Eugene Clyde La Rue Photographs photCL 136
Suzanne Oatey
The Huntington Library
November 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Eugene Clyde La Rue photographs
Creator:
La Rue, Eugene C. (Eugene
Clyde), 1879-1947
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 136
Physical Description:
8.76 Linear Feet
(7 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1905-1940s
Abstract: A collection of photographs compiled or
created by American hydraulic engineer Eugene Clyde La Rue (1879-1947), documenting his work
on major irrigation projects and surveys in the western United States,
1905-1940s.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
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]. Eugene Clyde La Rue photograph collection, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. E. C. La Rue, 1950-1955.
Eugene Clyde La Rue (1879-1947), a Los Angeles hydraulic engineer, was born in Riverside,
California, and graduated from the University of California in 1904. He was employed by the
U.S. Geological Survey to make field examinations for power sites and report on irrigation
projects, first as district engineer for the Great Basin District headquartered in Salt Lake
City (1907-1911), and then in the Water Resources Branch (1911-1927). La Rue later entered a
private civil engineering partnership in Los Angeles.
A collection of photographs related to hydraulic engineering projects in the western United
States, 1905-1940s. The majority of photographs were taken by Eugene C. La Rue during his
career as an engineer and executive on major irrigation and dam projects, primarily in the
Southwest. The bulk of the collection is six photograph albums of black and white snapshots
with La Rue's typed captions, covering Colorado River surveys 1921-1923. Other images are
stereographs, loose prints of various sizes, and a few mounted, oversize photographs.
Subject matter includes: survey and project work on the Snake River (1905); Tule Lake
(1920); Lafayette Dam and Reservoir (1928); Green and Colorado rivers (1921); Grand Canyon
(1922-1923); Owens Valley, California (1931); and the lower Colorado River (1938). There is
one folder of photographs by and of explorer Lewis R. Freeman, dating from the 1920s.
Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa late-20th century. In 2020, Suzanne Oatey
created a finding aid derived from a collection file.
Arranged by format, and then chronologically.
Eugene Clyde La Rue papers, mssLa Rue.
Parts of the collection were formerly given the call numbers photCL 137 and photCL 138.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Box 7: Photographic negatives housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time
required.
Transferred from Eugene Clyde La Rue papers (mssLa Rue) in approximately mid-20th
century.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico) -- Discovery and exploration
Dams -- West (U.S.)
Geological surveys -- West (U.S.)
Grand Canyon (Ariz.) -- Discovery and exploration
Green River (Wyo.-Utah) -- Discovery and exploration
Hydraulic engineers -- West (U.S.)
Water resources development -- West (U.S.)
Negatives (photographs)
Photograph albums
Photographs
Stereographs
Freeman, Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome),
1878-1960
La Rue, Eugene C. (Eugene Clyde),
1879-1947
Box 1
Box 2
Box 3
Box 4
Box 5
Photographs 1905-1940s
Box 6
Box 7
Negatives 1915-1927; undated