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Rufus Woods Papers, 1896-1980 (bulk 1918-1950)

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Woods, Rufus, 1878-1950
Title
Rufus Woods Papers
Dates
1896-1980 (bulk 1918-1950) (inclusive)
Quantity
28.0 cubic feet, (30 Letter Sized Document Cases (26x31x13 cm.); 3 Legal Sized Document Cases (26x40x13 cm.); 11 Letter Half Sized Document Cases (26x31x6 cm.); 12 Legal Half Sized Document Cases (26x40x6 cm.) and 7 oversized boxes (2 at 6x64x48 cm., 2 at 4x47x38 cm., 2 at 8x33x43 cm. and 1 at 8x46x34 cm.))
Collection Number
MS001
Summary
The Rufus Woods collection contains the personal papers of Rufus Woods and subject files related to the building of the Grand Coulee Dam. The entire collection spans the time period from 1896 to 1980 with the years between 1918 and 1950 offering the most representation.
Repository
Central Washington University, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Central Washington University
400 E University Way
Ellensburg, WA 98926
Telephone: 509-963-1023
Fax: 509-963-3684
archive@cwu.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public. Restrictions may apply to photographic images.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Rufus Woods was born in Surprise, Nebraska, to Lebbeus B. and Mary (Morrison) W. Woods on May 17, 1878. His youth was spent on the family farm along with his two older brothers, three younger sisters and his twin brother, Ralph. Rufus attended local public schools and graduated from Ulysses High School in 1898. Soon after graduation he was appointed as a teacher at a school in Brainard, Nebraska. He remained a year at Brainard before enrolling at Grand Island College. In 1900, Rufus and Ralph left Nebraska to seek riches in the Yukon gold fields. The brothers spent the next four summers in Alaska working various jobs. During the fall and winter 1901, Rufus and Ralph attended Vashon College. The next fall, Rufus and Ralph were accepted in to the law school at the University of Nebraska. Both graduated with degrees in law in the spring of 1903.

Rufus and Ralph relocated to the Puget Sound in the fall of 1903, Ralph to Tacoma and Rufus to Seattle. Both entered the law profession but after a short unfulfilling stint as an attorney, Rufus left Seattle and moved to Wenatchee in January of 1904. Within three weeks of arriving, he was hired by the Wenatchee Republic as press editor. The following year Woods purchased the Wenatchee Advance in partnership with Charles Graham. Graham sold the paper in early 1906 without Woods’ knowledge and he was removed as editor. On February 27, 1907, Rufus and Ralph leased the Wenatchee Daily World with an option to buy after one year. Rufus quickly reorganized the paper, modernized equipment and hired new reporters. Circulation quickly expanded and when the lease ended, he chose to purchase the paper, with the assistance of investors. By 1910 the circulation of the Daily World had increased over 600 percent since 1907 and was considered the one of the leading small town newspapers in the state of Washington.

As the paper’s circulation expanded, so did Woods’ activities beyond the small community of Wenatchee. By 1915, two-thirds of the Daily World’s readership was outside of Wenatchee. In 1916, Rufus Woods' rising popularity put him in contention for office in the United States Congress. Woods turned down the offer, preferring to manage his newspaper and publishing business. During the First World War, he lobbied for government contracts for central and eastern Washington, with limited success.

While on his travels searching for news, Woods met Gale Mathews, an old acquaintance from Ephrata, who informed him of a plan developed by Billy Clapp to dam the Columbia River at the mouth of the Grand Coulee. He met with Clapp and immediately became enthusiastic about dam. On his return to Wenatchee, Woods broadcasted Clapp’s idea in the Daily World on July 18, 1918. From that date forward, Woods promoted the regional and national necessity for the Grand Coulee Dam. Throughout the 1920s he encountered opposition at the local, state, and national levels but optimistically continued to encourage its construction. On October 8, 1932, Woods met with President Herbert Hoover to discuss the dam’s potential, but President Hoover was not impressed and dismissed the plan. The meeting was a great disappointment; however, Woods' relations with the federal government would change with the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Soon after the election of President Roosevelt, Washington State Governor Clarence D. Martin pushed for a state-funded project to construct the dam. His administration, with guidance from Rufus Woods and fellow promoter James O’Sullivan, established the Columbia Basin Commission in April of 1933. Later that same month on April 17, President Roosevelt remarked to Washington State Senator Clarence Dill that he would support a federal loan to build the Grand Coulee Dam. Problems ensued as local, state and national governments bickered over financing the project. On July 26, 1933, Roosevelt officially approved the Grand Coulee Project and allocated $63 million to construct the dam. By the fall of 1933 construction contracts were being issued to drill and dig test pits. On December 6, 1935, concrete was poured at the dam's base. For the next five years construction progressed steadily and on January 22, 1941, the first of the turbines was made operational.

During the war years, Woods pressed for defense contracts for the region and highlighted the importance of the newly completed dam. He also endorsed the need for more dams to fulfill the war-time power needs of the Columbia Valley. In 1943, Woods campaigned for the construction of the proposed Foster Creek dam. After the war, Congress authorized the construction of the dam, which was renamed the Chief Joseph Dam project, and work was begun in 1949. Woods would not see the dam’s completion, as he died of a heart attack on May 29, 1950, while on a research trip to Toronto, Canada. His remains were returned to Wenatchee, where he is buried.

Rufus Woods' organizational memberships and administrative roles include:

  • Secretary of the Wenatchee Chamber of Commerce, 1906-1907
  • Chairman of the Progressive Republican League of Washington, 1908
  • Delegate for the Republican National Convention, 1924 and 1932
  • Chairman of the Washington and North Idaho Division of Associated Press, 1926-1927
  • Director of the Washington State Chamber of Commerce, 1928-1929
  • President of the Columbia River Development League, 1931-1934
  • Member of the Washington State Columbia Basin Commission, 1933-1937 and 1943-1950
  • President of Strategic Industries Board of Central Washington, 1942
  • Member of the Decentralization League of Eastern Washington, 1942
  • Member of the Bonneville Advisory Council, 1943-1950
  • Secretary and Treasurer of the Northwest Chemurgy Cooperative, 1942-1950

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Content Description

The Rufus Woods Collection contains the personal papers of Rufus Woods and subject files related to the building of the Grand Coulee Dam. The entire collection spans the time period from 1896 to 1980 with the years between 1918 and 1950 offering the most representation. The collection includes letters, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, special editions of newspapers, photographs, negatives, and congressional legislation related to the dam.

The correspondence series contains incoming and outgoing correspondence of Rufus Woods and letters sent to associates instrumental in building the Grand Coulee Dam. The first three series (Series I, II, and III) consist of correspondence from 1918 to 1950. Included in the series are letters from notable figures in state and national government, and prominent businessmen in the private sector. Series IV contains a number of speeches and monologues delivered by Rufus Woods over the course of his career, many of which relate to the Grand Coulee Dam and other Columbia River Basin projects.

The organizational records from the Columbia Basin Commission, dating from 1923 to 1949, are represented in Series XIV of the collection. Records from the National Reclamation Association dating from 1925 to 1964 are located in Series VI. Documents from the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, Inland Empire Waterways Association and several other organizations associated with the creation of the Grand Coulee Dam are found in Series V, VII and XV.

Subject files focusing on promoters of the dam, like James O’Sullivan and Kirby Billingsley, are housed in Series IX. The subject files dwell on all major points of interest regarding the dam, including information on the development of other dams along the Columbia River Basin. Series IV, VIII and XVIII have media transcripts, reports and speeches delivered by Woods and other promoters of the project during the first half of the twentieth century.

Newspaper clippings focusing upon dam construction and political activities in the region (taken primarily from the Wenatchee Daily World) can be found in Series XX. Entire issues and special printings dedicated to the Grand Coulee Dam are found in Series XXI. Series XII contains a run of newsletters called “The Columbian,” which were distributed to the labor community at the dam site during construction. Editorial columns written by Rufus Woods, titled “In Our Own World,” feature discussion on topics related to the Columbia River Basin and dam projects in the region; these are located in Series XIII.

Series XIX contains photographic prints and negatives created during the period of dam construction. The prints include promotional images of the region's unique landscape and people. They focus on the benefits of irrigation in the Columbia River Basin and the effects of hydroelectric power. Within Series X and XXII are scrapbooks pertaining to the Columbia River Basin, as well as information regarding Public Utility Districts and the development of public power in the Pacific Northwest.

Documents and records that are unrelated to the Columbia Basin Project, such as the personal non-business correspondence of Rufus Woods and papers related to Woods’ life, are stored in Series XXIV. Series XXIII consists of publications such as magazine articles from national magazines related to the construction of dams and the development of the Columbia River basin. The final series of the collection, Series XXIV, has ephemera and printed material relating to the construction and development of the Grand Coulee Dam.

Further, more detailed descriptions of each series are included under each series heading.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

Some photographs in the Rufus Woods collection may be viewed online at the Central Washington University Digital Archives.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number]. MS001-06-01, Rufus Woods Papers. Archives and Special Collections, Brooks Library, Central Washington University.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Organized into the following series: I. Rufus Woods’ outgoing correspondence; II. Rufus Woods’ incoming correspondence; III. Rufus Woods’ associates’ correspondence; IV. Rufus Woods’ speeches; V. Dams; VI. National Reclamation Association 1925-1964; VII. Inland Empire Waterways Association; VIII. Surveys, reports and significant events; IX. Subject Files (Newspaper Clippings); X. Public Utility Districts and Power Commissions, Councils and Associations; XI. Columbia Commissions and Councils; XII. “The Columbian” Newsletter; XIII. Rufus Woods “In Our Own World” Newspaper Column; XIV. Columbia Basin Committee; XV. Columbia Basin Irrigation Project; XVI. Miscellaneous and Unidentified; XVII. Legal Issues; XVIII. Reports, Speeches and Transcripts; XIX. Photographic Prints and Negatives; XX. Newspaper Clippings; XXI. Unsorted Newspaper Clippings; XXII. Scrapbooks; XXIII. Publications; XXIV. Ephemera and Pamphlets. The collection has been arranged in chronological order and alphabetically according to series.

Preservation Note

Materials in fair condition, with foxing to older manuscripts, acidification of newsprint, minor chemical decomposition to photographic prints, some fading of copied material.

Bibliography

See also Ficken, Robert E. Rufus Woods, the Columbia River and the Building of Modern Washington. Pullman, WA: Washington State University Press, 1995.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Columbia Basin Project (U.S.)--History
  • Dams--United States--History--20th century
  • Grand Coulee Dam (Wash.)--History
  • Irrigation--Washington (State)--Columbia River Valley

Personal Names

  • Dill, Clarence C. (Clarence Cleveland), 1884-1978
  • Martin, Clarence D. (Clarence Daniel), 1886-1955

Corporate Names

  • Inland Empire Waterways Association
  • National Reclamation Association

Geographical Names

  • Columbia River Valley

Form or Genre Terms

  • Ephemera
  • Photographic prints

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Woods, Rufus, 1878-1950 (creator)

Finding aid prepared by Paul Baker, Edward Robe, and Dieter C. Ullrich
2012

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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