Myths, facts about Hoover Dam and the origin of hard hats

This column by former Nevada state archivist Guy Rocha first appeared in the Reno Gazette Journal on Aug. 29, 2004.

No, the hard hat was not invented for construction workers on the Hoover Dam project in the early 1930s.

It's another legend associated with the modern wonder of the world, much like the story of workers permanently buried in the dam.

Although workers wore safety helmets and hard hats to protect their heads, the hard hat had been available years before construction began at the Black Canyon dam site on the Colorado River in April 1931.

Actually, its inventor, Edward W. Bullard, introduced the original "Hard-Boiled hat" in 1919. While working for E.D. Bullard Co., established in San Francisco in 1898, the son of the founder began working on a helmet that could protect mine