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Union Pacific Railroad Tidelands records
0243  
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Collection Overview
 
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Description
When the Union Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Railroad merged in 1997 and the former did a housecleaning of its inventory, many of the Union Pacific's archival materials were saved. The records that were donated to USC were chiefly those that were generated in the 1940s and 50s as part of the Tidelands controversies, concerning the Los Angeles / Long Beach / Wilmington harbor areas, and documenting channels, wetlands, islands, elevations, and shoreline. In addition to many maps, drawings, and historical files, the records consist of many volumes of land surveys (done by civil engineer Francis Bates) which were done in the old tidelands area in the 1930s and 40s. Mr. Bates also obtained copies of many of the original rancho documents for this area (e.g. Rancho Los Cerritos) to provide a complete history of the harbor, onshore and offshore.
Background
The story of the Union Pacific Railroad's involvement with oil and the Tidelands goes back to at least 1911 when the State of California granted the City of Long Beach its tidelands properties for development of commerce, navigation, fisheries, and recreation under a public trust doctine, meaning any development and revenues from such development would have to benefit the state as a whole rather than merely neighboring communities. (The tidelands are defined as land and waterways from the mean high tide to three miles offshore.)
Extent
33 Linear Feet 13 boxes and 1 mapcase drawer
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections 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.
Availability
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.