Walter P. Parks papers
A map of the railroad line running from the Sonora/Sinaloa coastline through the Chihuahua region and further north. The Pearson region, written about extensively by Walter Parks, is denoted in the center topmost portion. The map is inaccurate and was created in 1987 by Let's Travel Tours, a Riverside, CA travel agency as a form of advertisement for the railway.
Collection area: Arizona and Southwest
Collection dates: circa 1995, 2003-2023
This collection consists of research material collected by Walter P. Parks for his and Richard D. O’Connor’s book
The materials document a wide array of subjects related to the history of Mata Ortiz and the Casas Grandes Valley. Topics include the prehistoric development of the Casas Grandes Pueblo culture and the archaeological study of the region, as well as the period of Spanish colonization. The revolutionary movements of the early 1900s, with a focus on the role of the Mexico Northwestern Railway Company; its construction, operation, involvement in regional conflicts, and eventual destruction. The collection also addresses the Mormon diaspora through the area, the influence of American entrepreneurship, and the impact of Fred Stark Pearson, an American electrical engineer and entrepreneur who played a key role in developing the railway systems. Additionally, the materials explore the presence and impact of Chinese communities in the region.
Author Walter P. Parks is a graduate of Stanford University with a bachelor's in history and a master's in business administration. He sits on the board of directors of several museums and is the ex-president of Mission Inn Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the cultural preservation of southern California. He’s written two books prior to his most recent publication,
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