Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Pullman, WA 99164-5610 USA
(509) 335-6691
http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/masc/
mascref@wsu.edu
Cage
201
Wells, Edgar Ross
Edgar Ross Wells
Papers
1921-1958
8 containers.
4 linear feet of shelf space.
3000 items.
Correspondence, minutes, reports,
circulars, membership rosters, and working papers principally related to Wells'
active role in several reclamation associations, including the National
Reclamation and the Pacific Northwest Development Association, and which
especially concern water-use policies, and controversies in the Pacific
Northwest during the decade 1945-1955. The papers also reflect Wells' advocacy
of the agricultural experiment stations of Washington State University,
especially those programs concerned with poultry disease research.
Collection materials are in
English.
Edgar Ross Wells was born in Ohio and came west in his youth. During
the 1920s he established a hatchery known as "Henacres" at Prosser, Washington,
adjacent to his fruit farm. In the later 1930s he became active in poultry and
reclamation trade associations. His poultry interests involved him in the
promotion of poultry disease research being conducted by Washington State
University. Ultimately his lobbying efforts resulted in the creation of an
University Experiment Station for poultry research at Prosser and an
appointment to the University's Advisory Board for agricultural sciences. By
1952 he was a candidate for a regent's appointment, which he did not receive
being unable to secure the favor of Governor Arthur Langlie. Wells' activities
in reclamation associations also intensified in the 1940s and 1950s as he
became an official of various regional reclamation organizations and a director
of the National Reclamation Association. The major thrust of Wells' efforts in
these organizations was to preserve the Columbia, Yakima and Snake River water
resources for use in reclamation and irrigation, forestalling the efforts to
develop electrical generating stations which would compete for utilization of
the water of these rivers. He was also active in the Northwest, especially
under the plan envisioned in the proposal for a Columbia Valley Authority. Due
to increasing age and declining health, Wells curtailed his public activities
in the later 1950s.
The papers of Edgar R. Wells at the Washington State University
Library consist of the correspondence, reports, minutes, enclosures and related
material which emanated from Wells' most active period as a public figure in
reclamation and agricultural research.
The papers are arranged into five series. Three series are concerned
with reclamation - National Reclamation Association, regional reclamation
matters and reclamation politics. A fourth series consists of papers relating
to Washington State University and the Washington State Poultry and Turkey
Industry Disease Control Commission. The fifth series contains papers regarding
irrigation and reclamation matters which concerned Wells as a water user or
water district member.
This collection is open for research use.
[Item Description]. Cage
201, Edgar Ross Wells
Papers. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The reclamation and agricultural research papers of Edgar R. Wells (b.
1883), a poultryman of Prosser, Washington, who was involved in several
reclamation trade associations and in the promotion of agricultural research,
especially at Washington State University, were donated to the Washington State
University Library by Wells' son, Edward Wells in 1964.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.
Wells, Edgar Ross, 1883- --Archives
National Reclamation Association
Pacific Northwest Development Association
Washington State Reclamation Association
Washington State University. Irrigated Agriculture
Research and Extension Center
Poultry --
Diseases -- Research
Water resources
development -- Washington (State)
Washington (State)
Irrigation
Agriculture
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection.
Series 1: National Reclamation
Association
Correspondence, reports, minutes, circulars, news letters and
working papers relating principally to Wells' activities as a director and
member of the resolutions and legislative committees of the National
Reclamation Association. Materials relating to the political activities of the
NRA and to NRA publicity efforts are also to be found among these papers.
1
1
Coles, LaSalle E. Correspondence
with Oregon director of the National Reclamation Association
1953.
3
1
2-7
Legislative Committee.
Correspondence, reports, enclosures, drafts of bills. Correspondents include
NRA President C. P. Peterson, directors LaSalle Coles, Harry Polk and
others.
1948-1956.
250
1
8
Long Beach Convention. Printed
and mimeographed items relative to 1952 NRA meeting at Long Beach,
Cal.
1952.
15
2
9-15
National Reclamation Association-
General. Correspondence, mainly with NRA officers and executives; minutes,
transcripts, and circulars
1950-1956.
250
2
16
Peterson, C. Petrus.
Correspondence with NRA president
1950-1953.
30
2
17-19
Polk, Harry. Correspondence with
NRA director from North Dakota, some of personal nature
1949-1957.
320
3
20
Portland Convention.
Correspondence and printed materials relative to the 1954 NRA convention and
1954-1955 directors' meetings
1954-1955.
40
3
21-24
Publications of the National
Reclamation Association. Four NRA circulars: Reclamation News, The NRA
Legislative Digest, President's Letters, and Secretary Manager's
Letters
1951-1955.
250
4
25
Resolutions of the National
Reclamation Association. Resolutions adopted by the NRA
1955.
50
4
26
Resolutions Committee- Spokane.
Correspondence, minutes, and adopted resolutions
1950.
35
4
27
Van Slyke, H. William.
Correspondence relative to NRA Committee assignments
1950.
10
Series 2: Northwestern
Reclamation
Correspondence, reports, minutes, transcripts and working papers
relating to a number of northwestern reclamation and water use organizations
including the Washington State Reclamation Association, the Pacific Northwest
Development Association, the Pacific Water Council and the Wahluke Slope
Committee; and to a number of governmental and advisory bodies including the
Bonneville Power Administration Advisory Council, The Columbia Basin
Commission, the Columbia Interstate Compact and the Washington State Department
of Resources; and to a number of individuals associated with reclamation in the
northwest, including officials of several railroad and electric power
companies. The major concerns reflected in the papers in this series are
reclamation, irrigation and water use policies, principally for the Columbia
and Snake rivers, electric power development on northwestern rivers and various
proposals to unite northwestern water resource agencies, the most prominent
proposal being the Columbia Valley Authority plan.
4
28
Bonneville Advisory Council.
Correspondence, some with William Pearl, press releases, circulars (s.a. Raver,
Paul.)
1952-1958.
20
4
29
Califormia Letters- Reclamation.
Correspondence
1948-1952.
6
4
30
Columbia Basin Account.
Correspondence and enclosures relative to a proposal to unite the Columbia
water agencies. Correspondents include Arthur Langlie, Francis Case and
Marshall Dana.
1951-1952.
30
4
31
Columbia Basin Commission.
Correspondence with officials of the Commission, a Washington State agency, and
with other Washington State agencies, and with Arthur Langlie
1949-1954.
30
4
32
Columbia Basin Development Bill.
Correspondence, enclosures, and statements, including Wells' statement in
opposition to the Columbia Valley Authority, relative to legislation involving
Columbia Basin Project funding
1949-1952.
20
4
33
Dana, Marshall. Correspondence
with Dana, a Portland, Ore., newsman, civic leader, exponent of water resource
development and past president of the National Reclamation
Association
1951-1956.
20
4
34-35
Haw, John. Correspondence with
the agricultural and land development agent of the Northern Pacific Railroad
Company
1949-1958.
100
5
36
Hells Canyon. Letter and packet
of materials from Idaho Power Company explaining its position on dams in Hells
Canyon
1951-1952.
15
5
37
Interstate Compact.
Correspondence primarily with Washington State conservation and resources
agencies
1952-1954.
30
5
38
Jordan, Len. Correspondence with
Idaho Governor Len Jordan's assistant relative to Hells Canyon
1951-1952.
15
5
39
Oregon Letters- Reclamation.
Correspondence, mainly with Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad Company
officials
1951-1953.
10
5
40
Pacific Northwest Development
Association. Correspondence, mainly with Daniel Noble (s.a. Washington State
Development Association)
1953-1956.
10
41
Pacific Water Council.
Correspondence and minutes relative to formation of new
organization
1952-53.
3
10
42-43
Public Utility District and
Pacific Power and Light Company. Correspondence, circulars, election materials
related to Public Utilities District election in Benton County
1946.
30
10
44-46
Raver, Paul. Correspondence,
enclosures, minutes and transcripts of meetings of the Bonneville Advisory
Council (s.a. Bonneville Advisory Council)
1947-1953.
120
10
47
Stapleton, W.P. Correspondence
with Northern Pacific Railroad Company official relative to reclamation
organizations
1949-1955.
30
10
48
Wahluke Slope Committee.
Correspondence and minutes
1953.
5
6
49
Washington State Development
Committee. Correspondence, working papers, membership lists, donation records
(s.a. Pacific Northwest Development Association)
1950-1952.
90
6
50
Washington State Power
Commission. Correspondence, copy of act creating commission
1953.
2
6
51-52
Washington State Reclamation
Association. Correspondence, minutes, membership lists, statements and
resolutions. Correspondents include S. I. Olson, Harold Stassen, Lew Garbutt
and Loren Markham
1949-1956.
175
6
53
Washington Water Power Company.
Correspondence with A. G. Meyer, Kinsey Robinson, C. Rea Moore relative to
reclamation organizations
1949-1953.
20
Series 3: Political
Correspondence and reports relative to water policies of the
Truman and Eisenhower administrations, to reclamation-related legislation
before the United States Congress, to appointments in the Eisenhower
administration, especially that of Secretary of Interior Douglas McKay, and to
the President's Water Resources Policy Commission.
6
54
Bills- Congress. Copies of bills
relating to water resources and reclamation
1953-1954.
15
6
55
McKay, Douglas. Correspondence
relative to McKay's appointment as Secretary of Interior; statements by
McKay
1952-1953.
20
6
56
Rising, E.W. (National Water
Conservation). Letter and report relative to water conservation
lobby
1953.
2
6
57
Sawyer, Ken (Farmers' Home
Administration). Correspondence relative to Sawyer's appointment as FHA
Administrator
1954.
6
6
58
Truman, Harry. Copies of
correspondence of Truman and Congressman Walter Norblad explaining Truman's
views of the Columbia Valley Authority proposal
1950.
2
6
59-60
Water Resources Policies. Final
reports, rebuttal statements, letter of explanation by Dwight Eisenhower
relative to the President's Water Resources Policy Commission (s.a. Rising, E.
W.)
1953.
15
Series 4: Agricultural Research
and Education
Correspondence, reports, clippings, circulars and working papers
relating to Washington State University, especially to its branch experiment
station at Prosser, Washington; to the appointments of university presidents
Wilson Compton and C. Clement French; to Wells' membership on the Institute of
Agricultural Sciences Advisory Board; also included are Wells' papers relating
to the Washington State Poultry and Turkey Industry Disease Control Commission,
a state agency which operated in close cooperation with Washington State
University.
7
61
Compton, Wilson. Correspondence,
clippings relative to agricultural research at Washington State
University
1950-1952.
15
7
62-67
Experiment Station.
Correspondence, enclosures mainly related to the organization, staffing and
funding of the WSU Experiment Station at Prosser, Washington
1945-1954.
250
7
68
Frazier, Fred (Extension Service)
Correspondence relative to poultry research
1943-1948.
10
7
69
French, C. Clement.
Correspondence with French relative to his assumption of the Presidency of
WSU
1952.
10
7
70
Washington State College
(University) - General. Correspondence, memoranda relative to WSU, mainly to
poultry research and to appointment of officials
1944-1957.
70
7
71-72
Washington State College
(University) - Advisory Council. Correspondence, minutes, relating to the
Institute of Agricultural Sciences Advisory Council, a board consisting mainly
of farm and trade association representatives
1950-1952.
75
7
73
Washington State College
(University) - Regent's Appointment. Correspondence relative to Wells'
candidacy for a regent's post
1953.
30
8
74-76
Washington State Poultry and
Turkey Industry Disease Control Commission. Correspondence, minutes relative to
the commission and its efforts to encourage poultry disease research
principally at Washington State University, and its efforts to control poultry
disease epidemics, especially the Pullorum and Newcastle's Disease
epidemics.
1944-1950.
250
Series 5: Prosser Commercial
Club
Correspondence and clippings relative to the activities of the
Prosser Commercial Club, principally in its role as an exponent of reclamation
and agricultural development of Central Washington.
8
77-79
Correspondence, clippings,
enclosures relative to activities of the Prosser Commercial Club especially in
the areas of agriculture and reclamation. Correspondents include Warren
Magnuson, Harry Cain, Hal Holmes and officials of the Atomic Energy Commission,
the Army Corps of Engineers and Washington State University.
1946-1956.
170
Series 6: Personal Irrigation and
Reclamation Interests
Correspondence, legal documents and receipts relating to Wells'
property, water rights and activities as a member of the Sunnyside Valley and
Roza Irrigation Districts.
8
80
Sunnyside Valley Irrigation
District. Correspondence, legal documents, receipts relating to Wells'
membership in the district and to the general operation of the
district
1936-1950.
70
8
81
Roza Irrigation District.
Correspondence relative to the operation of the district
1949.
10
8
82
E.R. Wells' Water Rights.
Correspondence, relative to water rights on Wells' farm property
ca 1921.
10