Elgin Victor Kuykendall was born at Oakland, Oregon in 1870 and spent his early years at Fort Simcoe, Washington, where his father, George Benson Kuykendall, was the Indian Agency physician. His family moved to Pomeroy, Washington in the 1880s, and there he finished school, briefly taught and studied law in the office of Samuel Cosgrove, later Governor of Washington. Kuykendall practiced law in Pomeroy from the 1890s until 1924 when he was appointed Superior Court Judge for Asotin, Garfield and columbia Counties. In the meantime he had held several elective posts in local government, had been twice elected to the State Senate (sessions of 1917 and 1919) and had served four years as the Chairman of the State Public Service Commission. His political career was generally associated with the progressive wing of the Republican Party. Following his appointment as Superior Court Judge he was reelected to the non-partisan position several times until his retirement in 1949.
In addition to his legal and political careers, Kuykendall as also involved with research in eastern Washington history and Indian lore. Following the inspiration of his father, who had been a local historian and genealogist, he wrote many articles on local history for the press, collected Indian legends and lore, particularly of the Nez Perce, managed the local pioneer association and eventually wrote a history of Southeastern Washington. Additionally, Kuykendall was active in historic preservation and memorial organizations such as the Whitman Memorial Association, the Lewis and Clark Memorial Association and the restoration efforts at Fort Simcoe. His interest in local history led to donate his father’s papers to the Washington State University Library in 1949; in turn, his heirs donated his papers shortly after his death in 1958.
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.
The papers of E. V. Kuykendall are arranged in five series. Each series is organized by subject, and then chronologically within each subject.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Elgin Victor Kuykendall Papers, 1892-1956 (Cage 59)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Elgin Victor Kuykendall's heirs donated his papers to the Washington State University Library shortly after his death in 1958.
Garfield County Pioneer Association Records, 1909-1948
George Benson Kuykendall Papers, 1881-1931
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