Saline Valley Salt Company Stock Certificate Found!

Friends of the SALINE VALLEY SALT TRAM

www.SaltTram.blogspot.com   SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com

As the years pass, researching the true story of the Salt Tram is getting more difficult, as the abundant photos and written first hand accounts from that era find their way into landfills (instead of museums). We  are striving to rediscover the efforts of those who built and ran the Salt Tram, in order to give proper recognition to their hopes, dreams and abundant sweat from an era that is rapidly fading from our memories.  

We are actively seeking out information about the mining of Salt in Saline Valley between 1903 and the 1950's, including: documents, photos, articles, stories, artifacts, etc. If you can help us out, please email us at the address above - Thank-you! --Tim and Brian Waag, the Waag brothers (aka E. Clampus Waagus).

Caution (PLEASE READ): Climbing around on the tramway is dangerous because its really old and defnitely unsafe, so don't even think about it. Shoot, just getting to it requires some perilous hiking, and if you don't believe me, just take a look at the Zig Zag Access Trail (or what's left of it). Plus, climbing on it weakens it and endangers your life. Also, the Saline Valley Salt Tram is on the National Register of Historic Places and should be treated with the respect that it deserves. What little remains is of great historic value, and should not be disturbed in any way. Heck, its probably against the law to move parts of the tram around, and certainly a crime to take home some of the few bits of it that remain (though you'd have to ask your friendly local BLM agent for details). So please treat it with the respect it deserves, so that future generations can enjoy whats left, without you messing it up. Really. Please. You can see its listing on the National Register of Historic Places at these web links:
National Register of Historic Places 1          National Register of Historic Places 2

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Just got back (November 2010) from the Eastern California Museum, and got to actually hold the stock certificate, and I was thrilled! Tim on left posing with the lovely Roberta H. from the ECM. Also see the Friends of the Eastern California Museum website.

Dorothy, the donor of the certificate, hadn't thought to look on the back of the certificate. We knew there was something back there, because it bled through to the front! Here's a photo of the back, which isn't so great (click to enlarge), but some day I'll bring my scanner up to ECM and scan the back. Until then, this has gotta do:

Here's what the back of the stock certificate says:

For value Received, __________, hereby sell, assign and transfer unto
______________
______________ Shares
of the Capital Stock represented by the within Certificate, 
and do hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint
______________ Attorney
to transfer the said stock on the Books of the within named 
Corporation with full power of Substitution in the premises.
Dated__________________ 19___

In Presence of_____________
_____________

NOTICE: THE SIGNATURE OF THIS ASSIGNMENT MUST CORRESPOND WITH THE NAME AS WRITTEN UPON THE 
FACE OF THIS CERTIFICATE IN EVERY PARTICULAR, WITHOUT ALTERATION OR ENLARGEMENT, OR ANY CHANGE WHATEVER.

And finally, I was able to reverse the corporate seal, and was pleasantly surprised! It says "THE SALINE VALLEY SALT COMPANY" (that's not the surprise), followed by the corporate icon showing a sunrise over the Saline Valley, with piles of Salt in the Foreground! Awesome. Can't wait to scan it cleanly, the reproduce the logo! (click to enlarge).

Above is the logo that Laura Waag at Sidedoor Studios created from the imprint above it. This logo is on the Salt Tram T-Shirts - you should get one! Find out more by clicking here. 

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Update! November 1, 2011:
Just got home from Halloween in southern Calif., and found this in the mail! A scan from Dorothy! Thanks, Dorothy - this is an awesome contribution to vintage California History! (click to enlarge)

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We recently received an email from Dorothy of the state of Georgia, who inherited a Saline Valley Salt Company Stock Certificate from her grandfather 20 years ago! She was puzzled for all of these 20 years, until she found our website! Then it made sense! Her grandfather, from Tennessee, owned the certificate. Since we now know that Tennessee investors provided the bulk of the investment money to build the tram, it made sense that her relative from Tennessee would own the certificate! As far as we know, it is the only surviving Salt Tram stock certificate! We understand why Dorothy was initially confused: She lives in Georgia, inherited a SVSC stock certificate from her grandfather in Tennessee, from a company that was incorporated in Arizona and ran something called a Salt Tram in California! Dorothy is planning on having it scanned for us, then donated to the Eastern California Museum in Independence, California. For a more detailed account of our email discourse, see below: 

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2010.09.16: [Email correspondence from Dorothy from the state of Georgia] I just googled this company [Saline Valley Salt Company, we presume] for the first time, and found your website [this site], and your request for information.  I have a stock certificate, number 135, dated 6 May 1920, for 250 shares of this company, par value $1.00 each, made over to my grandfather, E. B. Houseal.  The secretary's signature looks looks like "Jno. M. Ray" and the president, "J. A. Goodman."  It's a good-looking stock certificate.  I could not figure out how my grandfather would know about such a company, since he lived in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1920.  I have only skimmed over a couple of articles so far, but have already found a reference from a 1910 newspaper article referring to Tennessee investors, and in another to a "go-devil," [for more information on the origins of the Salt Tram's Go-Devil, click on this link Go Devil] a term my grandmother used - she grew up in the Texas panhandle on an early cotton farm (1900 or so).  From her description, I thought of it as a plow, but now I think it was something used to clear land. I inherited the certificate about 20 years ago, but was unable to find out much at the time.  This was before I had access to the World Wide Web!!!  This is so interesting!  Thanks for the information, Dorothy, Georgia. 

2010.09.16: [Email correspondence from Dorothy from the state of Georgia] I am confused.  The Saline Valley Salt Company stock certificate I have says the company was incorporated in Arizona on 16 June 1903.  Was this an Arizona company or a California company, or both? [Answer: Incorporated in Arizona but operated in California; held board meetings in Arizona, probably as required by law?] 

2010.09.17: [Email correspondence from Dorothy from the state of Georgia]... I will investigate scanning the certificate, etc. Dorothy

2010.10.18: [Email correspondence from Dorothy from the state of Georgia]... I dropped the stock certificate off at a local photographer's to get a "high resolution scan" on a disk, which I am prepared to mail to you this week. After I make myself a photocopy, I think I'll take your advice and donate it to the Eastern California museum in Independence, California.  Do you have contact information for the museum?  Since no one here has any idea of the history involved, I suspect it would eventually get lost one way or another, as so many artifacts do - water, fire, landfill.  This has been a lot of fun, Thanks, Dorothy, Georgia.

2010.19.21: [Email correspondence from Jon Klusmire, Museum Services Administrator, Eastern California Museum, Independence, Calif.] Ms. Dorothy *****: The Eastern California Museum would be delighted to have you donate your family's stock certificate for the Saline Valley Salt Company. We have a substantial collection of photos, documents and some artifacts from the mining operation and the stock certificate would be a nice addition to our collection. I'm sure that you could simply mail the certificate to the Museum (maybe put it between two piece of light cardboard), and when we receive it, we will provide you a confirmation of your donation and other necessary paperwork to complete the donation. Our mailing address is: jklusmire@inyocounty.us 

2010.10.27: [Email correspondence from Dorothy from the state of Georgia] Tim, I need an address so I can send the disc to you, it's ready to go.  I have sent the original stock certificate to Joh Klusmire, who contacted me recently via email.  Yours, Dorothy ------
[We emailed Dorothy back, and thanked her profusely for her donation of the stock certificate to the Eastern California Museum, and for the scan of the stock certificate for us; we will post the stock certificate on this website as soon as we receive the scan of it - yeah! 

2010.10.27: [Email correspondence from Dorothy from the state of Georgia]  Tim, the newspaper clipping is great! [Dorothy is referring to the image at the end of this post].  Thanks so much.  My address is ... Georgia.  The disc will arrive inside the photog's envelope. We were in San Luis Obispo many years ago, and stayed at that inn Madonna Inn [Tim lives in SLO, Calif. and takes any chance he can get to promote the town!].  Unforgettable!  Gosh, that was 20 years ago.  I hope we can get out West at least one more time.  I am deeply involved in researching my family history ...  I have an MA in history and have done a lot of historical research and writing.  Perhaps when I've gotten more of my family history completed, I can help you out with historical research on the Saline Valley Salt Co..  Just ask me what you want to know, and I'll try to find out.  The internet is a wonderful thing ... put me on your [Salt Tram] mailing list ... Till later, Dorothy...     

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Replica of Stock Certificate Available 

If you would like a replica of the Saline Valley Salt Company stocker certificate, reply to SalineValleySaltTram@gmail.com and one will be sent to you - a high quality color on antique-style parchment, with a write-up on the backabout the the Friends of the Saline Valley Salt Tram organization and the person who made the donation of the stock certificate - they are $8 including shipping, which is our cost to print and mail them to you).     

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Originally, I didn't have any images for this blog post, but wanted to put something up, so I went with this private ad that was run in the Inyo Register. I can't put my finger on the date it ran (although I do have the date somewhere), but it was somewhere in the  Salt Tram construction time period, since the ad indicates that the tramway was still being built: (click to enlarge)

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