McMillan (John G. and Percy W.) Surveyor Records, 1870-1965, bulk (bulk 1920-1960)

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Summary

Title:
J. G. McMillan and Percy W. McMillan surveyor records
Dates:
1870-1965, bulk (bulk 1920-1960)
Creators:
McMillan, John G. and McMillan, Percy W.
Abstract:
The McMillan Surveyor Records consist of land surveys created by County Surveyor John G. McMillan and his son Percy W. McMillan for their business McMillan & McMillan, Civil Engineers and Surveyors. John G. McMillan served as County Surveyor from 1890-1914. The Records also include notes, maps, and letters. These records were created for businesses and private citizens.
Extent:
18 archival boxes
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

J. G. McMillan and Percy W. McMillan surveyor records, 2007-003, Santa Clara County Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The McMillan Surveyor Records consist of land surveys created by County Surveyor John G. McMillan and his son Percy W. McMillan for their business McMillan & McMillan, Civil Engineers and Surveyors. John G. McMillan served as County Surveyor from 1890-1914. The Records also include notes, maps, and letters. These records were created for businesses and private citizens.

Biographical / historical:

John G. McMillan served as the Santa Clara County Surveyor from 1890 to 1914. Born in 1851 in Rhode Island, he served as Surveyor of Sutter County in California from 1877 to 1881. He next worked as a railroad surveyor for the Southern Pacific Company and as chief engineer of surveys for Stanford University. He also owned his own private business called McMillan & McMillan, Civil Engineers and Surveyors, which he ran with his son Percy W. McMillan.

While serving as the Santa Clara County Surveyor McMillan surveyed new roads, established grades, and superintended the building of bridges and public structures. He also designed most of the county's bridges, including one of the oldest concrete bridges in California, the Saratoga Creek Bridge. This bridge spans 136 feet and was the longest concrete bridge built before 1905.

Percy W. McMillan took over his father's surveyor business after John's retirement. Percy retired in the 1970s. The bulk of the McMillan Records were created by Percy.

Acquisition information:
These records were transferred from the County Survor in 2007.
Processing information:

This collection was processed by Trista Raezer working under NHPRC grant RA-10047-07, the Santa Clara County Archives Project. A fuller account of the grant project is available at the Archives website.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in alphabetical order by location and is arranged into one series: Surveyor Records.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Archives staff.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Trista Raezer
Date Prepared:
© 2009
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid created by Trista Raezer. Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: January 12, 2010.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The Archives can claim physical ownership only for some collections. Users are responsible for securing permission of the copyright holder for publication or quotation.

Preferred citation:

J. G. McMillan and Percy W. McMillan surveyor records, 2007-003, Santa Clara County Archives.

Location of this collection:
1875 Senter Road
San Jose, CA 95112, US
Contact:
(408) 755-7895
Archives@rec.sccgov.org
Website