Collection consists of correspondence and business papers of Pickney C. Bethell and his son William D. Bethell. Pickney was a large landowner in Louisiana and Tennessee prior to the Civil War. William became an investor in banking and real estate in the Memphis, Tennessee region after the Civil War. In 1891 William moved to Denver, Colorado, where he purchased Manhattan Beach, an amusement park located on Sloan's Lake in Denver. He was also a large investor in Denver-area real estate as well as various western railroads.