F. E. Brown photograph collection of Bear Valley Dam photCL 192
Suzanne Oatey
The Huntington Library
June 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington LibraryPhoto Archives
Title: F. E. Brown photograph collection of Bear Valley Dam
Creator:
Brown, F. E. (Frank Elwood),
1856-1914
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 192
Physical Description:
1.17 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1880s-1890s
Abstract: A collection of photographs,
1880s-1890s, of construction of Bear Valley Dam and surveys of the Whitewater River, San
Bernardino County, California.
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]. F. E. Brown photograph collection of Bear Valley Dam, The
Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Paul W. Brown, 1962.
F. E. (Frank Elwood) Brown (1856-1914) was the chief engineer of Bear Valley Dam, built in
1884 to supply water to parts of San Bernardino County, California. He was also the
co-founder of Redlands, California, and a founder of the Bear Valley Land and Water Company.
In the early 1890s, Brown formed the Bear Valley Irrigation Company to survey the Whitewater
River (between the San Bernardino Mountains and the Coachella Valley) to prepare for
pipeline construction to the Alessandro irrigation district, San Bernardino County.
A collection of 46 photographs and a few pieces of ephemera related to the building of Bear
Valley Dam, 1884, and surveys of the Whitewater River, San Bernardino County, California,
1890s. The photographs belonged to F. E. (Frank Elwood) Brown, who was the chief engineer of
the dam, which was built to provide irrigation to citrus growers in San Bernardino County.
It is unclear who took the photographs, which are prints of various sizes, many with
handwritten identifications. The building of the dam created Big Bear Lake, and images show
the valley before and after the lake's creation. Other images depict: the granite dam being
built; a long flume crossing a creek; engineers at camp; and one image of Brown and fellow
Redlands founder Edward G. Judson, approximately 1886. There are also several survey
photographs of Whitewater River in San Bernardino County, and a few cabinet card photographs
by early regional photographers Rudolph J. Philippi, Charles T. Collier, and D. Ford of
Redlands. Ephemera includes a printed map of the Lake View Tract, Riverside County,
California, bearing the letterhead of the Sierra Vista Orange Land Company, F. E. Brown,
President. Additionally, there are two newspaper clippings from 1897 about Brown, and a
fold-out case with portrait photographs of Brown and his wife, Jessie Fremont Smith.
Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa mid-20th century. In 2020, Suzanne Oatey
created a finding aid derived from a collection file.
Brown, Frank E. Ledger showing work on Pica Tract, San Bernardino, Calif., 1903-1904. mssHM
73664.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Dams -- California -- Bear Valley (San Bernardino County)
Water resources development -- San Bernardino County (Calif.)
Bear Valley (San Bernardino County,
Calif.)
Big Bear Lake (San Bernardino County,
Calif. : Lake)
San Bernardino County (Calif.)
Photographs
Clippings (information artifacts) -- 19th century
Brown, F. E. (Frank Elwood),
1856-1914
Bear Valley Irrigation
Company
Box 1
F. E. Brown photograph collection of Bear Valley Dam