Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Elwood Mead papers, 1882-1981
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Mead, Elwood, 1858-1936
- Title
- Elwood Mead papers
- Dates
- 1882-1981 (inclusive)Date of CollectionDate of Collection
- Quantity
- 3.77 cubic ft. (11 boxes)
- Collection Number
- 05258
- Summary
- Elwood Mead was a nationally known irrigation engineer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Repository
-
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu - Access Restrictions
-
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Elwood Mead (1858-1936) was territorial engineer and later, the first state engineer of Wyoming, 1888-1889, and author of its first water code. From 1899-1907, he was in charge of irrigation investigations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was chairman of the Rivers and Water Supply Commission in Victoria, Australia, 1907-1915, professor of Rural Institutions at the University of California, 1915-1924, and Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from 1924 until his death in 1936. Mead supervised the construction of Hoover Dam; Lake Mead was named in his honor.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Papers, 1882-1958, concentrate on Elwood Mead's life after 1908. The collection includes correspondence from 1909 to 1950 (most of which is between him and his son Tom Mead), but also includes a letter from Herbert Hoover, notes on water rights cases in Wyoming, eight scrapbooks of newspaper clippings on irrigation and water resources concentrating from 1898 to 1904, nine photograph albums, including two of Yellowstone National Park and two of Wyoming, maps (from the 1950s), the 1889 Wyoming Territorial Engineer's report, and the 1893-1894 biennial Wyoming State Engineer's report, the books Irrigation Institutions and Helping Men Own Farms, awards, a financial statement of Tom C. Mead, and personal memorabilia. The papers also contain newspaper clippings, reports, and articles that are either written by or are about Elwood Mead. The focus of much of this published material is on irrigation and water resource development in the American West.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Copyright InformationThe researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Restrictions on Use
Statement on Potentially Harmful Language and Images Found in CollectionsThe American Heritage Center aspires to approach all areas of our work in ways that are respectful to those who create, use, and are represented in our collections. For a variety of reasons, however, users may encounter offensive or harmful language or images in some of our finding aids, catalogs, and collection materials.
Note that the AHC does not censor or alter contents of the collections as they provide context and evidence of a time, people, place, or event. Therefore, we encourage users to bring questions and concerns about descriptions in our finding aids to our attention via email or anonymous web-form. For more information, read our full statement.
Preferred Citation
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Elwood Mead Papers, Collection Number 05258, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Related Materials
The Elwood Mead Papers, 1900-1942, are preserved at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Acquisition Information
The Elwood Mead papers were donated to the American Heritage Center from 1973-1975 by Thomas Mead and Lionel V. Baldwin and Morrill Elwood Marston Jr. from 2021-2022.
Processing Note
The collection was processed by Daniel Davis in December 1995, revised by D.C. Thompson in January 2001, and updated by Jamie J. Greene in September 2022.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series I. Correspondence and Legal NotesReturn to Top
This series contains correspondence mostly between Elwood Mead and his children. It also includes notes on legal cases dealing with water rights in Wyoming.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | Elwood Mead legal notes on water rights cases in Wyoming |
1900-1913 |
| 1 | Folders 2-3 | Elwood Mead correspondence with Tom Mead |
1909-1935 |
| Folder | |||
| 1 | 4 | Elwood Mead correspondence with Tom Mead and children |
no date |
| 1 | 5 | Miscellaneous correspondence |
1915-1935, no date |
| 1 | 6 | Correspondence between Tom Mead and J.T. Peterson |
1949-1950 |
| 1 | 7 | Biographical notes on Hiram W. Chase |
no date |
| 11 | Private letters - Elwood Mead |
June 1897 - August 1899 | |
| 11 | Correspondence |
1930-1935 |
Series II. Published MaterialsReturn to Top
This series contains reports, articles, and two books written by Elwood Mead, and reports, newspaper clippings, and articles that are written about Elwood Mead and projects he was involved with.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 8 | Second Annual Report of the Territorial Engineer of
Wyoming |
1889 |
| 1 | 9 | Second Biennial Report of the State Engineer of Wyoming |
1893-1894 |
| 1 | 10 | Articles, reports, and newspaper clippings by Elwood Mead |
1922-1934 |
| 1 | 11 | Newspaper clippings about Elwood Mead |
no date |
| 1 | 12 | Articles and newspaper clippings about Elwood Mead and the
Bureau of Reclamation |
1917-1935 |
| 1 | 13 | Memorials to Elwood Mead |
1936 |
| 1 | 14 | Elwood Mead obituaries |
1936 |
| 1 | 15 | Committee of Organization for Third National Conference on
Marketing and Farm Credits |
no date |
| 2 | 1 | Irrigation Institutions: A Discussion of the Economic and
Legal Questions Created by the Growth of Irrigated Agriculture in the West, by
Elwood Mead |
1910 |
| 2 | 2 | Helping Men Own Farms: A Practical Discussion of
Government Aid in Land Settlement, by Elwood Mead |
1920 |
| 2 | 3 | "The Elwood Mead Professorship of Engineering" at Colorado
State University |
no date |
Series III. Miscellaneous MaterialReturn to Top
This series includes newspaper clippings, articles, and memorabilia.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 11 | Biographical information - Elwood Mead |
1928-1936 | |
| 11 | Biographical information - Lucy Florence Mead Marston (daughter) |
undated | |
| 11 | Invitations |
1908-1935 | |
| 2 and 11 | Newspaper clippings and articles |
1909-1981 | |
| 2 | 5 | University of Wyoming Honorary Law Degree |
1914-1934 |
Series IV. PhotographsReturn to Top
This series contains photograph albums of Wyoming and Colorado irrigation projects, various scenes from Wyoming and Colorado, Yellowstone, Victoria, Australia.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 2 and 11 | Photographs |
1882-1940 | |
| 3 | Photograph album of Yellowstone National Park and
surrounding area |
no date | |
| 3 | Photograph album given to Mead by Chas. A. Guernsey of the
French Creek Mining Company in British Columbia |
1899 | |
| 3 | Photograph album of various spots in California, Texas,
Arizona, and (probably) Wyoming, and of the State Engineer's Office in
Cheyenne |
no date, 1894-1895 | |
| 3 | Photograph album of various ranches, towns, streams, and
rivers in Wyoming |
no date (ca. 1900) | |
| 4 | Photograph album of Mead home and ranch, irrigation
canals, construction projects, rivers, dams, and water works |
no date | |
| 4 | Photograph album of Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks, the
Palette Ranch, mountain lakes, a drainage map of Wyoming, and various other
scenes from around Wyoming |
1897, no date | |
| 5 | Photograph album of irrigation works and canals, Native
Americans, Yellowstone Park, and the Big Horn, Green, Greybull, Medicine Bow,
and Shoshone Rivers |
no date | |
| 5 | Photograph album of Yellowstone National Park area and
Native Americans |
no date | |
| 5 | Photograph of Elwood Mead |
no date | |
| 11 | Photo album/scrapbook containing family photographs compiled by Lucy Marston (daughter) and newspaper clippings about Mead |
1860-1970 |
Series V. ScrapbooksReturn to Top
Series contains scrapbooks with newspaper clippings mostly from 1899-1935.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 6 | Four scrapbooks entitled "States No. 10, Interstate No.
11, Irrigation No. 4, 3. States" |
1899-1904 |
| 7 | Four scrapbooks entitled "Miscellaneous and Personal No.
2, 13 Dry Farming, Drainage + Rural Engineering, S433.1 No. 1" |
1893-1916. |
| 11 | Scrapbook of newspaper clippings |
1935 |
Series VI. Oversized MaterialReturn to Top
This series consists of maps, charts, and awards.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 8 | Grand Canyon Sectional Aeronautical Chart |
no date |
| 9 | 21 topographic maps and maps of Colorado, Utah, Nevada,
Wyoming, Arizona, and the United States |
no date, 1957-1958 |
| 10 | Universal Exposition Award for Investigations in Rural
Engineering and Irrigation, commemorative diploma to Mead by U.S. Department of
Agriculture, commemorative diploma awarded to Mead at the Universal Exposition,
Medal from the Exposition Universelle de 1900 |
1900-1904 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Irrigation -- United States
- Dams -- West (U.S.)
- Engineers
- Irrigation -- West (U.S.)
- Water resource development -- United States
- Water resource development -- West (U.S.)
Personal Names
- Mead, Tom Chase.
Corporate Names
- United States. Bureau of Reclamation
- Wyoming. State Engineer's Office
Geographical Names
- Wyoming -- Photographs
- Yellowstone National Park -- Photographs
Form or Genre Terms
- Photographs
- Scrapbooks
Processed by Daniel Davis
2005
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
