General
Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Alternate Forms Available
Related Collections
Separated Material
Acquisition Information
Accruals
System of Arrangement
Processing Information
Biographical Information
Scope and Content of Collection
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: William Hammond Hall papers
creator:
Hall, Wm. Ham. (William Hammond)
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 86/152 c
Physical Description:
28 linear feet
(17 boxes, 15 cartons, 12 volumes, 2 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1803-1979,
Date (bulk): bulk 1870-1928
Abstract: The William Hammond Hall Papers, consist of correspondence, writings, diaries, maps, photographs, notes, and clippings recording
the fifty year career of a pioneer in the fields of irrigation, reclamation, and conservation.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English.
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
General
- Finding Aid Written By:
- Mary Ellen Jones; revised by Mary Morganti; completed by Bancroft staff
- Date Completed:
-
April 2007
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction
of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions,
privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright 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 owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
For additional information about the University of California, Berkeley Library's permissions policy please see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Wm. Ham. Hall Papers, BANC MSS 86/152 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Alternate Forms Available
Partial collection is available on microfilm, Wm. Ham. Hall papers, 1803-1979 (bulk 1870-1928) BANC MSS 86/152 c.
Related Collections
Photographs relating to William Hammond Hall's life and work, BANC PIC 1986.009
Separated Material
Photographs have been transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
Acquisition Information
The William Hammond Hall Papers were purchased by The Bancroft Library from James D. Santee on July 1, 1985.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
System of Arrangement
Arranged to the folder level.
Processing Information
Processed by Mary Ellen Jones in 1990; revised by Mary Morganti in 2004.
Biographical Information
William Hammond Hall was born in Hagerstown, Maryland on February 12, 1846, the son of Anna Maria Hammond and John Buchanan
Hall. The family came to California in 1850 and his father established a law practice that flourished until his office and
library were destroyed in the fire of 1851. Later that year the family settled in Stockton where John Hall reestablished his
law practice and became legal advisor to Charles M. Weber, the city's founder. Hall's education in a private academy was designed
to prepare him for West Point but the outbreak of the Civil War caused his parents to abandon this plan. He remained in the
Stockton academy until 1865 when he began his professional career in civil engineering as a draftsman and surveyor for the
United States Corps of Engineers. He quickly advanced to assistant engineer and, as chief engineer, conducted the first survey
for a ship canal to bring deep-sea vessels to the port of Stockton.
Early in 1870, Hall was appointed by the first San Francisco Board of Park Commissioners to conduct a topographic survey of
the Golden Gate Park site. His plan for the development of the Park was adopted by the Commission and he became engineer and
superintendent of construction. In the next six years most of the roads were built, trees and bushes were planted, picnic
grounds and a children's play area were laid out, and various rustic buildings were constructed. Hall resigned in 1876 but
served for many years without compensation as consulting engineer to the Park Commission. In that capacity he designed and
built numerous buildings and other improvements, and selected and trained John McLaren to be the new superintendent.
From 1876 to 1878, Hall was chief engineer for several major irrigation projects, including the West Side Irrigation Commission,
at that time one of the largest single irrigation studies in the state. In 1878, he was appointed the first State Engineer
of California by Governor William Irwin and served under four successive governors until the office was abolished by the state
legislature. During this period he worked with many prominent engineers, including Barton S. Alexander, George H. Mendell,
and James B. Eads. In addition, he hired and trained numerous young engineers, including three who later achieved prominence:
Carl Ewald Grunsky, Marsden Manson, and James Dix Schuyler. In 1889, he was appointed supervising engineer for the United
States Irrigation Survey, the predecessor of the U.S. Reclamation Service, to oversee all of their investigative work west
of the Rocky Mountains.
While working in London in 1896, Hall accepted an offer to supervise construction of a water storage system for the Johannesburg
mining region in South Africa. He was also in charge of several other projects in the area until the work was stopped because
of the Boer War. Before returning to the United States, Hall went to Russia to survey and report on irrigation projects in
the Transcaucasus and Central Asia. Back in California, he made a study of the proposed Panama Canal which convinced Senator
George C. Perkins to advocate the lock system instead of a sea level canal. Hall continued with numerous hydroelectric and
irrigation surveys and, in 1908, acquired properties in the Lake Eleanor and Cherry Creek water sheds which he sold to the
city of San Francisco for their water supply.
Hall remained active as consultant and self-appointed guardian of Golden Gate Park until several years before his death in
1934.
Scope and Content of Collection
The William Hammond Hall Papers, 1803-1979, consist of correspondence, writings, diaries, maps, photographs, notes, and clippings
recording the fifty year career of a pioneer in the fields of irrigation, reclamation, and conservation.
The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence and papers created and compiled by Hall during his career as a civil
engineer. The collection also includes correspondence and papers of his wife, Emma Kate Fitzhugh Hall, their three daughters,
Anna Hammond Hall, Margaret Fitzhugh Hall, and Katharine Buchanan Hall, and various members of the Hall, Hammond, Buchanan,
Fitzhugh, and related families.
The William Hammond Hall papers remained in the family until the death of Hall's youngest daughter in 1972. They were inherited
by a cousin and, following his death, were offered for sale by his inheritors.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Irrigation
San Francisco Earthquake, Calif., 1906
Hall, Wm. Ham. (William Hammond)
Hall, Wm. Ham. (William Hammond)
California. Office of State Engineer
Golden Gate Park (San Francisco, Calif.)