Institution: Northern Arizona University, Cline Library
Collection Title: Plez Talmadge Reilly Collection
Date (inclusive): 1810-1966 (bulk 1930-1960)
Collection Identifier: NAU.MS.275; NAU.OH.52; NAU.PH.97.46; NAU.VT.93.9; NAU.MI.93.9
Repository (location info): Cline Library, Special Collections, Flagstaff, AZ
Finding Aid link: http://www.azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/nau/reilly_plez_talmadge.xml&doc.view=co ntent&brand=default&anchor.id=0
Website link: https://nau.edu/special-collections/
RBMVE Biographical Note: n/a
Scope and Content: Reilly surveyed for the US General Land Office from 1936-1940. He joined the tooling division of Lockheed Aircraft Corp in 1940 and quickly became part of the management team. He took early retirement in 1969 after 29 years. Reilly became interested in the Colorado River area after reading an article in Desert Magazine. In 1947, he began collecting items relating to the Colorado River and Lee’s Ferry. He was a professional boatman for Norman Nevills and his successors through 1952, then began designing and building his own dories. Reilly led noncommercial boat trips through the Grand Canyon from 1953 to 1964. During these trips Reilly kept extensive logs and took thousands of photographs.
Reilly was an ardent conservationist and had fought for years to preserve the Grand Canyon. On April 16, 1956, he discovered and named Keyhole Bridge, the last major physical feature documented in the Grand Canyon. He has also located several historical sites in Marble and Grand Canyons and has named many geographical features along the Colorado River.
Reilly was recognized for his research and knowledge relating to the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. He published extensively and gathered material relating to the prehistory, history and natural history of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau.
(Excerpts from Biographical Note Section of finding aid listed above.)
Container List or Summary of RBMVE-related Material:
Box 15, Folder 244c: Thorn Mayes, Sr. Correspondence
Box 15, Folder 244d: Thorn Mayes, Jr. Correspondence
Box 22, Folder 336: Rainbow Bridge Monument Valley Expedition, including publications, bulletins, circulars, copies of diaries, etc.
