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Mulholland (Catherine) Collection
URB.CM
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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
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. 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.
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 and legends surrounding the life of William Mulholland. It includes speech
and presentation text, correspondence, newspaper clippings, research notes, newsletters,
announcements, invitations, brochures, maps, flyers, programs, audio and video recordings,
and electronic text files related to events, and is organized alphabetically by sponsoring
organization name.
Plays, Articles, Essays, Short Fiction, and
Poetry
documents Catherine's authorship of numerous short works of fiction and
nonfiction. It includes notes, drafts, completed works, submission correspondence, and
electronic text files, and is arranged alphabetically by the title of the work.
Series II,
Research Files, documents Catherine Mulholland's
personal and professional research. It has been divided into two subseries,
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Press Clippings and Other
Newspapers
(1898-1956) and
Subject Files (1812-2010).
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Press Clippings and Other
Newspapers
documents local and out-of-area news reports with a focus on California
water issues. This subseries has been divided into four subseries,
Local
Publications,
Multiple Titles (1904-1941),
Local
Publications, Individual Titles,
(1877-1948),
Out-of-Area
Publications, Multiple Titles
(1919-1956), and
Out–of-Area
Publications, Individual Titles
(1898-1925). Multiple titles are arranged
chronologically and individual titles are arranged by the name of the publication.
Subject Files documents a wide range of research topics including
art, music, literature, regional history, state history, public utilities, San Fernando
Valley secession, environmental concerns, and water issues with a focus on the controversies
surrounding the Los Angeles Aqueduct. It consists of newspaper and magazine clippings,
excerpts, brochures, newsletters, reports, correspondence, research notes, audio and video
recordings, and electronic text files, and is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Series III,
Personal Files, documents the many facets of
Catherine Mulholland's personal life. This series is divided into six subseries:
Career, Legal, and Financial Records (1949-2010),
Correspondence (1929-2009),
Education (1931-1953),
Music, Theater, and Event Programs (1924-2005),
Journals, Notes, and Memorabilia (1904-2008), and
Scrapbooks, Albums, and Photographic Material (1920-2006).
Career, Legal, and Financial Records documents Catherine's affiliations with civic
organizations, educational institutions, and municipal government, as well as her
relationships with publishers and financial institutions. It includes brochures, pamphlets,
memoranda, minutes, agendas, newsletters, bulletins, correspondence, reports, and contracts,
and is arranged alphabetically by subject or name of organization.
Correspondence consists of handwritten and typescript letters, printed email,
postcards, greeting cards, invitations, and announcements, either to or from Catherine
Mulholland, and is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the sender.
Education documents Catherine's formal schooling from primary school
through post-graduate work. It includes assignments, exams, papers, class notes, projects,
drawings, grade reports, and diplomas, and is arranged by education level and alphabetically
by course subject.
Music, Theater, and Event Programs documents
Catherine's long-held interest in performance art. It includes programs, playbills, flyers,
and booklets for public performances, and is arranged alphabetically by the title of the
event.
Journals, Notes, and Memorabilia documents Catherine's
relationships with friends and family, hobbies and pastimes, and her personal writings. This
subseries includes diaries, notes, mementoes, collectibles, and sheet music. It is arranged
alphabetically by subject.
Scrapbooks, Albums, and Photographic
Material
documents Catherine's public and private life, especially awards,
dedications, professional conferences, publication parties and publicity, research, personal
travel, visits with friends, and significant individual and family events. It includes
scrapbooks, photographic albums, loose photographic prints, studio portraits, proof sheets,
photographic slides, negatives, and digital images. Scrapbooks and Albums are arranged
chronologically. All other photographic material is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Series IV,
Family Files, documents the business concerns and
personal lives of Catherine Mulholland's family members. It is divided into three subseries:
Mulholland Orchard Company Records (1915-1969),
Family Member Files (1817-2010), and
Scrapbooks,
Albums, and Photographic Material
(1856-2007).
Mulholland
Orchard Company Records
documents the formation of the corporation, daily
operations, and financial history of the Mulholland Orchard Company, and includes articles
of incorporation and bylaws, legal records pertinent to the sales and transfers of real
property, accounts payable and receivable, tax records, property surveys and maps, and
office equipment used by Perry and Addie Mulholland. This subseries is arranged
alphabetically by subject.
Family Member Files documents the
personal and professional lives of individual family members, and includes legal and
financial records, academic records, newspaper and magazine clippings, announcements,
invitations, and programs, personal and business writings and correspondence, and academic
records. It is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the family member.
Scrapbooks, Albums, and Photographic Material documents the personal
and public lives of individuals and groups in the Mulholland family and includes scrapbooks,
photograph albums, loose photographs, studio portraits, cabinet photographs, slides,
negatives, tintypes, and digital images. It is arranged alphabetically by the last name of
the individual, the family group, or subject.
Series I: Professional Writings, 1956-2006
Subseries A: Monographs, 1976-2000
Subseries B: Speeches, Presentations, and Public Appearances, 1977-2006
Subseries C: Plays, Articles, Essays, Short Fiction, and Poetry, 1956-2005
Series II: Research Files, 1812-2010
Subseries A: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Press Clippings and
Other Newspapers, 1898-1956
Subseries 1: Local Publications, Multiple Titles, 1904-1941
Subseries 2: Local Publications, Individual Titles, 1877-1948
Subseries 3: Out of Area Publications, Multiple Titles, 1919-1956
Subseries 4: Out of Area Publications, Individual Titles, 1898-1925
Subseries B: Subject Files, 1812-2010
Series III: Personal Files, 1904-2010
Subseries A: Career, Legal, and Financial Records, 1949-2010
Subseries B: Correspondence, 1929-2009
Subseries C: Education, 1931-1953
Subseries D: Music, Theater, and Event Programs, 1924-2005
Subseries E: Journals, Notes, and Memorabilia, 1904-2008
Subseries F: Scrapbooks, Albums, and Photographic Material, 1920-2006
Series IV: Family Files, 1817-2010
Subseries A: Mulholland Orchard Company Records, 1915-1969
Subseries B: Family Member Files, 1817-2010
Subseries C: Scrapbooks, Albums, and Photographic Material, 1856-2007
Existence and Location of Copies
Digital reproductions of selected items in this collection are available electronically as
a part of the
The
Water Works
Project.
Related Material
Cataloged materials from the Catherine Mulholland Collection can be found in the
Library Catalog.
This collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright
status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected
by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the
written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Catherine Mulholland, 02/2003.
2007, 2010, 2011.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Holli Teltoe, 2013.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Albums (Books)
Ephemera
Maps
Documents
Photographs
Scrapbooks