Ross Moore Mining History Library
The William Ross Moore Library, containing more than 10,000 volumes on the history of mining, geology, and the southwestern United States, is housed in the Ouray County Historical Society's Research Center at 722 Main Street, Ouray. Researchers from various parts of the USA are already using the library. The publication dates range from 1875 – 2021. Hardback books comprise about 30% of the collection; soft cover books the remaining 70%. The subjects addressed are:
Mining - history, methods, economics, location and ore genesis, analysis and processing
Mineralogy - crystallography, microscopy, geomorphology, stratigraphy and petrography
Geology - geophysics, geochemistry, tectonics, volcanology and energy resources
History - topics relating to the history of the southwestern United States including Native Americans.
Maps - the collection includes a large number of maps relating to mining and geology.
WE HAVE NOW CATALOGUED more than 95% OF THE COLLECTION.
NOTE: The above link will open up a PDF file. It is recommended that you use the free download of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to open this file. To search the PDF file for authors and titles, click on the magnifying glass icon in the upper banner of the page. Type in your keyword(s) and the search will tell you how many citations contain that keyword. Moreover, by clicking on the ">" arrow in the searchbox, you will advance through the pages that contain that keyword.
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In 2000 the Ouray County Historical Society (OCHS) received an extraordinary and generous gift of over 4,000 volumes from the late Ross Moore of Lake Jackson, Texas. The collection focuses on mining, geology, mineralogy and the history of Colorado, especially the San Juan region. There are also materials related to other areas of the USA: NM, TX, UT, NV, AZ, MT, WY and there are some publications related to the subject matter from CA, WA, OR, SD, OK, IA, MI. have been
It is a privilege to selected to be the repository and care giver of the material. Ross Moore pursued a career for almost 28 years as a Research Chemical Specialist with Dow Chemical Company in Freeport, Texas, the largest chemical plant on a single site in the world.
Due to Mr. Moore's generous donation, other individuals have donated all or part of their collections to the library that has now grown to over 10,000 volumes.
The Ouray County Historical Society, its Board of Directors and Executive Director are pledged to make the library available to the public. The public is now able to check books out from the collection. We will also assist with or conduct research for interested parties. You may call (970-325-4576), email: OCHS@ouraynet.com, or write (OCHS, P.O. Box 151, Ouray CO 81427-0151) the Museum for details.