Archives West Finding Aid

The papers of Elgin Victor Kuykendall consist of correspondence, business papers, deeds, contrasts, legal briefs, depositions, courtroom transcriptions, research notes, drafts, manuscripts and photographs relative to Kuykendall’s private and business affairs, his political activities, his position on the bench and his historical research projects. Aside from the considerable portion of the collection which deals with the history of Southeastern Washington, the subjects which most dominate the papers are the civil and criminal cases brought before the Superior Courts of Asotin, Garfield and Columbia Counties. Additionally, the general correspondence contains many references to Washington State politics, elections and public appointments in the 1930s and 1940s. The State Public Service Commission is also briefly documented.

Series 1: Business Papers, circa 1900-circa 1956. Deeds contracts, bills, receipts, record books and other papers related to Kuykendall’s properties in Southeastern Washington and Central Oregon, to the Kuykendall-Start Company, the Kenwood Promotion Company, Kuykendall Bros., Kuykendall and Gose-Attorneys, and the Chloride Queen Mine.

Series 2: Judicial and legal papers, 1917-1957. Briefs, depositions, and other legal papers submitted to the Superior Court in various cases heard by Kuykendall, abbreviated transcripts of trials kept in Kuykendall’s handwriting on selected cases heard between 1927 and 1949, a folder of letters of national reaction to the 1931 Herbert Niccolls case, in which Kuykendall sentenced a 13 year old boy to life imprisonment, correspondence and documents concerning naturalization proceedings administered by Kuykendall’s court, and correspondence and documents relative to several cases in which Kuykendall served as attorney or executor-of-estate.

Series 3: Historical Writings and Speeches, circa 1920-circa 1955. Notes, drafts, manuscripts and printed copies of a number of historical and ethnological essays written by Kuykendall, including Historic Glimpses of Asotin County and Kuykendall’s memoirs, drafts of speeches on historical and public affairs and Kuykendall’s correspondence with various historic preservation associations.

Series 4: Personal and Political Papers, 1892-1950. Documents related to elections in Southeastern Washington, Kuykendall’s candidacy papers for judicial elections, Kuykendall’s certificates of bar admission, and licenses to practice, a series of diaries (1923-1945) and numerous photographs, some identified mostly of Kuykendall and his family, Southeastern Washington and early pictures of Pomeroy, Washington and its residents.

Series 5: General Correspondence, 1923-1951. The correspondence is complete for the years 1923-1924 and 1933-1945 and concerns the operations of the Court, personal matters and state politics. Correspondence include Clarence Martin, Arthur Langlie, Homer Bond, Knute Hill, Otis Halbert Holmes, Ernest O. Holland, George B. Kuykendall, and Jerome Kuykendall. This series also contains Kuykendall’s correspondence relating to the Kiwanis Club, the Knights of Pythias Lodge and the Sons of the American Revolution.