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James B. Clover and Katherine M. Clover Papers: Finding
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mssClover papers
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Title: James B. and Katherine M. Clover Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1855-1990
Bulk dates: 1914-1986
Collection Number: mssClover papers
Extent: 5,941 pieces in 84 boxes and 102
oversize folders
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 papers assembled by James B. Clover (1870-1956)
and Katherine M. Clover (1906-1990) as part of their struggle against the City of Los Angeles concerning family land holdings
in Mono County. Includes correspondence, documents, maps, reports, publications, and clippings related to land tenure and
water use in and around Mono County,
Inyo County, and Los Angeles, California, with the bulk dating from 1914 to 1986.
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]. James B. and Katherine M. Clover Papers, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Estate of Katherine Clover, June 28, 1993.
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
James B. (James Benton) Clover (1870-1956) was born in 1870 in Pennsylvania. After
moving to California, Clover and his wife Anna (1879-1963) eventually purchased a
substantial amount of land in Mono County south of Mono Lake including a large
portion around Rush Creek. In 1930, the City of Los Angeles began eminent domain
rights proceedings on much of the land in the area. The case,
City of Los Angeles vs. Nina B. Aitken, et al. was eventually tried in
1934 and 1935. By the time of the hearing, most of the defendants had sold their
property to the city except four owners, including the Clovers. When the dust
settled, the City of Los Angeles owned thousands of acres of land and had water
rights on thousands more. Although the Clover family, including daughter Katherine
M. (Katherine Mary) Clover (1906-1990) lived in Los Angeles, they retained a small
parcel of land in Mono County, which at one point operated as a hunting and fishing
lodge. Not happy with the award by the jury, James B. Clover continued to fight the
city until his death on May 17, 1956.
The collection consists of correspondence, documents, maps, reports, publications,
and clippings related to land tenure and water use in and around Mono County
(including Mono Basin, Mono Lake, Lee Vining Creek and Rush Creek), Inyo County, and
Los Angeles, California. The contents of the collection were assembled by James B.
(James Benton) and Katherine M. (Katherine Mary) Clover over a period of more than
sixty years.
Although the Clovers eventually sold most of their land in Mono County, they
maintained a small parcel and ranch. Katherine M. Clover kept a diary from the
1950s-1970s recording her activities with the property including repairs, water and
land problems, and meetings with local residents. She also gathered information on
land and water issues related to Mono County, the City of Los Angeles, and
California in general, and her many pages of handwritten notes on these subjects may
be found scattered throughout the collection. There is a small amount of family
papers (123 pieces), including census forms, income tax records, and wills, and
there are a few materials related to land and natural resources in Colorado, where
the Clover family also owned some land.
The bulk of the collection consists of materials related to the interests of the
City of Los Angeles (Calif.) in acquiring land in and the rights to appropriate
water from Mono County for the city's use and consumption. Throughout the collection
may be found correspondence and publications related to water use and supply, land
tenure and use, applications to appropriate water, public hearings and related
legislation. Of note in the collection are copies of federal legislation on the sale
and granting of public lands in Mono County to the City of Los Angeles (1921-1981)
and an extensive amount of documentation regarding several court cases related to
water and land rights in Mono County, including the
National
Audubon Society…vs. Los Angeles (Calif.) Dept. of Water and Power
(1980-1988) and
City of Los Angeles vs. Nina B. Aitken, et al.
(1927-1942), the latter in which the Clovers were named as defendants.
Although the bulk of the collection focuses on land and water rights in Mono County,
the documentary materials gathered by the Clovers also illustrate the agricultural
history of Mono County, activities of advocacy groups such as the Mono Lake
Committee, interests in geothermal resources in the vicinity, and federal
legislation establishing the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area. The Clovers
also assembled publications and other materials related to land and water issues in
California and in the greater United States, and these items illustrate trends not
only at the local level but also within the state and throughout the nation.
The collection includes a large amount of material on the governance and operations
of the City of Los Angeles including city charters (1923-1972) and city ordinances
(1909-1970). Along with pages of handwritten notes by Katherine M. Clover on the
history of Los Angeles and its government, there is also material on several city
departments including the Office of the City Clerk, the Dept. of Public Works, the
Dept. of City Planning, and the Dept. of Water and Power. Of these, the Dept. of
Water and Power is most prominently represented, with 15 annual reports (1926-1964)
of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, the Department of Water and Power’s
newsletter (1933-1943) and magazine,
Intake (1936-
1948), promotional literature and various departmental publications. The Dept. of
Water and Power also figures prominently in the collection, as it is the
administrative body of the City of Los Angeles responsible for overseeing
applications to appropriate water from Mono County and construction of the Los
Angeles aqueduct.
Also in the collection are business records and correspondence of approximately a
dozen California-based water and utility companies including the Mono Valley
Improvement Company (1915-1921), Rush Creek Mutual Ditch Company (1914-1959), and
Sierra Land and Water Company (1920-1955). The papers of these and other
corporations indicate the economic interests they had in owning, selling, and
irrigating lands in Mono County and the construction of aqueducts, canals, and dams
to generate hydroelectric power.
173 maps (101 of which are oversize) of aqueducts, land, reservoirs, and water
sources may be found in the collection. The counties of Mono and Inyo are
particularly well represented, as is the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County.
Of note are 42 township plat maps in Mono County and another 40 topographic maps by
the United States Geographical Survey.
The collection also contains 4,759 clippings (1914-1990) on subjects such as dams,
geothermal power, and water in Inyo, Los Angeles, and Mono Counties. There are also
some clippings related to water and land issues in Colorado.
Arranged in the following series:
- I. Clover family and personal papers (Boxes 1-2)
- II. Legal files (Boxes 2-4)
- III. Utility companies (Boxes 5-10)
- IV. Geographic files (Boxes 11-75)
- A. California (Boxes 11-21)
- 1. Inyo County (Calif.) (Boxes 21-23)
- 2. Los Angeles (Calif.) (Boxes 24-50)
- 3. Los Angeles County (Calif.) (Boxes 50-51)
- 4. Mono County (Calif.) (Boxes 51-59)
- a. Mono Lake (Calif.) (Boxes 59-63)
- B. Colorado (Boxes 64-65)
- C. United States (Boxes 66-75)
- A. California (Boxes 11-21)
- V. Ephemera (Boxes 75-77)
- VI. Clippings (Boxes 78-84)
- VII. Oversize materials (102 folders)
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Clover, James B. (James
Benton), 1870-1956.
Clover, Katherine M.
(Katherine Mary), 1906-1990.
Los Angeles (Calif.).
Dept. of Water and Power -- Trials, litigation, etc.
National Audubon
Society.
Aqueducts -- California.
Aqueducts -- California -- Los
Angeles.
Geothermal resources --
California.
Land tenure -- Mono County.
Land titles -- California.
Land titles -- California -- Mono
County.
Land use -- California -- Mono
County.
Land use -- United States.
Municipal government -- California --
Los Angeles.
Natural resources --
California.
Natural resources --
Colorado.
Ordinances, Municipal -- California --
Los Angeles.
Water -- California.
Water rights -- California -- Inyo
County.
Water rights -- California -- Los
Angeles.
Water rights -- California -- Mono
County.
Water rights -- Cases.
Water rights -- United
States.
Water-supply -- California -- Los
Angeles.
Inyo County (Calif.) --
History -- Sources.
Inyo County (Calif.)
-- Maps.
Lee Vining Creek
(Calif.) -- History -- Sources.
Lee Vining Creek
(Calif.) -- Maps.
Los Angeles (Calif.)
-- Charters.
Los Angeles (Calif.)
-- History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Los Angeles (Calif.)
-- Maps.
Los Angeles (Calif.)
-- Politics and government -- 20th century.
Mono Basin (Calif.) --
History -- Sources.
Mono Basin (Calif.) --
Maps.
Mono Lake (Calif.) --
History -- Sources.
Mono Lake (Calif.) --
Maps.
Rush Creek (Calif.) --
History -- Sources.
Rush Creek (Calif.) --
Maps.
Business records -- California Mono
County.
Clippings -- California.
Clippings Colorado.
Deeds -- California.
Legal files -- California -- 20th
century.
Letters (correspondence) --
California.
Maps -- California Inyo County.
Maps -- California -- Los Angeles
County.
Maps -- California Mono County.
Notes -- California, Southern -- 20th
century.
Topographic maps -- California.
Clover, James B. (James Benton),
1870-1956.
Clover, Katherine M. (Katherine
Mary), 1906-1990.
Los Angeles (Calif.). City Planning
Commission.
Los Angeles (Calif.). Dept. of City
Planning.
Los Angeles (Calif.). Dept. of Water
and Power.
Los Angeles (Calif.). Office of the
City Clerk.
Mono Valley Improvement Company.
Rush Creek Mutual Ditch
Company.
Sierra Land and Water Company.