Catherine Mulholland Collection
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8tm7d8c No online items Guide to the Catherine Mulholland Collection Special Collections & Archives University Library California State University, Northridge 18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330-8326 URL: https://library.csun.edu/SCA Contact: https://library.csun.edu/SCA/Contact © Copyright 2020 Special Collections & Archives. All rights reserved. Guide to the Catherine URB.CM 1 Mulholland Collection Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives Title: Catherine Mulholland Collection Creator: Mulholland, Catherine, 1923- Identifier/Call Number: URB.CM Extent: 208.34 linear feet Extent: 25.9 Gigabytes Date (inclusive): 1812-2011 Abstract: Catherine Rose Mulholland, granddaughter of William Mulholland, former Chief Superintendent of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, was a historian, writer, civic leader, and public speaker in the San Fernando Valley and the greater Los Angeles area, where she spent much of her life. The Catherine Mulholland Collection documents her personal and professional life, chronicles the life of her grandfather, William Mulholland, and provides a unique perspective for considering the early social, political and economic history of the greater Los Angeles area. Most significantly, materials contained in this collection demonstrate the many complex issues involved in Los Angeles water history, as well as the important roles played by politicians and political movements, private business and industry, civic organizations, and local, state, and federal governmental agencies in the quest to provide water to the ever-expanding population of Los Angeles. Language of Material: English Biographical Information: Catherine Rose Mulholland was born at Hollywood Methodist Hospital in Hollywood, California on April 7, 1923, the first of three children born to William "Perry" and Addie Camelia Haas Mulholland. Perry (1892-1962) was the eldest son of William Mulholland (1855-1935), former Chief Superintendent of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Lillie Ferguson Mulholland (1867-1915), daughter of James (1831-1910) and Francis Ann Fish Ferguson (1837-1926). Addie (1896-1980) was the eldest daughter of John (1867-1917) and Katie May Ijams Haas (1877-1968), early settlers in the San Fernando Valley. Catherine was raised on a citrus and walnut ranch known as the Mulholland Orchard Ranch, located at the west end of the San Fernando Valley between the towns of Chatsworth and Northridge, an area formerly known as Zelzah. Catherine's grandfather William Mulholland first began purchasing property in the San Fernando Valley in 1912, and by the time of her birth had amassed more than 650 acres of fertile farm land. In 1916, her father Perry took over the management of the ranch, and in 1921 brought his new bride home to a cluster of small bungalows referred to as the West Ranch. Over the next two years, the couple designed and built a new home that that would eventually become known as the "Homeplace." In 1925, Perry and Addie would welcome a son, Richard "Dick" Perry, and in 1931 another daughter, Patricia Ruth, would complete the family. Catherine's early education primarily took place at Winnetka Avenue School, with the exception of the 1931-1932 school year when she and Dick were sent to the Los Angeles Progressive School. As Catherine herself writes, "In a quest for better schools, I became something of an academic vagabond." She spent a year living at her maternal grandparents' home in Studio City while attending North Hollywood Junior High School, and two years living at her grandfather Mulholland's home while attending the Marlborough School for Girls in Los Angeles. Catherine eventually made her way back to the Homeplace, graduating from Canoga Park High School in 1940. Catherine earned a bachelor's degree in English at the University of California, Berkeley in 1945, a master's degree in English at Columbia University, New York in 1947, and returned to UC Berkeley to pursue a doctorate degree later that year. In September 1949 Catherine met and married Gerard Timothy Hurley (1924-2013), a professor at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California. Over the course of the next several years she taught English at a community college and pursued a career as a playwright. In the late 1950s, the couple adopted three children, a girl and two boys. When they divorced in 1976, Catherine returned to the San Fernando Valley where her writing shifted toward documenting regional history and her family's role in the development of the greater Los Angeles area. Catherine Mulholland's first published book, Calabasas Girls: An Intimate History (1976) tells the story of her mother's family, some of the first homesteaders in the west San Fernando Valley in the early 1880s. Her second book, The Owensmouth Baby: The Making of a San Fernando Valley Town (1987) is a detailed account of the individuals, organizations, and government entities involved in the acquisition of water from the Owens Valley, and its relationship to early twentieth century real estate development in the San Fernando Valley. William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles (2000), Catherine's third published book, is a biography of her paternal grandfather, William Mulholland, whose controversial career as Chief Superintendent of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power worked to shape the course of Southern California history. Catherine's last book, Calabasas Lives: Pioneers of a Western Outpost (2009) is a compilation of the many family stories and local legends passed down by the pioneer families of 19th century Calabasas. Guide to the Catherine URB.CM 2 Mulholland Collection Over the course of Catherine Mulholland's writing career, she also produced more than twenty-five plays, and dozens of articles, essays, and short stories. In addition to her career as an historian and writer, Catherine Mulholland was an active and engaged civic leader and public speaker whose interests included urban and suburban development, civil rights and school desegregation, environmental politics, the preservation of historic landmarks, public utility reform, and myriad California water issues. Catherine played an integral role in local concerns, serving on the board of Water and Power Associates, the President's Advisory Board at California State University, Northridge, and as Mayor of the city of Canoga Park. Catherine was a passionate and prolific public speaker whose presentations for historical societies, civic and non-profit organizations, private clubs, educational institutions, galleries, museums, and libraries never failed to charm audiences. Catherine Mulholland passed away at her home in Camarillo, California on July 6, 2011, from natural causes. Scope and Contents The Catherine Mulholland Collection documents Catherine Mulholland's personal and professional life, chronicles the life of her grandfather, William Mulholland, Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and provides a unique perspective for considering the early social, political, and economic history of the greater Los Angeles area. Most significantly, materials contained in this collection document the many complex issues involved in Los Angeles water history, as well as the significant roles played by politicians, political movements, private business and industry, civic organizations, and various governmental agencies in the quest to provide water to Los Angeles' ever-expanding population. Notable individuals and corporate entities represented in the collection include Hobart J. Whitley, Harrison Gray Otis, Moses Hazeltine Sherman, Harry Chandler, Otto F. Brant, Frederick Eaton, H.E. Huntington, J.B. Lippincott, Ben F. Porter, George K. Porter, Ezra Scattergood, Harvey Van Norman, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Metropolitan Water District, the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company, and the San Fernando Valley Water Company. Highlights in the collection include Catherine's unpublished and virtually unknown plays and short stories, William Mulholland's professional office files and speeches, and Mulholland Family and Mulholland Orchard Ranch photographs. The collection is arranged in four series: Professional Writings (1956-2006), Research Files (1812-2010), Personal Files (1904-2010), and Family Files (1817-2010). Series I, Professional Writings, documents Catherine Mulholland's publications. It has been divided into three subseries: Monographs (1976-2000), Speeches, Presentations, and Public Appearances (1977-2006), and Plays, Articles, Essays, Short Fiction, and Poetry (1956-2005). Monographs documents late-nineteenth and twentieth century San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles history with a focus on agriculture and ranching, urban and suburban development and commercial investments, the evolution of public transportation systems, the acquisition of water from the Owens Valley, as well as Mulholland family history, and the career and personal life of William Mulholland. It consists of manuscript drafts, galley proofs, research, work notes, and electronic text files related to Catherine's four published books. Speeches, Presentations, and Public Appearances documents Catherine's public and private life including childhood memories, family history, collective regional history, the women's club movement, local economic history, local political development, the construction of the Owens Valley Aqueduct system, the 1928 St. Francis Dam Disaster, and some of the prevailing myths