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Walter L. Huber papers and photographs
WRCA 044
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Title: Walter L. Huber papers
Date (inclusive): 1910-1953
Collection Number: WRCA 044
Extent:
33 linear feet
(39 boxes)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: Materials from Walter L. Huber related to water infrastructure in California and the western United States. Materials include
reports, correspondence, and photographs.
Languages: The collection is in English.
Collection is open for research.
The materials in this collection are arranged by geographic area, starting with California. The California related materials
are organized alphabetically by county. The photographs in series 7 are arranged in numerical order.
- Series 1. California, by county
- Series 2. California, general
- Series 3. Arizona
- Series 4. Colorado
- Series 5. Nevada
- Series 6. United States, general
- Series 7. Huber photographs
Walter Leroy Huber, the son of Millard Fillmore and Celia (Dill) Huber, was born in San Francisco, California, on January
4, 1883. He attended the public schools of Yolo County, California, and after graduating from Woodland High School, entered
the University of California (Berkeley), from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering,
in 1905.
Mr. Huber obtained his early professional experience in structural design as an Assistant Engineer with John D. Galloway.
In 1908, he was appointed Chief Engineer of the University of California's building program by Supervising Architect John
Galen Howard. Because of his knowledge of hydroelectric design and his familiarity with the mountains (he led parties which
were some of the first to climb the Sierra peaks), in 1910 he represented Galloway and Markwart in surveying for a possible
hydroelectric project on the Calaveras River. Also in 1910, he was appointed District Engineer for the United States Forest
Service, District no. 5, comprising all of the land area in California and southwestern Nevada which was subject to the jurisdiction
of the Forest Service.
Huber's contact with the Sierra Club, John Muir, and his love of the mountains made him an ardent conservationist. Thus,
when the Devils Postpile and Rainbow Falls region was threatened because of an application for the construction of a dam and
hydroelectric power development on the San Joaquin River, Huber called the Sierra Club to help prevent the possible desecration
which would result. He arranged for a meeting between Club representatives and Henry S. Graves, Chief Forester, and as Forest
Service Engineer, Huber surveyed the area to be preserved. As a result of Huber's foresight, President Taft signed the Proclamation
creating the Devils Postpile National Monument on July 6, 1911.
In March 1913, Huber opened his own engineering office in San Francisco. For the next twenty-eight years, Huber operated
as sole principal. In 1941, he chose as his partner, Edward M. Knapik, another University of California graduate. The partnership
of Huber and Knapik did extensive work for the University of California at Berkeley, Davis, and San Francisco.
Although most active in the structural, hydroelectric, and irrigation areas, Huber undertook special studies in flood control
and municipal water supply. He was an authority on earthquake resistance and published works concerning his studies on seismic
forces. Concerned also with the utilization of mountain water, Huber acted as consultant for the Nevada-California Power Company
and the Southern Sierras Power Company. During WWI he explored and surveyed the Little Colorado River and Service with the
State Engineer's Committee preparing the original report for the Central Valley Project. He was consultant for the California
Department of Water Resources on the State Water Plan and for the War Department; he was employed by the City of San Francisco
in connection with its Cherry Valley Dam and Hetch Hetchy power development; and was consultant on the Sacramento Municipal
Utility District's American River power development.
On November 11, 1941, Huber was married to Alberta Mann Reed in Los Angeles. In 1954, President Eisenhower named him Advisor
to the President on a controversial study of the Arkansas-White-Red River Basins. He also served on the Board of Directors
and as Vice President of the California Academy of Sciences. For his professional accomplishments, Huber received the Honor
Award of the Building Industry Conference Board in 1953.
Walter L. Huber died on May 30, 1960, in San Francisco.
Excerpted from:
Memorial Concerning Walter Leroy Huber, 1883-1960,by H. H. Hall and Robert D. Dewell; and,
Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. 126, pt. V (1961), p. 27-28.
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Walter L. Huber papers and photographs (WRCA 044). Water Resources Collections
and Archives. Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
This collection was originally processed by WRCA staff at UC Berkeley in 1962. A machine readable finding aid was created
in 1999. The Huber papers (previously HUBER) and Huber photographs (previously MS 76/14) were merged into a single collection
with a combined finding aid in April 2020 by Andrew Lippert, Special Collections Processing Archivist. The old Huber papers
are Series 1 through 6 and the photograph collection was appended as Series 7.
This finding aid was updated to contextualize use of derogatory language in creator-supplied description in 2023.
Correspondence, reports, documents, data, and photographs, relating to dams, hydroelectric power installations, irrigation
works, and municipal water supply systems, principally in California, but including other western states and the Arkansas-White-Red
River Basin. Includes material on the Devils Postpile National Monument, Calif.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Water Resources Collections and Archives. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Distinctive Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Water Resources Collections and Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Aqueducts -- California
Canals -- California
Dams -- California
Dams -- California -- Design and construction
Hydroelectric power plants -- California -- Design and construction
Irrigation canals and flumes -- California
Reservoirs -- California
Water-power -- California
Water-supply -- California
Water-supply -- West (U.S.)
Waterworks -- California