Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Montana State Engineer records, 1865-1964
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Montana State Engineer
- Title
- Montana State Engineer records
- Dates
- 1865-1964 (inclusive)18651964
- Quantity
- 1.75 linear feet
- Collection Number
- RS 496 (Formerly RS 34)
- Summary
- This collection is a subgroup (Predecessor Office) of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation records, RS 496. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation records. Records of the Montana State Engineer include general correspondence (1921-1923), outgoing correspondence (1939-1942, 1951-1964), and subject files (1865-1920) on water rights. Additionally, there are organizational charts and job descriptions, biennial reports (1906-1964), a report on the water supply of the Chapman Irrigation District (Oct. 1923), and miscellaneous articles (1964, undated).
- Repository
-
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov - Access Restrictions
-
Collection open for research
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The Montana State Engineer's Office was created in 1903 to assist, under the Carey Land Act, in the formation of irrigation districts and to survey the state's water resources. The Engineer served ex officio as secretary to the Carey Land Act Board, and later to the State Water Conservation Board. He also served on numerous water-related state boards, and was Montana's representative to inter-state water agencies, such as the Columbia River Basin Commission, the Yellowstone River Compact, and the Missouri Basin Inter-Agency Committee. Among his duties were the review of water projects proposed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation and Corps of Engineers, measurement of streams in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey, the conducting of the Water Resources Survey, and administration of the state's Ground-Water Code. Among the State Engineers were John W. Wade (1903-1911), A.W. Mahon (1911-1920), C.S. Heidel (1920-1927), John S. James (1928-1937), Fred E. Buck (1941-1963), and E.V. Darlington (1963-1965). The State Engineer's Office was abolished in 1965 and the duties transferred to the State Water Conservation Board.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Records include general correspondence (1921, 1923), outgoing correspondence (1939-1942, 1951-1964), and subject files (1865-1920) on water rights, filed by county and including lists of water right filings and decrees with related correspondence. In addition there are organizational charts and job descriptions; biennial reports (1906, 1910, 1918, 1920, 1964); a report (1910) of State Hydrographer C.S. Heidel; a report on the water supply of the Chapman Irrigation District (Oct. 1923); and several articles (1962, 1964, undated) about the work of the State Engineer and also concerning irrigation in Montana. [Formerly part of the Carey Land Act Board Records, former RS 32]
Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation records.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Preferred Citation
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by series.
Location of Collection
18:6-5Processing Note
In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 496, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's various Divisions and Bureaus that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 496. Rather than reprocessing over 300 linear feet of DNRC materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links through the central finding aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding aids at manageable sizes. Please read the scope and content note carefully to determine if this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.
Acquisition Information
Acquisition information is available upon request.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
General Correspondence Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1 / 1 | Kalispell Chamber of Commerce (re proposed Flathead
River dams) |
1921 |
| 1 / 2 | North Dakota Assistant State Engineer George E. Baker
(re proposed Missouri River Compact) |
1923 |
Outgoing Correspondence Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1 / 3-5 | Miscellaneous |
1939-1942 |
| 1 / 6-9 | Miscellaneous |
1951-1952 |
| 1 / 10-12 | Miscellaneous |
1953 December - 1954 September |
| 1 / 13-14 | Miscellaneous |
1955 September - 1956 November |
| 2 / 1-2 | Miscellaneous |
1962 |
| 2 / 3-4 | Miscellaneous |
1964 |
Financial Records Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 5 | Balances and claims |
1952-1954 |
| 2 / 6 | Comparative Stream gaging Program budget
justification |
1965 |
Minutes Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 7 | Meeting of Montana representatives to Columbia
Interstate Compact Commission |
1962 May |
Organization Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 8 | Organizational charts, lists of employees,
description of duties |
1952-1964 |
Reports Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 9 | Biennial reports [map, 1910, of proposed Racetrack
Creek power plant in map case] |
1906-1932, 1964 |
| 2 / 10 | Report of State Hydrographer C.S. Heidel |
1910 |
| 2 / 11 | Report on the water supply of the Chapman Irrigation
District |
1923 |
Speeches and Writings Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 12 | "Montana water rights and water problems," by Fred E.
Buck |
1962 |
| 2 / 13 | Speeches and reports by E.V. Darlington to Western
State Engineers Association and Missouri Basin Inter-Agency Committee |
1964 |
| 2 / 14 | "State Engineer--what's that?" by E.V. Darlington |
1964 |
Subject Files Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2 / 15 | U.S. court decrees - Lewis and Clark County,
including case No. 668 |
1891-1907, undated |
| 2 / 16 | U.S. court decrees - Miscellaneous counties, notes re
case No. 655, 703, 950 |
undated |
| 3 / 1 | Water rights: miscellaneous lists of court decrees |
1915 |
| 3 / 2 | Water rights: notes of S.T. Harding re compilations
on the Yellowstone, Clark Fork and Missouri river drainages; and climatological data |
1909-1911, undated |
| 3 / 3-4 | Water rights, Beaverhead County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1865-1920 |
| 3 / 5 | Water rights, Big Horn County: correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 6 | Water rights, Blaine County: correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 7-9 | Water rights, Broadwater County: correspondence; and
lists of water right filings and decrees |
1897-1919 |
| 3 / 10 | Water rights, Carbon County: Correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 11 | Water rights, Carbon County: lists of water right
decrees and a copy of decree for Granite Ditch vs Wm. Anderson |
1901-1913 |
| 3 / 12 | Water rights, Carter County: correspondence |
1919 |
| 3 / 13-14 | Water rights, Cascade County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1911-1919 |
| 3 / 15 | Water rights, Chouteau County: correspondence; and
lists of water right filings and decrees |
1889-1920 |
| 3 / 16 | Water rights, Custer County: correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 17 | Water rights, Dawson County: correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 18-19 | Water rights, Deer Lodge County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1904-1919 |
| 3 / 20 | Water rights, Fallon County: correspondence |
1919 |
| 3 / 21-22 | Water rights, Fergus County: correspondence and lists
of water right decrees |
1890-1919 |
| 3 / 23-24 | Water rights, Flathead County: correspondence and
lists of water right filings |
1906-1919 |
| 3 / 25-26 | Water rights, Gallatin County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1883-1919 |
| 3 / 27 | Water rights, Garfield County: correspondence |
1919 |
| 3 / 28 | Water rights, Glacier County: correspondence |
1919 |
| 3 / 29 | Water rights, Granite County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1894-1914 |
| 3 / 30 | Water rights, Hill County: correspondence and lists
of water right filings |
1913-1920 |
| 3 / 31-32 | Water rights, Jefferson County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1873-1919 |
| 3 / 33 | Water rights, Lewis and Clark County: correspondence
and lists of water right decrees |
1889-1913 |
| 3 / 34 | Water rights, Lincoln County: correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 35-36 | Water rights, Madison County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1873-1919 |
| 3 / 37 | Water rights, McCone County: correspondence and lists
of water right filings |
1919 |
| 3 / 38-39 | Water rights, Meagher County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1890-1919 |
| 3 / 40 | Water rights, Mineral County: correspondence |
1919 |
| 3 / 41-42 | Water rights, Missoula County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1890-1919, undated |
| 3 / 43 | Water rights, Musselshell County: correspondence and
lists of water right filings and decrees |
1912-1919 |
| 3 / 44-46 | Water rights, Park County: correspondence and lists
of water right filings and decrees |
1885-1919 |
| 3 / 47 | Water rights, Phillips County: correspondence |
1919-1920 |
| 3 / 48 | Water rights, Pondera County: correspondence |
1919 |
| 3 / 49 | Water rights, Powder River County: correspondence and
water right filings |
1918-1919 |
| 3 / 50 | Water rights, Powell County: lists of water right
decrees |
1890-1915 |
| 3 / 51-52 | Water rights, Ravalli County: correspondence and
lists of water right filings and decrees |
1896-1920, undated |
| 3 / 53 | Water rights, Richland County: correspondence |
1918-1919 |
| 3 / 54 | Water rights, Roosevelt County: correspondence |
1919 |
| 3 / 55 | Water rights, Rosebud County: correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 56 | Water rights, Sanders County: correspondence; and
lists of water right filings and decrees |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 57 | Water rights, Sheridan County: correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 58 | Water rights, Silver Bow County: correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 59 | Water rights, Stillwater County: correspondence |
1913-1919 |
| 3 / 60-61 | Water rights, Sweetgrass County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1898-1919 |
| 3 / 62 | Water rights, Teton County: correspondence; and lists
of water right filings and decrees |
1907-1919 |
| 3 / 63 | Water rights, Toole County: correspondence |
1919 |
| 3 / 64 | Water rights, Treasure County: correspondence |
1919 |
| 3 / 65 | Water rights, Valley County: correspondence and lists
of water right filings |
1903, 1913-1919 |
| 3 / 66 | Water rights, Wheatland County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1913, 1919 |
| 3 / 67 | Water rights, Wibaux County: correspondence |
1918-1919 |
| 3 / 68 | Water rights, Yellowstone County: correspondence and
lists of water right decrees |
1892-1919 |
Miscellany Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3 / 69 | Abandonment or forfeiture of water rights: notes on
state cases |
undated |
| 3 / OVFD | "How It's Done: State Engineer's Office Water
Resources Survey": including the use of the Big Horn River as an example [MAP CASE] |
undated |
| 3 / 70 | Montana water rights filings reported to State
Engineer |
1962 |
| 3 / 71 | Unidentified typed articles on Montana's irrigated
lands |
undated |
Clippings Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3 / 72 | Irrigation in Montana |
1931, undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Irrigation districts--Montana
- Irrigation--Montana
- Water conservation--Montana
- Water resources--Montana
Geographical Names
- Flathead River (B.C. and Mont.)
Finding aid prepared by MTHS Staff; Updated by Lindsey
Mick
2004;
2024
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
