Archive Record
Metadata
Catalog Number |
MSNC00006 |
Filing Title |
Oddie (Tasker Lowndes) papers |
Collection |
Tasker Lowndes Oddie papers |
Dates of Creation |
1898-1950 |
Extent |
68 cubic feet |
Creator |
Oddie, Tasker Lowndes |
Scope & Content |
The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence and other papers pertaining to Oddie's service in the U.S. Senate (1921-1933). There are smaller amounts of correspondence and other papers relating to his term as governor (1911-1915), his mining activities, and two series of personal letters detailing events of his early years in Nevada (1898-1902) a book was published of his letters in 1992 and 2004 and his first campaign for governor (1910). The collection also includes family photographs, a number of which depict Tonopah in its formative years and Oddie's Pine Creek Ranch in central Nevada. Subjects: United States. Congress. Senate. Senators, U.S. Congress -- Nevada. Legislators -- United States -- Correspondence. Govenors -- Nevada -- Correspondence. Mines and mineral resources -- Nevada. Nevada -- Politics and government -- 20th century. United States -- Politics and government -- 1919-1933. |
Admin/Biographical History |
U.S. senator and governor of Nevada. Tasker L. Oddie came to Nevada from New York in 1898 as a legal representative of the Stokes family, eastern mining and railroad capitalists, and soon decided to remain, accumulating a fortune in the Tonopah-Goldfield boom days. By 1901, he was Nye County District Attorney and Superintendent of Schools, and successfully campaigned for the Nevada Senate three years later. With severely dwindling finances, Oddie ran for governor and was elected in 1910, serving one term. While governor, Oddie was responsible for legislation that equalized land assessments, established workmen's compensation, and set an eight-hour workday for women. Trying for a second term, he took a conservative position on new, liberal gambling and divorce laws and was defeated. Oddie returned to his mining ventures in Nevada, California, and Texas, all of which failed. In 1920, supported by George Wingfield's so-called "bipartisan machine," he was elected to the U.S. Senate and served until 1933. As a self-proclaimed "proven conservative," he was instrumental in the passage of legislation providing for highway construction, establishing the Hawthorne, Nevada, Naval Ammunition Depot, and authorizing construction of Hoover (Boulder) Dam. The Great Depression, the collapse of the Wingfield banks, and the energetic campaigning of Patrick A. McCarran dealt Oddie a reelection defeat in 1932. |
Finding Aids |
Hard copy finding aid available in Research Library. |
Language of Material |
English |