,Rodney Ewing, Robert North, andothers, helped establ ish the wel l -known and wide ly a c c l a i m e dN e w M e x i c o M i n e r a l Symposium.The first symposium in 1979 was heldin Albuquerque, but all subsequentsympos ia have taken p lace inSocorro on the NMIMT campus.Thanks to sponsors such as theNew Mexico Bureau of Mines,Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club,New Mexico Geological Socie ty,Chaparral Rockhounds, Los Alamos

Geological Society, and others, thesympos ium is no w se l f -sus ta i n in g . Originally planned as abiennial event, the substantial support ofthe Bureau of Mines subsequent to thefirst symposium (since reimbursed),along with its editing and supportstaff, enabled the event to becomeannual. The Bureau mineralogistand/or curator, ass isted by a co -chairman in recent years, hasbecome the traditional chairman andorganizer of the event. The symposiumis now the flagship of themuseum's educa t iona l func t ionand brings together students,rockhounds, and professional earth-scientists to discuss, in a semi-formalatmosphere, new mineral occurrences,localities, and contributions to thescience. Presentations and slideshows have run the gamut fromamateur mineral collecting trips tofaceting techniques, to the scientificbasis for color in minerals and gems(Table 1).Marc Wilson (1988-1992) further

developed the mining district displayconcept, acquired several notable andcolorful mineral specimens fromaround the world, and along withDebra Wilson, produced the popularmineral postcard set. Discussedelsewhere is his role in establishing theMuseum Endowment Fund and hisnoble attempt to expand and improve theWorkman Center museum.The curren t cu ra to r , V i rg i l

Lue th (1994–), was responsible fordesigning much of the new museumfacil ity and worked closely witharchitect Phil Stevens in planning thelayout, lighting, materials selection, caseconstruction, and security.Lynn Heizler has served as

Assistant Curator and symposiumcoordinator since 1995.Robert Eveleth has served as

acting curator in the absence of astaff mineralogist during 1978,1988, and1992-93 and as Associate Curator since1994.

Expansion to demolition

The Robert Burns poem with theline, "The best laid schemes of mice andmen," always comes to mind when thetopic of expanding the WorkmanCenter museum is discussed: suchplans often go awry. By 1990, the sizeand quality of the mineral collection wasstraining the limits of the museumfacilities: much excellent material waspacked away in boxes, unseen by thepublic, for lack of adequate displayspace. Equally troubling was the chaosin the storage area where thereserve and research (workingcollection) materials were kept. Twounforeseen incidents would resolveboth problems. In an effort to cure thedisplay-space problem, at leasttemporarily, a proposal was made toconvert the outdoor patio areabetween the existing museum andthe original east part of WorkmanCenter into an expanded display area(the patio had long since fallen intodisuse). Bureau mineralogist Marc

Wi lson came up wi th an impress iveartist's conception of an open display areasurrounded by a second-storybalcony lined with special built-indisplay cases, and the entire space roofedover with a transparent dome orpyramid. The proposal had anunexpected result for it was soondiscovered that the wiring and otherutilities in Workman Center were sofar below code (i.e. currently acceptablecons truction standards) thatchanging or remodeling just a smallportion of the bu i ld ing wouldt r i gge r a regu la to ry remake of theentire facility! Further study would revealthat the cost of bringing WorkmanCenter into compliance allegedlyexceeded the cost of demolishing theold structure and erecting a new one inits place. Thus, a seemingly harmlessand excellent proposal set off a chain ofevents that led to the demolition ofWorkman Center and the removal ofthe entire collection to its latest andnewest location in the Workman Addition.

The Workman Add i t i o n i s on theextreme northwest corner of theolder Workman Center. The additionwas constructed during the late 1970swith funds derived, in part, from goldrecovered from government surpluselectronic components. Accordingly,the new wing was often called theGold Building by its previousoccupants. (What could be moreappropriate than to have theInstitute's gems and minerals in the GoldBuilding?) During 1995, the buildingwas remodeled and the new museumfacilities installed. Once again, thespace allotted to the museum wascoveted by others and considerablelast-minute arguing over floor spaceensued. Much credit is due theadministrat ion of Dr. Danie l Lopezfor fu l ly appreciating the publicrelations value and educationalopportunities made possible by themuseum, and the facility was constructedas planned.

Storage and securityThe new fac i l i t y in the Workman

Addition solved the problem with thedisplay materia l but did nothing forthe working collection. This portion of thecollection had so seriously outgrownthe storage facilities that individualspecimens and objects, despitecomputer assistance, were difficult, ifnot impossible, to locate in the jumbleof packing boxes and dusty trays. Thesolution appeared when the researchportion of the Bureau's paleontologicalcollections was transferred to the NewMexico Museum of Natura l Historyand Science in Albuquerquebeginning in 1994. The oldpaleontology lab had been wellequipped with heavy-duty, lockablesteel cabinets (50 of them), and thesenior author immediately saw in themthe long-term solution for storage, notonly for the research materials but forthe excess display material as well. BureauDirector Dr. Charles Chapin agreed,and the cabinets were duly transferredto the new facility with the move.

72 August 1997 New Mexico Geology

This windfall allowed every objectin the collection, whether mineralspecimen, man-made product (metalbuttons, ingots, refinery products,etc.), artifact, or fossil, to be assigneda dedicated area in one of the

alphabetical ly arranged cabinets .Equally important, each specimen isfur ther arranged geographically bymining district or state/countryin individual trays to which acomputer-generated label is

permanently affixed. When a specimenis removed for study, research, ordisplay, the tray and computer labelremain in the assigned space and a coloredtag (e.g. "on display") is placed in the trayindicating

New Mexico Geology August 1997 73

why the specimen has been removed. Acomputer search locates any mineral ormineral assemblage in a matter of sec-onds; individual pieces can now be physi-cally located in a few minutes.

The cabinets are in a warehouse fullyequipped with fire alarms, sprinklers, andelectronic motion-sensor alarms. Nounauthorized persons are permitted in thewarehouse area unaccompanied: only themineralogist, assistant and associate cura-tors possess cabinet keys and securitycodes to access the collection. Not onlyhave the storage and retrieval maladiesbeen corrected, but security, which wasnonexistent previously, is now state-of-the-art.

The new museum and display

The new museum facility occupies a totalof 4,100 ft2 of space in the renovatedWorkman Addition. Mineral exhibits aredesigned to be accurate and informative,and all casework is composed of glass,stainless steel, white oak, and paintedmaple. Two standup cases, accessible fromthe rear, occupy the center of the displaygallery, while other cases highlighting NewMexico minerals surround the main gallery(Fig. 8). Lighting in the cases consists ofcase-length, full-spectrum fluorescentlights with built-in accommodations foradditional lighting. Open areas aremaintained at each end of the gallery forfuture expansion. An ultraviolet-mineral

display is in a walk-through bay behindthe reference collection. Cases highlight-ing new acquisitions and gemstones occu-py one side of the entryway. Mineral salescases are also located in the entry so thatthe visitor may bring a mineral treasurehome from their visit. All proceeds fromsales are used for the purchase of newmuseum material.Mineral exhibits in the 1,900-ft2 display

gallery focus on New Mexico but alsoinclude specimens from around the world.Eight important mining areas are high-lighted along with three cases of mineralsfrom other New Mexico localities. Themining areas featured are the Organ,Santa Rita–Tyrone, Fierro–Hanover, Han-sonburg (Bingham), Magdalena, Old andNew Placers mining districts and mineralsfrom pegmatites and uranium deposits.Other displays include minerals from thesouthwestern United States, the UnitedStates (exclusive of the southwest),Central and South America, and mineralsfrom around the world. A reference collec-tion, classified according to the DanaSystem, is again to be featured in themuseum. Mining artifacts, historic pho-tographs, and other ephemera are alsointegrated into the displays.New to the museum is a 1,000-ft2 edu-

cation/demonstration facility. Visitors willbe allowed to make personal explorationsinto earth science phenomena with hands-on exhibits. Mineral products, fossils, androcks will be featured in displays andexercises in the demonstration facility.

Mineralogic reference, petrologic, and

gemological materials not on display arestored in the warehouse, along with amodest paleontological collection and asmall micromount collection. The latter isto be expanded to include all mineralspecies reported from New Mexico. Thesematerials are available to researchers orthe curious by contacting the museumdirector in advance. Use of the referencecollections is encouraged and is a vitalpart of the museum's service to theresearch community.

The museum preparation area includestwo lab facilities: a 200-ft² "dirty" lab thathouses rock saws, polishers, a fume hood,rock crushing and splitting equipment,and chemicals. All sample preparation,trimming, and chemical treatments aredone in this ventilated area. A 530-ft2"clean" lab houses the computerized cardcatalog and other curation materials. Asmall closet area is used for storage and aphotography lab.

Since 1994, all activities in themuseum have been governed byadherence to a comprehensive policiesand procedures manual. All museumcataloging, conservation, and curationprocedures are outlined, and specificinstructions presented. The continuity ofcollections care is paramount in the newfacility; the legacy of New Mexico'smining and mineral history depends on it.

Friends of the museum

The support and goodwill ofmany friends and benefactors is asessential now as it was during the veryearly years, and it would be remiss not tomention a few of them. We have seenhow the new collection began with theC. T. Brown acquisition and grew veryslowly over the years with occasionaldonations by the alumni. The first largedonation came in 1964 when, throughthe good graces of Charles E. Stott,general manager of the TsumebCorporation, South West Africa, an excel-lent suite of Tsumeb mine minerals wasacquired. Donations really picked up dur-ing the 1980s beginning with a fine suite ofBrazilian material given by Jack Lowell.This was followed by the Mont St. Hilairecollection of Bill and Peg Marble, threeexcellent world-wide collections fromRoger Maynard, the Virginia ChapmanSchulz collection that included the PhillipArgyle apple-green Kelly smithsonite aswell as several fine Bisbee pieces, andmany superb New Mexico pieces verykindly provided by Donald Moore.

The largest collections received to dateare those of Mahlon Everhart in 1990 andJack Adams in 1996. The Everhart troveincluded several hundred mineral speci-mens, including much magnificent Kellymaterial, as well as a small suite of fossils,complete with original Ward's ScientificEstablishment labels of the late 19th andearly 20th centuries. Mahlon hadacquired

74 August 1997 New Mexico Geology

acquired much of this historic materialfrom the Asa B. Fitch family duringthe 1930s. Also included is considerablematerial from the Apache and othermines in the Hachita district collectedby Mahlon Everhart.The Jack Adams collection, comprising

nearly 1,700 pieces, is notable for itspegmatite and rare-earth minerals.The former includes many excellentspecimens of beryl, topaz, andtourmaline. Jack spent more than 20years with the U.S. GeologicalSurvey investigating pegmatitedeposits throughout the United States. Hecol lec ted or acquired a mult i tudeo f superb, and in many cases extremelyrare, mineral species.Other significant benefactors over the

years have been Rusty Cra ft ,Ramon DeMark, Tim Hanson, CharlesMaxwell, and Al and Betty Tlush to namebut a few.New to the museum is the permanent

endowment fund. Established inDecember 1989 through the efforts ofthe Chaparral Rockhounds in Roswell,New Mexico, and then mineralogistMarc Wilson, the fund prov ides agrow ing amount o f income for thepurchase of display and othermaterial. The curator is permitted to useup to 90% of the interest; however, nofunds have been used to date and willnot be used until the annual interestis sufficient to purchase qualitymaterial. Major donors include Mrs.Frida Gruninger, Tom and Jean Merson,Chaparral Rockhounds, Ro l l in ' RockClub , C lov is Gem and MineralSociety, New Mexico Association of Gem& Mineral Societies, and Earl and LindaHoffman.

Visions and reflections

Today the museum provides displaysfo r the wor ld- renowned Tucsonand Denver Gem and Mineral Showsas well as several similar in-state eventsand will continue to provide material forresearch in the earth sciences.However, because the museum isprimarily a part of the educationaloutreach program of the New MexicoBureau of Mines and MineralResources, it no longer enters into compet-

itive displays as it did during its earlyhistory. Regardless, the museum hasbeen well rewarded for its educationalefforts and possesses an extensivearray of ribbons, banners, and otherawards.The first 100 years of the museum

in S o c o r ro h ave see n ma n yc h a n ge s— changes in the Institute,the student body, the curriculum, andmost often, the location (at least eightto date). People, places, and events maycome and go, but it is our desire thatthe mineralogical and geologicalwonders in "Coronado's TreasureChest" remain long into the future.

D e d i c a t i o nand acknowledgments

This article is dedicated to theDirectors of the New Mexico Bureau ofMines and Mineral Resources, withoutwhose support the collection couldwell have been packed up and soldlong ago: Eugene Callaghan, AlvinJ. Thompson, Donald Baker, FrankKottlowski, and Charles Chapin; andto all those earth scientists who socarefully nurtured the collection andhelped to make it what it is today:Edgar Wells, Clay Smith, Edward Bingler,Jacques Renault, Joseph Taggart,Robert North, and Marc Wilson. Themuseum is a lasting monument to theirefforts.We wish to extend thanks not only

to the NMIMT faculty and Bureau staffbut to al l the past alumni andfr iends o f NMSM /NMIMT (some ofwhom are acknowledged in the tex t )who have shared their thoughtswith us over the years. Specificallyfor this article are: Gerald U. Greene(class of 1923, now deceased), Robert H.Weber, Jacques Renault, Frank Kottlowski,Robert Bieberman, and Richard Chavez.Special thanks to Avery J. Smith of SanDiego, California, and Tim Blevins ofRio Grande Historical Collections,New Mexico State University, LasCruces, who dug through newspaperfiles for clippings on the Panama–California Exposition and the CoronadoCuarto Centennial. We also wish to thankFrank Kottlowski, Robert Weber, Jacques

Renault, and Clay Smith for reviewingand critiquing the manuscript.

References"A Building " ca 1957, Unpublished pamphlet pre-

pared by NMIMT as part of proposal for a"Mineral Industries Building" for the NewMexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,not dated, not paginated.

Albuquerque Journal, 1939, issue of October 28, n.p.

Albuquerque Tribune, 1939, issue of October 28, n.p.

Chieftain, The Socorro (a.k.a. "The Chieftain"), the"official newspaper" of Socorro County, NewMexico, published more or less continuouslysince 1884; issues cited are generally on micro-film at NMIMT Library or in the Rio GrandeHistorical Collections, Socorro Historical SocietyCollection, New Mexico State University, LasCruces.

Christiansen, P. W., 1964, Of Earth and Sky, ahistory of New Mexico Institute of Mining andTechnology, 1899-1964: University of New Mex-ico Press, 107 pp.

Eveleth, R. W., 1992, C. T. Brown, The New MexicoSchool of Mines' best friend and benefactor; inLite Geology, Fall 1992: New Mexico Bureau ofMines and Mineral Resources, Socorro, NM, n. p.

Laws of New Mexico, 1927, Chapter 115, sec. 2(2),approved March 14, 1927.

Los Angeles Times, newspaper, Los Angeles,California: no. vol. cited.

New Mexico School of Mines (NMSM), official cat-alogs of; issued most years since 1895.Publication dates were rarely indicated on titlepage; thus most dates are inferred from the con-tents.

New Mexico School of Mines (NMSM), BiennialReport, 1948; for the years 1947-1949; 152 p.

Porphyry (The), 1925, (first) yearbook of the NewMexico School of Mines, 148 pp.

Regents, Board of, 1938; unpublished minutes;voucher #5705 issued February 4, 1938 shows adisbursement to T. (Tom) C. Brown, Cony T.Brown's then surviving son, in the amount of$200, the only such voucher to a member of theBrown family.

Renault, J., Bonem, R. M., and Riese, R., 1970,Computerization of the New Mexico Bureau ofMines Mineralogical Museum: New MexicoBureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Circular111, 49 pp.

San Diego Union, newspaper, San Diego, Cali-fornia: no vol. cited.

Twitchell, R. E., 1917, The leading facts of NewMexico history, vol. V: The Torch Press, CedarRapids, Iowa.