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W. H. Holabird Papers: Finding Aid
mssHM 73863-73892
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Title: W. H. Holabird Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1889-1973
Bulk dates: 1889-1919
Collection Number: mssHM 73863-73892
Creator:
Holabird, W. H.
Extent: 40 items.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains 40 items primarily related to the work of Southern Pacific Railroad agent and California Development
Company
receiver W.H. Holabird (1845-1921), as well as some personal and ephemeral items. Business correspondence and documents chiefly
date from 1909 to 1918
and include reports for the Southern Pacific Railroad on the properties of Miller and Lux (1909) and the economic resources
in Siberia, Manchuria, and the Philippines.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. W. H. Holabird Papers, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Gift of E. R. Holabird, February 21, 1983.
Railroad agent and California Development Company receiver W.H. (William Hyman) Holabird (1845-1921) was born in Shelburne,
Vermont, on September, 29, 1845. In 1858, Holabird emigrated with his family to Macon, Missouri, and later, Atchison, Kansas.
In Kansas, Holabird worked for the
Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad as an office clerk and passenger agent distributing newspapers. After the outbreak of the
Civil War, Holabird returned to Vermont and enlisted in the 18th Vermont Infantry
Regiment and subsequently participated in the Battle of Gettysburg; Holabird also served in the U.S. Navy as a fireman aboard
the first USS Monadock (an ironclad monitor ) as well as Acting Assistant
Paymaster. After the war, Holabird found employment with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, where he served as a
confidential agent to AT&SF president, Allen Manvil, and supervised the railway’s survey of the Tejon Pass (Tehachapi Mountains,
Calif.).
After Manvil’s death, Holabird worked for the Southern Pacific Company and served for many years as the field agent of E.H.
Harriman (1848-1909), president of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
As Harriman’s agent, Holabird traveled extensively throughout California–in 1909, for instance, Holabird surveyed for the
Southern Pacific the extensive land holdings of Miller and Lux, a large
San Francisco-based ranching firm–as well as the Philippines, Japan, Manchuria, and Siberia. Holabird concluded his professional
life by serving as receiver and general manager of the
California Development Company (CDC) from 1909-1916; closely tied to the Southern Pacific, the CDC was engaged in diverting
water from the Colorado River for the purposes of irrigating the
deserts of Imperial County, California. Under Holabird’s direction, the CDC turned profits and returned to solvency. Holabird
died due to multiple cerebral hemorrhages in Sierra Madre, California, on March 1, 1921.
This collection contains forty items primarily related to the work of railroad agent and California Development Company receiver
W.H. Holabird (1845-1921), as well as some personal and ephemeral items.
The first and largest
series (HM 73863-73875) is comprised of 13 items including correspondence and one report related to
Holabird's survey of Miller and Lux's property for Southern Pacific in 1909.
Holabird's surveys were in response to the Southern Pacific's interest in purchasing
Miller and Lux and its various holdings. Includes one letter by Henry Miller to
Holabird.
Series 2 (HM 73876-73878) contains 3 documents related to Holabird's time as receiver and general manager of the
California Development Company.
Series 3 (HM 73879-73884) is made up of various
reports Holabird wrote during and after his trips to the Philippines, Manchuria, and
Siberia while working for E.H. Harriman and the Southern Pacific Railroad. This
section also includes related correspondences regarding Manchuria with New York
City-based journalist George Kennan (1845-1924).
The final series (HM 73885-73892)
contains 12 miscellaneous and personal items including a photograph of Holabird, biographical and
autobiographical materials, letters, and World War I-era essays written by Holabird
regarding nationalism and communism; it also includes a folder of ephemera with two
copies of the Los Angeles Times announcing Holabird's death and a newspaper clipping
written by Holabird on agriculture and irrigation in the Imperial Valley.
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
- Frank F. Latta Collection: Miller & Lux papers, 1858-1939 (Call number: mssLatta Miller and Lux)
This collection has been organized into 4 series:
- 1. Miller and Lux survey materials (HM 73863-73875)
- 2. California Development Company materials (HM 73876-73878)
- 3. Southern Pacific Railroad materials (HM 73879-73884)
- 4. Miscellaneous and personal items (HM 73885-73892)
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Harriman, Edward Henry,
1848-1909.
Holabird, W.
H.
California Development
Company.
Miller &
Lux.
Southern Pacific
Company.
Agriculture -- California -- Imperial
County.
Ranches -- California.
Water-supply -- California -- Imperial
County.
Colorado River
(Colo.-Mexico)
Imperial County
(Calif.)
Imperial Valley (Calif.
and Mexico)
Essays -- California -- 20th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- California
-- 20th century.
Reports -- California -- 20th century.
Kennan, George, 1845-1924.
Miller, Henry, 1827-1916.