Guide to the George G. Pollock papers

Sean de Courcy and Joy Rowe

Center for Sacramento History

551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.

Sacramento, California 95811-0229

Phone: (916) 808-7072

Fax: (916) 264-7582

Email: csh@cityofsacramento.org

URL: http://www.centerforsacramentohistory.org/

Guide to the George G. Pollock papers

Collection number: MS0032

Center for Sacramento History

Sacramento, CA

Processed by:: Sean de Courcy and Joy Rowe
Date Completed:: 2009
Encoded by:: Sean Heyliger

Descriptive Summary

Title: George G. Pollock papers

Dates: 1905-1975

Bulk Dates: 1940-1975

Collection number: MS0032

Creator: Pollock, George G.

Collector: Pollock, George G. Jr.

Collection Size: 9.5 linear feet (9 boxes + 1 oversized map drawer)

Repository: Center for Sacramento History

Sacramento, California 95811-0229

Abstract: The George Gordon Pollock Papers, held by the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center, reflects the life work of the man himself. Before and after World War II, Pollock’s firm built some of the most important and recognizable features of California’s physical and cultural landscape, including the Shasta Dam, the All American Canal and Boulder Dam, and Tower Bridge of Sacramento. The collection contains four series: Business, Personal, Photographs, and Oversized Material. The earliest artifact in the collection dates from 1905, while the most recent document dates from 1975. However, most of the document dates range between 1940 and 1975. The wide array of materials in the collection include correspondence, legal and financial documents, newspaper clippings, books, scrapbooks, awards and certificates, photograph prints and negatives, maps, site surveys, and technical diagrams. George Gordon Pollock Jr., George Pollock’s son, created many of the documents in the collection.

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Collection is open for research use.

Publication Rights

All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH 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 patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], George G. Pollock papers, MS0032, Center for Sacramento History.

Acquisition Information

Don Perry, Executor for Mrs. Gordon Pollock, donated the George G. Pollock Papers to the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center in 1985 (accession #1985/088). The contents included a “collection of miscellaneous papers, photographs, and memorabilia of the Pollock Family”. The Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center transferred additional photographs and memorabilia relating to World War II to the San Joaquin Pioneer and Historical Society in Stockton.

Processing Information

George G. Pollock Papers processed by Sean de Courcy and Joy Rowe, 2009. Finding Aid prepared by Sean de Courcy and Joy Rowe.

Biography / Administrative History

John Pollock and Katherine Rachel Mitchell gave birth to George Gordon Pollock in Charleston, Indiana in 1885. George G. Pollock began studying civil engineering at Purdue University in 1901. After graduation in 1905, Pollock moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where he took his first engineering job.

Pollock worked in Omaha until 1909, when the Western Bridge and Construction Company enticed the ambitious young engineer to come to Sacramento, where he worked for the next nine years. During his time with the Western Bridge and Construction Company, Pollock saved enough to start his own construction firm, and in 1918, Pollock founded his first business, the Pollock Construction Company.

In 1913 Pollock married Irma Phleger. While his career expanded, so too did the Pollock family. The Pollock-Phleger union produced three sons: George G. Pollock Jr., Alan Harper Pollock, and John Phleger Pollock.

Over the next twenty years, Pollock’s company had both good times and bad. These trends were exacerbated by the booms in the 1920s, followed by the hardships during the Great Depression. However, with the outbreak of World War II, Pollock began to rethink his construction operation in Sacramento, and in 1942 Pollock and his firm moved to Stockton, California. Stockton’s large inland ship channel proved invaluable for Pollock’s new Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Company. Pollock’s shipbuilding efforts in Stockton, fueled by wartime industrial investment, flourished until the end of the war. Pollock’s operation in Stockton followed American troops across the Pacific Ocean, undertaking projects in Hawaii, the Philippine Islands, and Guam.

After the war, Pollock and his family returned to Sacramento in 1946, where Pollock restarted his Pollock Construction Company. Before and after World War II, Pollock’s firm built some of the most important and recognizable features of California’s physical and cultural landscape. These projects include the Shasta Dam, the All American Canal and Boulder Dam, the dry docks at the Alameda Naval Air Base, the Ruck A Chucky Dam on the American River, the Docks for the naval fleet at San Pedro, the Cruiser dry dock at Mare Island, the naval operations base at Long Beach and Point Hueneme, and the famous Tower Bridge in Sacramento.

Aside from his professional endeavors, George Pollock and family owned a large ranch south of the City of Sacramento. Pollock took an active role in ranch activities, raising Hereford cattle for both selective breeding and exhibitions in California’s State Fair. Additionally, Pollock emerged as an active leader in the Sacramento business and civic community. Pollock was extremely active in the Boy Scouts of America, donating a tract of land on the American River that is now Camp Pollock Boy Scout Camp. Pollock also served on the Sacramento Valley Council, the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Centennials Commission, the Masons in Sacramento, the California State Life Insurance Company, and the World Trade Center Authority.

On January 15, 1950, Pollock passed away suddenly at his home at the age of just 55. Pollock was survived by his wife Irma, and their three sons: George Jr., Alan, and John.

Scope and Content of Collection

Arranged into four series, the items in the collection span the years 1905 to 1975, with the bulk of the items dating from 1940-1975. The four series are 1. Business, 2. Personal, 3. Photographs, and 4. Oversized Material. The collection includes documents, photographs, scrapbooks, maps, artifacts and ephemera that reflect the personal and business life of George G. Pollock Sr. (1885-1950). Eldest son George G. Pollock Jr. or “Gordon” Pollock created many of the later materials in the collection.

The first series, Business, consists of 30 folders and includes two subseries: Construction and Family Ranch. Arranged chronologically within each subseries, the items comprise minutes, contracts, correspondence, financial documents, and newspaper clippings between 1939 and 1974. This subseries primarily documents the construction projects of George G. Pollock Sr.; a large portion of the material details his World War II projects.

The second subseries, Family Ranch, spans 1949 to 1974 and includes property assessment reports, appraisal reports, property transfer agreements, correspondence, and cattle periodicals. Documents in this subseries chronicle the lengthy process of selling the Pollock Ranch.

The second series contains personal records of both George G. Pollock Sr. and Gordon Pollock, Jr. and includes documents from 1905-1975 as well as some undated material. Arranged chronologically, the series consists of 15 folders containing awards and other materials. It includes yearbooks, awards and certificates, boat building books, and Bible study material. In addition, this series includes a multi-page typewritten chronology of the Pollock family, diagramed in the form of a family tree.

The third series consists of one cubic foot of approximately 100 prints and 200 negative photographs. While the negatives predominantly document shipbuilding projects during World War II, the prints largely capture social engagements, professional society events, and California-based construction projects between 1947 and 1962. Photographs are arranged by topic.

The fourth series contains 26.5 linear feet and 2 cubic feet of oversized material, arranged into four subseries and covers the period from 1929 to 1973, with some undated material. The first subseries, Scrapbooks, contains four scrapbooks that document Pollock’s World War II shipbuilding and Gordon Pollock Jr.’s high school and professional years. The second subseries, Newspapers, contains whole newspapers and clippings between 1937 and 1958. The third subseries, Memorabilia, consists of various certificates and awards and includes a bound copy of the Pollock News, printed during the war years and distributed to employees of Pollock-Stockton Shipbuilding Company. The fourth and final subseries, Maps, consists of 84 items, primarily maps of the Sacramento area between 1953 and 1973.

Arrangement

Series 1. Business Subseries 1.1 Construction Subseries 1.2 Family ranch Series 2. Personal Series 3. Photographs Series 4. Oversized material Subseries 4.1 Scrapbooks Subseries 4.2 Newspapers Subseries 4.3 Memorabilia Subseries 4.4 Maps

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Construction--California

Shipbuilding--California--History

Ranching--California--History

“Boy Scout Fund Raised to $1,113,800.” Sacramento Bee. May 8, 1933, 5.

“Community Builder.” Sacramento Union. January 17, 1950.

“G.G. Pollock, Builder, Civic Leader, Dies.” Sacramento Bee. January 16, 1950.

“He Made Five Trips To East Last Year.” Sacramento Bee. November 2, 1940.

“Pollock PAM File.” Sacramento Room: Sacramento City Library, February-May (2009).

“Pollock’s Have Served Scouts for Years.” Sacramento Bee. December 17, 1938.

“Purchased Purebred Horses.” Sacramento Bee. November 26, 1932, 2.

“Remember When.” Sacramento Bee, December 6, 1981, F6.

Wenzel, Caroline. “Pollock George Gordon—Obituary.” California Historical Society Quarterly March (1950): 84-85.

Series 1. Business

Physical Description: 3 boxes

Series Scope and Content Summary

Subseries 1.1 Construction

Physical Description: 14 folders

Subseries Scope and Content Summary

This subseries primarily documents the construction projects of George G. Pollock Sr.; a large portion of the material details his World War II projects.

Box 1:1

Clippings 1939-1945

Box 1:2

Tropical Construction Company minute book 1941, 1951, 1958

Box 1:3

Correspondence Lippincott, Bowen & Rowe 1942

Box 1:4

Contracts 1943-1945

Box 1:5

Clippings 1944-1949

Box 1:6

Correspondence 1946

Box 1:7

Correspondence 1946

Box 1:8

Correspondence 1946

Box 1:9

Correspondence 1947

Box 1:10

Audit of George G. Pollock Company 1949

Box 2:1

Storm drainage and flood protection 1960, 1962

Box 2:2

Miscellaneous projects 1961-1965

Box 2:3

C.A. Route 248 and Florin Road Sewer Plant 1942

Box 2:4

Los Rios Junior College 1965-1973

Subseries 1.2 Family ranch

Physical Description: 16 folders

Subseries Scope and Content Summary

Box 2:5

Western Weekly Livestock Journal February 1949

Box 2:6

American Hereford Journal March 1949

Box 2:7

Pollock Hereford Ranch Catalog 1949

Box 2:8

Pollock Estate Company 1964-1965

Box 2:9

Pollock family ranch sale 1965-1966

Box 3:1

Appraisal report 1965

Box 3:2

Internal Revenue Service 1965-1966

Box 3:3

College site survey 1966

Box 3:4

Correspondence 1966-1967

Box 3:5

Value assessment 1967

Box 3:6

Agreement for purchase and sale of real property 1969-1970

Box 3:7

Urban Property Research Company report 1972

Box 3:8

Property brochure 1973

Box 3:9

Sale of Pollock ranch 1973

Box 3:10

Pollock ranch sale 1973

Box 3:11

General letters 1973-1974

Series 2. Personal

Physical Description: 15 folders

Series Scope and Content Summary

Box 4:1

Purdue yearbook 1905

Box 4:2

Family history and construction papers 1924, 1945-1949

Box 4:3

The Review yearbook 1930

Box 4:4

Personal certificates 1932, 1935, 1959, 1970

Box 4:5

Handbook of Leland Stanford Jr. University 1932-1933

Box 4:6

Pamphlets 1935, 1943-1947, 1975,

Box 4:7

Personal slide rules 1935-1940

Box 4:8

Rules for Building and Classing Wood Vessels 1942

Box 5:1

Jane’s fighting ships 1942

Box 5:2

Rules for building and classing steel vessels 1944

Box 5:3

Ranch, Boy Scouts, Sacramento Area 1950-1974

Box 5:4

Clippings and pamphlets 1957-1958

Box 5:5

Bible study 1964, 1969

Box 5:6

Bible study 1962, 1967, 1972

Box 5:7

“George Cook: An Optimist in Land Opportunity” 1969

Series 3. Photographs

Physical Description: ~300 photographs and negatives

Series Scope and Content Summary

Arrangement

Photographs are arranged by topic.

Box 6:1

California Chamber of Commerce 1947

Box 6:2

California Chamber of Commerce 1947

Box 6:3

Construction Water Control 1957

Box 6:4

Annual Duck Luncheon 1960

Box 6:5

Association of General Contractors of America undated

Box 6:6

Pollock Ranch 1949-1962

Box 6:7

Snapshots undated

Box 6:8

Shipbuilding negatives circa 1940s

Box 7:1