Scope & Content
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Cassius Irwin Leedy(1882-1960) was born at Leedy Springs on Lime Creek, South Dakota, and was a lifelong resident of Rapid City. He married Nora Fitzgerald in 1920, lived on St. Joseph Street, became the City Auditor for Rapid City, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery. He was also involved in civic organizations and was the leader of the local historical society for many years. His collection was amassed over many years, and incudes items from pre-pioneer days in the Black Hills to the 1960's. The first items from his collection were donated to the Minnilusa Pioneer Association in 1960, and the last in 1995.His collection is one of the foundational collections for the Minnilusa Historical Archives and the Journey Museum displays. His collection items are designated CIL. His identified text collection takes 20 linear feet of shelf space. Donated objects are yet to be quantified.
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Notes
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Excerpts from books, magazines, and other sources of interest to C. Irwin Leedy, collection compiler. Some are typewritten, some are cut and pasted, all have varied western content. Note: Pages have been removed to other volumes and re-odered if appropriate.Articles reveal an interest in tribal history- the Mandan, Aricara, Oto, Sioux, Osage, Loup, Omaha, and Gros Ventres are among the tribes discussed, along with notes excerpted from books on the Lewis and Clark expedition and early Fur Company diaries. One mentions the first group to travel to California in 1826 guided by the famous Jedediah Smith, which included a negro named Peter Ranne. Twenty one pages of material cover the Pony Express, including news clips, actual commemorative stamps issued, news clips, routes and book exceprts. Pages 143-154 were moved to behind page 58, to continue the history of the mural painted by J.K.Ralston of the murder of Charles Nolan, Pony Express rider.Ten pages of articles discuss Rapid City's original site and location, unknown grave markers(Henry Herrington?) other grave markers, the naming of Rapid Creek, Poisoned Ox Mine and the locations of several forts. There are also 12 pages focused on Mining and related subjects such as early miners to the Black Hills before Custer, the Thoen Stone, gold in Bear Butte, Dick Mathieson, early discoverer of gold, Horatio Ross, early discoverer of gold, a letter from Norm Atchison (Black Doc) pioneer, 1877, who was a marshal in Custer, and a copy of the Montana vigilantes oath. Typewritten letters regarding the reinterment of four citizens killed by Indians in 1876 named G.W. Jones, Thos. E. Pendleton, John Erquhart, and Cpt. J. W. Patterson, and then newspaper clippings of three more, S. Dodge, Henry Herring, and C. Nelson, were found on pages 131-141. Volume ends with a note on the death of garage owner C.A. "Patsy" Whitford in 1923, an aritcle about the Cement plant site, several articles and poems about the Lone cottonwood tree at 5th and Main, a treatise on the supposed "Lone Solder's Grave" at Beechers Rock, and one called "Shock Tipis" about an incident between traders named the Cavanaugh family and Bigfoot, a Sioux warrior who replaced Touch the Clouds as chief, in 1890. Index
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