Born- April 13, 1913 San Jose, California
Died - November 21, 1957 San Francisco, California

Operated - 1935- early 1950's

Well, I thought if anyone deserves a page dedicated to him, I'd start with photographer Paul Henchey.

Paul Loyola Henchey (often misspelled Henchy, especially by me) was born in 1913 in California, the son of James Henchey and a mother whose first name has not yet been confirmed but surname appears to be O'Connell. He had two siblings and lived in San Francisco, where he worked as a machinist for the Southern Pacific Company. The 1941 San Francisco city directory lists Paul L. Henchey as a machinist and identifies his wife as Estelle R. Henchey, born Estelle Regina Eltringham in 1897.

Beyond his railroad employment, Henchey was an accomplished railroad photographer. The California Views Historical Photo Collection credits him with 58 photographs documenting California's railroad history, including a November 11, 1948, photograph of the Southern Pacific right-of-way and depot at Marina, California. His photographs preserve a visual record of the railroad infrastructure and communities of his era.

The strongest feature of Henchey's work is its dated, place-specific documentation. At Aurora, for example, his photographs span 1935–1953; at Rhyolite, they record buildings and railroad infrastructure decades after the town's collapse. These are primary-source records that can help researchers distinguish what survived at a particular date from what has since vanished.

Henchey was a reader of the The Calico Print, a periodical devoted to the history, folklore, mining, and people of the American desert Southwest. Although it reused the name of an earlier newspaper published during the silver-mining boom at Calico, California, the mid-twentieth-century publication was a revival that carried historical articles, local news, and stories about the desert's disappearing past. The modern revival was published by the Calico Press. Harold and Lucile Weight became its principal editors beginning with the November 1950 issue. By 1953, it was being published from Twentynine Palms, California, and appeared every other month.

Henchey commented on several of their articles.

Dear Harold and Lucile Weight: I wish to congratulate you folks on the fine job you are doing in preserving the stories, tales and legends of the Desert West. I would like to know more about Belmont and Jefferson Canyon, Nevada. In the last few years I have made several trips to these old mining towns. The classic courthouse at Belmont, once Nye county seat, built in 1875, is a monument to the people of that time. Though stripped of its furniture and fittings—even the jail was removed a few years ago—the fine old building stands straight and true. A little beyond Belmont are the remains of an old mill. Standing like a sentinel of the past amid these ruins is a huge smokestack of brick. (Once there were two stacks but because of stupid and malicious machine-gunning by ‘Market Street Type’ commandos from Tonopah Air Base one stack came down.) Just below the base of the stack is an empty treasure room, which was used for the storage of silver bullion until it could be shipped out. Belmont, which once had several thousand people, claims a population of five today! **
PAUL L. HENCHEY Brisbane, Calif.
-Calico Print, February 1, 1952

His account also documents damage to one of the Belmont mill's two brick smokestacks from machine-gun fire attributed to personnel at Tonopah Air Base. The phrase “Market Street Type” appears to be a sarcastic reference to the people responsible for the shooting, rather than an official military designation. The letter does not establish the precise date of the incident.

Henchey pulled no punches defending Nevada's beauty.

Dear Folks: The issue with the Belmont Story (Oct.-Nov. '52) was good! I have been to the old Nye County seat a number of times and always find something new, something of interest I missed before. As to the story about the bricks for the lovely old courthouse being hauled from Sacramento: I wonder. Lee Brotherton, member of a pioneer Belmont family, told me several years ago that the bricks were made in ovens right there at Belmont. So until proven otherwise, I am inclined to go along with Lee's story. The past October I traveled to Jefferson Canyon (near Round Mountain), Unionville, Rochester, Jarbidge, Ramsey, Charleston, Mountain City, and Rio Tinto. Most of these places are quite deserted now. The road from Mountain City to Jarbidge, Nevada, via Wild Horse, goes through one of the most scenic and beautiful spots in all Nevada—the Brunneau River Canyon. This canyon, which is entered from the south, is about two and one-half miles long. Like Jarbidge River, it affords trout fishing (in season), plenty of fuel, running water and camp sites between it and the river. When I was there in October it was a riot of fall color, of breath-taking beauty. It is a splendid refutation to the idea of speedsters on highways 40-50-395, that Nevada is a dry, desert waste and: "What do you see in the state besides sand, sage, and jackrabbits?" school of impressions. Too bad those who waste time and gasoline going like hell to get to Reno or Las Vegas do not spend a tiny bit of their time and energy in getting acquainted with the Silver State. I guarantee that they would be agreeably surprised.
PAUL L. HENCHEY Brisbane, California
-Calico Print, May 1, 1953

Sadly, Henchey died in 1957 at the age of 44. His photographs remain a lasting contribution to the historical documentation of California's railroads and mining camps and buildings throughout the West. Many can be viewed here. This collection contains 1,506 negatives of rural areas throughout California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The photographs, which were taken from 1947-1954, are predominately of buildings, mines and mills.