Marsden Manson Papers, 1887-1937

Summary

Creators:

Manson, Marsden, 1850-1931

Abstract:

Chiefly pertaining to his office as San Francisco City Engineer, 1908-1912, and concerning the city's water supply, particularly the Hetch Hetchy Valley and Lake Eleanor, and the Spring Valley Water Company.

Extent:

Number of containers: 2 cartons, 13 oversize folders Linear feet: 3.0

Language:

English

Background

Scope and content:

The Marsden Manson Papers, 1887-1937, consist of a selection of correspondence, manuscripts, and professional papers that span his professional career from 1887 to 1931. Much of the material deals with Manson's tenure as San Francisco City Engineer from 1908 to 1912, but his writing and research activities are also well documented.

Manson's major correspondents include A. H. Giannini, William Hammond Hall, and Gifford Pinchot. His writings include an annotated draft of The Evolution of Climate, plus many articles and reports written primarily for the San Francisco Board of Public Works. Much of this material relates to San Francisco's water supply, Hetch Hetchy, and Spring Valley Water Company. His research materials contain pamphlets, subject files, and a small map collection, while ephemera includes an invitation to the inauguration of O'Shaughnessy Dam in 1923, and clippings concerning Manson's engineering work from 1906 to 1929.

Printed materials, maps, and reports relating to Manson can also be found elsewhere on the University of California, Berkeley campus, including the Earth Sciences and Maps Library, and the Water Resources Center Archive.

Biographical / historical:

Date	Event
1850	Born in Virginia on February 14th.
1873	Received Bachelor of Science and Civil Engineering degrees at the Virginia Military Institute, and served on the faculty for several years after graduation.
1883-1892	Served as Chief Engineer for the State Harbor Commission, San Francisco,
1893	Received Ph.D. in Engineering, University of California.
1894-1896	Served as Engineer, California Highway Department.
1897-1900	Appointed to the Board of Engineers, San Francisco Drainage Committee.
1901-1907	Served as Consulting Engineer, San Francisco Public Works Department.
1908-1912	Served as San Francisco City Engineer.
1922	Published book, "The Evolution of Climate".
1931	Died at his home in Berkeley, Calif. on February 21st.

Acquisition information:

The Marsden Manson Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Mrs. Marsden Manson in May 1944.

Physical location:

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

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