http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf4q2nb00m No online items Inventory of the William Hammond Hall Papers, 1878-1907 Processed by Jenan Shabbas; supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Xiuzhi Zhou. California State Archives 1020 "O" Street Sacramento, California 95814 Phone: (916) 653-2246 Fax: (916) 653-7363 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/ © 2000 California Secretary of State. All rights reserved. Inventory of the William 91-07-04, 91-06-10 1 Hammond Hall Papers, 1878-1907 Inventory of the William Hammond Hall Papers, 1878-1907 Inventory: 91-07-04, 91-06-10 California State Archives Office of the Secretary of State Sacramento, California Contact Information: California State Archives 1020 "O" Street Sacramento, California 95814 Phone: (916) 653-2246 Fax: (916) 653-7363 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/ Processed by: Jenan Shabbas Date Completed: July 1996 © 2000 California Secretary of State. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: William Hammond Hall Papers, Date (inclusive): 1878-1907 Inventory: 91-07-04, 91-06-10 Creator: Hall, William Hammond Extent: see Arrangement and Description Repository: California State Archives Sacramento, California Language: English. Publication Rights For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], William Hammond Hall Papers, 91-07-04, 91-06-10, California State Archives. Introduction The William Hammond Hall Papers described in this inventory cover the years 1878 to 1907. Although Hall only served as State Engineer until 1889, some maps and miscellaneous papers date up to 1907 due to the fact that this record group was housed as documents still in use with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) until 1991. The William Hammond Hall Papers came to the California State Archives throughout 1991. Joseph P. Samora, Archivist II, coordinated the transfer of these records. Not only did this include working with DWR to negotiate the transfer of the majority of the records, but Mr. Samora also had to obtain miscellaneous field books from a private law firm and the State Lands Commission to whom DWR had loaned materials for litigation purposes. Mr. Samora began the processing of the collection as he was working to bring it together to be housed at the Archives. This included comparing the collection against two lists provided by DWR, one for the field books and the other for the maps. The final processing, including preparation of this inventory and arrangement of the miscellaneous papers subgroup was conducted by Jenan Shabbas, graduate student volunteer, in 1996. Inventory of the William 91-07-04, 91-06-10 2 Hammond Hall Papers, 1878-1907 J. Michael McKown, Senior Boundary Determination Officer for the State Lands Commission, stated that the William Hammond Hall Papers are the most comprehensive historical account of water supply, irrigation and natural waterways in California in the 1880s. They provide valuable evidence... to determine the historic locations of the State's waterways, information critical to defining the nature and extent of the State's sovereign ownership interests in and along these waterways. In the absence of reliable survey data such as these records, thousands of dollars must be expended for soils analysis, vegetation studies and other research to establish historic conditions. 1 The entire record group is open for research without restrictions under the conditions of the California State Archives' access policies. However, many of the maps, field books, and miscellaneous papers are extremely fragile, and, where possible, use copies may be made available to researchers to avoid wear and tear on the original records. At the discretion of the reference archivist, records may be copied for scholarly or personal research. Researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material in publication. The suggested citation to these records is State Engineer--William Hammond Hall Papers. AC 91-07-04 [or AC 91-06-10 if using the Miscellaneous Papers subgroup]. California State Archives. Footnote: 1 J. Michael McKown, letter to Joseph P. Samora, 13 December 1991, California State Archives, Sacamento, California. Agency History William Hammond Hall served as California's first State Engineer from 1878 to 1889. During those years, Hall surveyed and reported on the state's water resources, both calling attention to problems and recommending solutions. Hall's examinations still serve as the most extensive study of California's water systems to date, the scale of which, considering the fiscal situation of California's state government, is likely never to be matched. Hall was born in Hagerstown, Maryland on 12 February 1846. In 1853 Hall's parents, John Buchanan and Anna Maria Hall, brought the family to California where Hall was educated in private academies from 1858 to 1865. His parents' plans for him to attend West Point Military Academy were abandoned due to the Civil War, and shortly after the war he began his engineering career by serving as a computer and draughtsman in the office of Colonel R.S. Williamson of the U.S. Engineer Corps. In this position, Hall's first field assignment was as an assistant in the barometric measuring of snow-clad peaks in Oregon. After returning from Oregon, Hall worked as a rodman and then a surveyor under the U.S. Board of Engineers for the Pacific Coast. This agency was working on topographic surveys to determine how harbors should be fortified, a charge which took Hall from San Diego Harbor to Neah Bay, then the most southern and northern harbors on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. While working for the Board of Engineers, Hall also gained experience in studying river systems by surveying the rapids of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers in order to improve navigation of these important waterways. 1 Upon returning to California, Hall did hydrographic work for the harbors in San Diego and San Francisco then directed the topographic contouring of the San Francisco peninsula, focusing especially on the Presidio area and Point Lobos. In 1870 the first Board of Park Commissioners of San Francisco awarded Hall the contract for a topographic survey of the Golden Gate Reservation. That year Hall also married Emma Kate Fitzhugh with whom he would later have three daughters. Following his work for the Park Commissioners, Hall was appointed the Engineer and Superintendent of Parks in San Francisco. He served in this position, planning and improving Golden Gate Park, until 1876. 2 From 1876 to 1878 Hall worked for the Nevada Bank (which later became the Bank of California) where he was in charge of extensive land and water properties owned by the bank in the San Joaquin Valley. Here he gained his first extensive knowledge of irrigation works, the documentation of which would soon become his greatest achievement. 3 In 1878 Governor William Irwin appointed Hall to the newly created post of State Engineer. There Hall was re-appointed four times until his resignation in February 1889. Two major causes motivated the California Legislature to create the position of State Engineer. One was the long and devastating drought that had virtually destroyed the cattle industry in Southern California and drove countless small and marginal farmers off their land due to lack of adequate irrigation. Additionally, floods in Northern California were wreaking havoc, frequently resulting from improper drainage and a lack of adequate flood control measures. The Legislature of 1878 charged the State Engineer with investigating the problems of irrigation, the condition of drainage lines, and the improvement of river navigation. At the same time, the Legislature appropriated $100,000 for the position. 4 There existed two views of what the State Engineer was to accomplish. One, held by those who voted for the creation of the office simply to placate agitators, wanted no radical changes and viewed the position as needing and having little power and even less funding. The other side, believing that any action taken by the State needed to be based on solid investigations of California's water resources, viewed the State Engineer's position as the means of gaining the necessary knowledge on which to formulate policy. This group of legislators felt their role was to act on the recommendations of the State Engineer. 5 Inventory of the William 91-07-04, 91-06-10 3 Hammond Hall Papers, 1878-1907 Hall's first action as State Engineer was to send out parties to investigate various rivers and the lands surrounding them. These parties, led by assistant engineers whose names would eventually gain fame in their own right (Grunsky, Boschke, Schuyler, and Mendell to name a few), continued throughout Hall's tenure to supply the State with vital information regarding California's water resources. Their studies served as the raw data and observations behind Hall's reports to the Legislature. 6 Hall's suggestions to the Legislature focused on his opinion that the State must take it upon itself to regulate California's water resources. Hall felt that the Legislature should first survey the extent and nature of existing water rights and then take on the role of issuing water privileges. He recommended that the lawmakers and the courts carefully study and provide for a solution to the problems presented by the competing interests of riparian proprietors and appropriators. During his tenure as State Engineer, Hall supported the organization of irrigation districts as the best means of financing and regulating irrigation works.