Kent Keller Collection

Title

Kent Keller Collection

Subject

Keller, Kent E. (Kent Ellsworth), 1867-1954
United States. Congress. House
Illinois. General Assembly. Senate
Mining industries
Mines and mineral resources

Description

An Illinois native, Kent E. Keller began his working career as a school teacher and principal in Ava, Illinois, before becoming a lawyer and eventually working in the mining industry in the western United States and Mexico. Keller represented southern Illinois as a member of the Illinois State Senate (1913-1917) where he advocated for old-age pensions, woman’s suffrage, pure food and drug laws, and the eight-hour day. He served five terms in the United States House of Representatives (1931-1941). While in Congress, he was a member of the liberal bloc that supported New Deal legislation; introduced railroad retirement pension legislation; sought relief aid for Southern Illinois and envisioned Crab Orchard Lake project on a grand scale. He unsuccessfully campaigned for re-election in ever election between 1940-1948 with the exception of 1946 when he was in Mexico as a special adviser to the United States Ambassador.

Kent E. Keller's papers are part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library collection. The finding aid for this collection may be found at: http://alplm-cdi.com/chroniclingillinois/items/show/369.

Photographs in this collection include images of miners at work on several projects including the construction of Mount Rushmore, the Lincoln Tunnel, Skyline Drive, and Radio City Music Hall; oil well drilling; and family photos.

Collection Items

Miners and Model 250
Workers stand in front of a Model 250 belonging to the New Enterprise Coal Company in the Illinois-Iowa area.

Mining Train
Workers stand next to a train stopping along the tracks at a strip mine operated by the New Enterprise Coal Company in the Illinois-Iowa area.

X-71 Drifter
A man operates a X-71 drifter equipped with a SM-3 air motor in a granite quarry owned by the Rock of Ages Corporation of Barre, Vermont.

I-R Quarry Bars
Men drill and broach a channel at Beaver Dam Marble Company of Baltimore, Maryland, while a train car carrying marble sits above the quarry.

Miners on a Granite Pyramid
Miners stand on a mass of granite supporting a large derrick at the J. K. Pirie Estate Quarry in Barre, Vermont.

FM-2 Wagon Drills at Lincoln Tunnel
Men perform excavation work at Midtown Hudson Tunnel, more commonly known today as the Lincoln Tunnel. Construction of this tunnel began in 1934, funded by the New Deal's Public Work's Administration, and opened on December 22, 1937.

FM Wagon Drill on Skyline Drive
Men use equipment purchased by the Pendleton Construction Company to work on the new Skyline Drive. Skyline Drive is located along the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

X-71 Drill on Tripod
Men operate a drill while working on the New York Central Railroad north of Garrison, New York.

Line Drilling at Radio City Music Hall
Several men line drill with jackhammers while creating the foundations for Radio City Music Hall.

Drilling at Radio City Music Hall
A man operates a jackhammer while line drilling a sidewall of the foundation at Radio City Music Hall.

Drilling Line Holes at Radio City Music Hall
Construction workers drill line holes using S-68 jackhammers with air being supplied by portable compressors while creating the foundation at Radio City Music Hall.

Jackhammers at Radio City Music Hall
Jackhammers line drill a sidewall during excavation for the Radio City Music Hall building's foundation.

Jackhammering at Mount Rushmore Memorial
A group of men work on the side of Mount Rushmore while sitting on suspended swings during construction.

Construction of Mount Rushmore Memorial
Men stand on top of George Washington's head at Mount Rushmore during construction. Construction equipment is seen on top of Washington's and Thomas Jefferson's heads.

Strip Mining
A donkey and several men work along the tracks at a strip mine run by the New Enterprise Coal Company in the Illinois-Iowa area.

Battery of Boilers
A small building houses a battery of gas fired boilers at an oil pumping station in Bridgeport, Illinois.

Bridgeport High School
Oil-funded prosperity in Bridgeport, Illinois, provided funding in the late 1800s for the construction of a new Bridgeport High School building.

New Bank Building
One of three new bank buildings erected in Bridgeport during the late 1800s due to the city's success in the oil industry.

Star Rig
Several operational oil drilling rigs sit in a large field.

Town Lot Oil Wells
Snow covers oil wells in Bridgeport, Illinois.

Oil Field
Several towers and other buildings line the outskirts of a growing corn field.

Men at Oil Rig
A small group of men stand next to an oil derrick.

Oil Rig
Two standard oil rigs stand among trees and fields.

Oil Pump
A pump in a wooded area runs from a power house.

Oil Derrick
An oil derrick and several small buildings stand in an oil field.
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