Collection Summary
Houck, Fred A.
Fred A. Houck papers
1851-1974 (bulk 1935-1964)
05986
16.26 cubic ft. (31 boxes)
University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
English
Contains materials relating to the career of Fred A. Houck,
civil engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation and consultant with Engineering
Consultants, Inc.
Biography of Fred A. Houck
Fred A. Houck (1908-1974) worked for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Denver as a civil
engineer from 1931-1958. He worked on several dams in the western U.S. including the
Kortes Dam and Power Plant near Casper, Wyoming, and several along the Colorado
River such as the Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam. He started consulting work with
Engineering Consultants, Inc. of Denver in 1958 and worked on several overseas
projects. In 1962 he returned to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Nevada and
retired in 1966.
Scope and Content
This collection documents Houck's career as a civil engineer and contains material
from projects with the Bureau of Reclamation and Engineering Consultants, Inc. There
are reports, project materials, periodicals, maps, tables, graphs, engineering
drawings, photographs, and handwritten notes pertaining to dams and hydroelectric
power plants located in the western United States. Additionally, there is material
from overseas projects including the Kremasta Hydroelectric Plant in Greece, the
Maskeliya Oya and Samanala Wewa projects in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and the Yanhee
Multipurpose Project in Thailand. This collection also contains material from
Houck's college courses at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the
collection is open to the public.
Copyright Information
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and
libel laws as they apply.
Related Materials
There are no known other archival collections created by Fred A. Houck at the date of
processing.
Acquisition Information
This material was received from Margaret L. and Carl P. Houck in 1975.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Kathryn Brooks in February 2011.
Preferred Citation
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number,
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Access Terms
United States. Bureau of
Reclamation.
Engineering Consultants, Inc.
Civil engineering.
Water-supply engineering.
Dams -- West (U.S.)
Hydroelectric power plants --
Greece.
Dams -- Thailand.
Hydroelectric power plants --
Wyoming.
Dams -- Sri Lanka.
Dams.
Hydroelectric power plants.
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)
Colorado River Watershed
(Colo.-Mexico)
Glen Canyon Dam (Ariz.)
Hoover Dam (Ariz. and Nev.)
Engineers.
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Water and Water Rights
Places
Wyoming
Container List
Series I. Engineering notes
Contains collections of notes kept by Houck used for various aspects of his
work.
4
Anchorages - Anchor Bars, Pipe Anchors, Coyne's Method, Rock
Bolts
1947-1954
27
Arch Dam Analysis
1924-1956
4
Arch Dam Design and Analysis
1937-1960
17
Beggs Deformeter Stress Analysis of Single-Barrel
Conduits
1947-1948
5
Changes in Pressures on Dams during Earthquakes
1950-1956
27
Cross-Sections of Dams
1923-1941
8
Discharge Coefficients - Submergence
1933-1955
8
Diversion Dams
1947-1956
8
Estimating Data, Procedures, Unit Prices
1955-1968
8
Fixed-End Moment Analysis (Adkins)
undated
9
Flood Hydrology Data for Cross Drainages and Small Structures
Culvert Design
1952-1955
9
Gates and Valves - Seals Design
1943-1956
27
Gravity Analysis - Cantilever Data
1935-1951
9
Grouting, Joints, Prepack, etc.
1937-1956
10
Higher Structures notes
undated
4
Hydraulic design
1925-1950
9
Hydraulics - Open Channel Flow
1961, undated
9
Hydrology - Sedimentation
1963-1965
9
Inclined Arch Method of Arch Dam Design, notes by Pierre
Londe
undated
9
International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage
1956-1957
11
Irrigation and Drainage
1963-1968
11
Mass Concrete, Const. Plan Layout, Schedules
1948-1959
20
Misc. concrete and USBR documents
1946-1957, undated
11
Misc. engineering notes (bound)
1934-1951
10
Misc. engineering papers
1926-1962, undated
27
Multiple Arch, Slab, and Buttress Data
1935-1956
11
Notebooks
undated
27
Notes on arch stresses
1937-1944
27
Notes on gravity's effect on dams
1937-1944
21
Notes
circa 1945
7
Penstocks and Pipes - Friction Factors
1925-1964
18
Photoelastic Laboratory Manual by Laboratory
Personnel
1940 July 25
7
Plate Solutions - Photoelastic Lab Reports
1953, 1959
18
Preliminary Design & Estimate Reports
1944-1954
7
Pumping Plants - Pipeline System Economics
1959-1963
12
Reinforced Concrete - Design Standards, Temp. Reinf.
1942-1959
10
Report of Beggs Mechanical Analysis of Typical A-1 Bent for
Modification Center No. 13
1943 June 29
17
Reports
1959, 1970
12
Retaining Walls
1946-1954
12
Sample Layout Computations & Sample Computations of Trial
Load Method of Analyzing Arch Dams
1941-1956
13
Spillways, Crests, Flood Routing, Reservoir Space
1939-1963
14
Temperature Control in Mass Concrete
1943-1960
14
Theory of Elasticity (Bergman)
undated
14
Theory of Structures (Eckel - Univ. of Colo.)
undated
20
Transmission Towers - Structural Data
1945-1961
14
Underground Hydro-electric Plants, Tunnels, Surge-Chamber,
etc.
1935-1965
16
Uplift, Drains, Permeability, Wells
1935-1964
11
Useful Information - Engineering Data, Tables, Formulae,
etc.
undated
Series II. Personal
Contains correspondence, notes, business cards, résumés, and other personal
items.
27
Arch Index Office Memoranda
1940-1950
6
Brochure contacts
1957-1966
1
Business cards
circa 1958-1969
1
Codes, Account Nos., Time Sheets
circa 1960s
3
Consulting correspondence
1969-1971
3
Consulting correspondence
1968
6
Consulting correspondence
1966-1967
6
Copies of contracts
1961
5
Engineering Consultants, Inc. work
1937-1961
20
Letter from Leander Ransom to Saul D. King, Esq.
(facsimile)
1851 September 20
1
Municipal and Sanitary Design, parts I and II
1928-1965
14
Notebooks
circa 1967
10
Public Roads: A Journal of Highway Research
1930 March
17
Recycle of Wastewater Sludge through Subsurface Injection by
James L. Smith, Carl P. Houck, & Robert D. Hall for presentation at
Texas A & M Short School
1973 March 6
1
Résumés and business cards
undated
1
Résumés, stationery, misc.
1966-1974
19
Ruler used by Houck
undated
19
Scale used by Houck
undated
15
Schoolwork
1927-1931, undated
15
Steno pad
1969
Series III. Domestic projects
This series contains materials relating to Houck's engineering work in the
U.S. as an employee of the Bureau of Reclamation and Engineering
Consultants, Inc.
21
Anchor Dam - Owl Creek Unit, Wyoming - Missouri River Basin
Project
1957
9
Atomic Energy Commission
1961-1967
5
Browns Valley Road
1972-1973
21
California projects
1955
17
Colorado River Aqueduct
1935 March
21
Construction Photographs
1966 August
9
Consultation Services for Bureau of Indian Affairs - Hubbart Dam
and Jocko Lake Dam
1956-1957
2
Contract Documents for Construction of Embankments, Channels,
Control Structures, and Measuring Flumes - Valmont Lake Second
Enlargement
1961 October
21
Dam Site Investigations: Molalla-Pudding Basins
undated
22
Definite Plan Report - Colorado River Front Work and Levee System
- Imperial Dam Division - Senator Wash Unit - California - Appendices
Vol. II
1963 December
22
Definite Plan Report - Colorado River Front Work and Levee System
- Imperial Dam Division - Senator Wash Unit - California
1963 December
19
Design and Construction Considerations in heightening Concrete
Dams by E. R. Dexter and F. A. Houck
1958
17
Design memoranda
1938-1942,
17
Design memoranda
1948-1965
20
Designs of Layouts of Dam and Supporting Criteria (Glen Canyon
Dam)
1957 April 18
18
Drawings - Glen Canyon Dam & Powerplant - Glen Canyon Unit,
Arizona-Utah - Middle River Division - Colorado Iver Storage
Project
1957
20
Economic Report and Repayment Plan - Hermiston Irrigation
District, West Extension Irrigation District, Umatilla Project,
Oregon
1950 February
3
Gravity Dam Analyses - Davis Dam
1944-1947
19
"History, Project Planning, and Design of the Palo Verde
Diversion Dam" by Fred A. Houck
1957
17
Memorandum - Final Design of Bartlett Dam Salt River Project,
Arizona
1945 August 10
17
Misc. photographs
undated
21
Pacific Southwest Water Plan - Supplemental Information Report on
Marble Canyon Project, Arizona
1964 August
11
Palo Verde Dam Spillway Design Discharge
Computations
1955-1956
17
Photographs: Palo Verde Dam
1958
17
Photographs: Roosevelt Park, Longmont, Colorado - Fire damage to
stadium
undated
17
Photographs: Williams Fork Dam
1958-1961
12
Pyramid Dam
1966-1967
21
Report on Reconnaissance Examination and Cost of Hydroelectric
Development at Azure Dam Site, Colorado River, near Kremmling,
Colorado
1961 May
22
Report on Southern Nevada Water Supply Project, Appendices Vols.
I-II
1963 August
6
Report to Insurance Company of North America on Examination and
Engineering Evaluation of Fire Damage to Stadium in Roosevelt Park,
Longmont, Colorado, and Estimate of Work Items and Costs for
Rehabilitating Damaged Portions of Stadium
1959 July 22
18
Schedules, General Provisions, Specifications, & Drawings -
Palo Verde Diversion Dam & Levee System - Palo Verde Diversion
Project, Arizona-California
1955
13
Small Projects Loans
1954-1968
22
Supplement to Report on Southern Nevada Water Supply Project,
Appendices Vols. I-II
1965 April
19
Technical memorandum no. 550: Analysis of a Circular Arch under
Uniform Load by Fred A. Houck
1937 April 29
19
Technical memorandum no. 570: Trial-Load Method of Analyzing
Twist Effects in Gravity Dams by Fairfax D. Kirn and Fred A.
Houck
1938 February 28
21
The Analysis of Arches and Cantilevers by means of Simpson's Rule
by G. R. Rolin
1942 August 10
19
Travel Report - Devil Canyon Project, Alaska - by F. A. Houck and
W. R. Judd
1957 September 19
21
Twin Buttes Dam - Spillway Studies
1963
16
USBR Design Data
1919-1957
17
USCOLD
1967
6
Willamette Basin
1965-1968
Series IV. International projects
Contains materials relating to Houck's engineering work abroad, with emphasis
on the Yanhee Dam Multipurpose and the Kremasta Dam Hydroelectric
Projects.
19
230 KV Bangkok Tie Line Tower Footing Design Problem
1959-1961
28
"An Analytical Investigation of the Hydraulics of Proposed
Diversion Tunnels for Yanhee Dam" by Prathai Phisphumvidh
1958
28
Basic Design Controls - Yanhee Dam and Power Plant
1957 February
28
Bhumiphol Dam and Power Plant, Tailwater Curve of Ping River at
Dam Site
1958 December 10
28
Bhumiphol Dam and Power Plant, Yanhee Project - Thailand,
Schedule of Designs - Summary
1964
30
Bhumiphol Dam technical drawings
1959-1961
24
Bidding Documents for Hydraulic Turbine Driven Alternating
Current Generators for the Kremasta Hydroelectric Project - Acheloos
River Development, Greece
1961 November
24
Bidding Documents for Hydraulic Turbines and Governors for the
Kremasta Hydroelectric Project - Acheloos River Development,
Greece
1961 October
2
Brahmaputra Report Appendices A-E
circa 1960s
23
Ceylon ICA
1957-1960
28
Concrete Reinforcement Detailing Standards - Bhumiphol Dam and
Power Plant - Yanhee Multipurpose Project
1959 February
28
Construction Schedules
1961
28
Construction Specifications and Installation Instructions for
Completion of Bhumiphol Dam, Power Plant, and 230-KV Switchyard Vol. I
of II
1961 December
29
Construction Specifications and Installation Instructions for
Completion of Bhumiphol Dam, Power Plant, and 230-KV Switchyard Vol. II
of II
1961 December
24
Contract Documents for Construction of the Diversion Tunnel for
the Kremasta Hydroelectric Project - Acheloos River Development,
Greece
1961 June 1
24
Contract Documents for Construction of the Kremasta Hydroelectric
Project - Acheloos River Development, Greece - Vol. I of
III
1962 May
29
Contract Documents for Construction of the Kremasta Hydroelectric
Project - Acheloos River Development, Greece - Vol. II of
III
1962 May
29
Contract Documents for Construction of the Kremasta Hydroelectric
Project - Acheloos River Development, Greece - Vol. III of
III
1962 May
28
Design memoranda - Yanhee Project, Thailand
1956-1961
26
Design Reports: Kremasta Dam
1961
28
Feasibility Report - Me Tang Project Thailand
1961 October 27
6
Field trip report: Klang Gates Dam, Malaya
1957
28
Hydraulic Model Studies of Yanhee Dam Spillway
1957 June 24
26
Hydraulic Model Study of the Kremasta Dam Spillway
1962 March
28
Hydraulic Model Study of the Outlet Works in Diversion Tunnel No.
2 for Bhumiphol Dam
1960 January
26
Investigations of Embankment Soils and Establishment of Design
Criteria - Kremasta Dam, Greece
1961 March 8
29
Kremasta - Design Data
1960-1961
24
Kremasta Dam Consultants' Reports
1961-1969
31
Kremasta Dam technical drawings
1961
24
Kremasta Hydroelectric Project - Basic Designs and Alternative
Studies
1961 February 3
24
Kremasta Hydroelectric Project - Stability Analysis of Downstream
and Upstream Faces of Dam
1961 August 11
26
Kremasta Hydro-Electric Project: Arch Dam - February 1961
Project
1961 March 11
29
Kremasta Hydroelectric Project: Basic Design
Criteria
1961 August 11
29
Kremasta Hydroelectric Project: Hydrology Final
Report
1961 November
26
Notes: Yanhee and Kremasta Dams
circa 1958
17
Photographs: Kremasta Dam
1957
26
Preliminary Recommendations on Design Criteria for Embankment,
Kremasta Dam, Greece
1961 February 1
23
Preliminary Report UDA Walawe Project, Development of the Walawe
Ganga Basin
1960 November
28
Qualifications to Perform Feasibility Studies of Nam Yang, Nam
Mun, and Nam Chi Irrigation Projects in Thailand
1967 September
29
Report of the Board of Consultants submitted to Public Power
Corporation - Athens, Greece
1960 October 30
29
Report of the Board of Consultants, Supplemental Report No. 1,
submitted to Public Power Corporation - Athens, Greece
1961 March 13
23
Report on Maskeliya Oya Power Development - Ceylon
1960 May
23
Report on Samanala Wewa Irrigation and Hydroelectric Project -
Ceylon
1960 May
25
Report on Tailwater Rating Curve, Kremasta Hydroelectric
Project
1961
26
Report to Public Power Corporation Athens, Greece In Support of
an Application to Development Loan Fund For Extension of Credit for
Kremasta Hydroelectric Project of the Acheloos River
Development
1959 October
25
Report: Engineering Studies for Alternative Types of Dams and
Power Plants - Kremasta Hydroelectric Project, Greece
1960 December 1
28
Second Stage Feasibility Study
1961 December
25
Study to Determine Economic Height for Earthfill Dam - Kremasta
Hydroelectric Project, Greece
1961 May 19
23
Supplement to Report on Maskeliya Oya Power Development -
Ceylon
1961 July
6
Tender documents for the Construction of the Klang Gates Dam -
Kuala Lumpur
1955 May
28
Trial Load Analyses of Stresses - Yanhee Dam
1957 October
28
Yanhee Dam Bidding Schedule and Specifications
1956-1958
25
Yanhee Dam planning materials (binder)
1958-1961
28
Yanhee Project correspondence (binder)
1955-1962
28
Yanhee Project correspondence
1959-1960
28
Yanhee Project Thailand - Power, Irrigation, Flood Control, and
Navigation: Vol. I - Project Evaluation
1955 December
28
Yanhee Project Thailand - Power, Irrigation, Flood Control, and
Navigation: Vol. II - Appendices
1955 December