This collection is organized into two subgroups and seven series,
which include, Biographical Information, 1895-1955. Diaries, 1908- 1909,
1949-1954. Correspondence, 1900-1963. Articles and Addresses, 1908- 1972.
Project Files, 1899-1944. Supplemental Papers, 1904-1941. Photographs,
1906-1953. arrangement varies by series. Contains mainly correspondence,
1915-1958, regarding his professional interest in the development and
utilization of underground and surface water in Arizona. Correspondents include
Carl Hayden, Barry Goldwater, John R. Murdock, and other state and local
leaders. Also includes his articles and addresses, project files, and
photographs concerning irrigation engineering, agriculture, and water supply
projects.
Collection Number:
MS 280
Repository:
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections
University of Arizona
PO Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Phone: 520-621-6423
Fax: 520-621-9733
URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/
Biographical Note
George Edson Philip Smith was born 29 December 1873 in Lyndonville,
Vermont, the son of Franklin H. Smith and his wife Harriet Lovisa Powers. Both
parents died by the time Smith was 12, and he spent the rest of his youth
living with his grandparents.
In 1893, he entered the University of Vermont at Burlington, graduating
in 1897 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He taught at the University of
Vermont for three years before coming to Tucson and the University of Arizona.
On 1 October 1904, Smith married Maude North, a teacher. They had one son,
George Edson Philip Smith, Jr., born 31 October 1905.
From 1900-1906, Smith served as Professor of Engineering, teaching
physics, engineering, hydraulics, and surveying at the University of Arizona.
In 1906, he became both Professor of Irrigation Engineering and head of the
Agricultural Engineering Department. He remained in that field until his
retirement in 1955 , at which time he was appointed Professor Emeritus in
Agricultural Engineering and continued his active interest in the field of
water resources development. Smith's career at the University spanned 54
years.
Smith revolutionized the field of water resources. He was an authority
on irrigation and a pioneer in the development of the underground and surface
waters of the state of Arizona. Instrumental in Arizona's fight for water
supply rights, Smith wrote many argumentative letters to state officials and
Arizona Senator Carl Hayden advising against Arizona's involvement in the
Colorado River Compact. He was the first to advocate a state water code and
wrote the first code, which was enacted by the Arizona legislature in 1919.
The writer of Tucson's first city water code, Smith gave early and
continuous warnings to Tucson city officials of the need to secure a future and
more permanent water supply. He advised of the eventual disaster which would
result if areas with accumulations of groundwater having little annual recharge
were overpumped.
The author of over 100 technical bulletins and professional papers in
the field of water supply and irrigation, Smith also wrote numerous articles in
related fields. In addition to his professional involvements, Smith had a
profound influence in civic affairs and politics. Active in the Arizona
Pioneers Historical Society, he chaired a committee for preservation of
geographic and historic names within the state. When George Edson Philip Smith
died in 1975, he was 10l.
Scope and Content Note
This collection is organized into two subgroups: Papers and
Photographs.
The Papers in the first subgroup include biographical information;
George Edson Philip Smith's diary from March 1949-March 1954, detailing times,
places, and statistical information relevant to his vocational activities; a
second diary containing a record of his trips taken in 1908-1909 to survey
Arizona sites, including Rillito, Canada del Oro, the Rincon Valley, and the
San Pedro Valley; correspondence, chiefly regarding Smith's vocational and
political concerns over a sixty-three year period in Arizona's history;
articles and addresses written by Smith, including publications in technical
journals, semi-technical articles, annual forecasts of irrigation water supply,
letters to the editor on miscellaneous subjects, and articles on municipal
engineering subjects such as water supply and zoning problems; files on
agriculture, irrigation, and water projects in Arizona, Sonora, Mexico, and
Antofagasta, Chile, for which Smith served as a consultant; and supplemental
papers which include printed materials on various types of machinery used for
irrigation and agriculture, Smith's participation in programs sponsored by the
Agricultural Extension Service, his advocation of Sentinel Peak ("A" Mountain)
as a city park, and his involvement on various University of Arizona faculty
committees.
The black and white photographs in the second subgroup cover the years
1906-1953. They are organized by subject or place. Within those areas, most are
grouped according to the labels and dates which Smith had on the original
photograph envelopes. The bulk of the photographs deal with Smith's
agricultural, irrigation, water supply, and conservation efforts in Arizona.
The collection also includes photographs taken by Smith and others in
California, Idaho, India, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish
from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record,
the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The
user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the
University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all
claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.
Access Terms
Personal Name(s)
Goldwater, Barry M. (Barry Morris),
1909- -- Correspondence
Hayden, Carl Trumbull, 1877-1972 --
Correspondence
Murdock, John Robert, 1885-1972 --
Correspondence
Smith, George E. P., 1873-1975 --
Archives
Corporate Name(s)
American Society of Civil Engineers --
Arizona Section
Cananea Consolidated Copper
Co
Rillito Water Users'
Association
Salt River Valley Water Users'
Association
University of Arizona --
Faculty
University of Arizona -- Dept. of
Agricultural Engineering
Contains Smith's College of Agriculture Faculty Statistics Sheet
(December 1923) along with a pamphlet of his publications (1955). Also contains
Smith's typewritten biography for the 1937 edition of
Who's Who in Engineeringas well as other miscellaneous
personal materials.
Contains 90 handwritten sheets of notes taken by Smith on trips to
survey Arizona sites in 1908-1909. Smith traveled to Rillito and Canada del
Oro, Casa Grande and Florence, Rillito Station and the Tortolita Mountains, the
Rincon Valley, the San Pedro Valley, and the Phoenix-Mesa area. The notes
discuss such topics as ranchers, water sources and structures, and geological
and floral observations. The bulk of his daily diaries were lost before the
collection was given to the library.
Contains letters to and from George E.P. Smith, chiefly regarding
his professional pursuits during his career at the University of Arizona.
During the course of his lifetime, Smith also maintained a reciprocal
correspondence with several local, state and national officials, including
Senator Carl Hayden, Senator Barry Goldwater, and Senator Warren Austin, U.S.
delegate to the United Nations. These letters are interfiled in the
correspondence.
Please notice that there are gaps for some years. Also, be advised
that incoming letters are often filed alphabetically by sender so that
individuals writing as employees of a local, state, or federal agency are
mostly found under their personal names rather than under the corporate
institution that employed them.
Other correspondents include Tucson Mayor Henry Jaastad,
Representative John R. Murdock, Arizona pioneers Will C. Barnes and J. A.
Rockfellow, and University of Arizona Presidents and Deans Paul Burgess, Alfred
Atkinson, James McCormick, and Gurdon Butler. Additional correspondence is also
found in some of the folders in the series, Project Files.
box
folder
2
1
A-Z.
, 1900-1913
2
2-12
A-Z.
, 1915-1916
2
13-19
A-Z.
, 1916-1917
box
folder
3
1-7
A-Z.
, 1917-1918
3
8-14
A-Z.
, 1918-1919
3
15-18
A-L.
, 1919-1920
box
folder
4
1-3
M-Z.
, 1919-1920
4
4-10
A-Z.
, 1920-1921
4
11-15
A-N.
, 1922-1924
box
folder
5
1-4
O-Z.
, 1922-1924
5
5-14
A-Z.
, 1924-1926
5
15-20
A-Z.
, 1926-1927
box
folder
6
1-6
A-Z.
, 1927-1928
6
7-12
A-Z.
, 1928-1929
6
13-19
A-Z.
, 1929-1930
6
20-23
A-Z.
, 1930-1931
box
folder
7
1
A-Z.
, 1932
7
2-4
A-Z.
, 1933-1934
7
5-12
A-Z.
, 1934-1936
7
13-16
A-Z.
, 1936-1937
7
17-18
A-H.
, 1937-1938
box
folder
8
1-2
I-Z.
, 1937-1938
8
3-6
A-Z.
, 1938-1939
8
7-9
A-W.
, 1939-1940
8
10-12
A-Z.
, 1940-1941
8
13-14
A-I.
, 1941-1942
box
folder
9
1-2
J-Z.
, 1941-1942
9
3
Correspondence with O.C. Williams, Carl Hayden, and A.E.
Moritz on the Carson Report.
, 1944
Contains original typed and handwritten published and unpublished
articles and addresses by Smith. Much of his writing is concerned with
irrigation, rivers, and groundwater and covers such topics as pump irrigation,
sewage disposal by direct use for irrigation, effect of irrigation upon soil
temperature, irrigation and grapefruit, irrigation water supply, the Colorado
River Company, the Boulder Canyon Project, the physiography of Arizona valleys,
the determination of a groundwater supply, water conservation, farm machinery,
cement pipe, the production of tamarisk for use as a fine cabinet wood, the
repaving of city streets, letters to the editor on miscellaneous subjects, and
a series of reminiscences of his early life in Tucson, Arizona.
For a more complete list of Smith's written work, see the
pamphlet, "Publications of George E.P. Smith, C.E., D. Engr." located in
Biographical Information series in Box 1, Folder 1.
Contains chiefly information pertaining to various irrigation,
reservoir, and water supply projects for which Smith served as a consultant. In
addition to Smith's data and papers, some of the files also include blueprints
and specifications for wells, well test information, and geological and
topographical maps.
box
folder
11
1
American Society of Civil Engineers Development
Propaganda.
, 1918-1921
Contains blueprints, contracts, estimates, and other information
regarding the construction of George E. P. Smith's residence at 1195 E.
Speedway. Also contains various printed materials, including miscellaneous
programs presented by the Agricultural Extension Service, pamphlets about the
machinery used for irrigation and agriculture, a copy of the legal document
detailing court findings in the case of the Smithville Canal Co. vs. Oregon
Irrigation,
A Textbook of Geometrical Drawings, by William
Minifie, plans and specifications for a reinforced concrete water tank for the
University of Arizona, and material indicating Smith's involvement on various
University of Arizona faculty committees.
box
folder
12
13
House (1195 E. Speedway) - Blueprints.
, 1904,
1930
12
14
House (1195 E. Speedway) - Contracts & estimates.
, 1904,
1930
12
15
Miscellaneous Programs.
, 1915-1934
12
16
Printed Materials.
, 1905-1928
12
17
Smithville Canal Co. vs. Oregon Irrigation (Graham
County, Ariz.).
, 1906
Contains 1178 black-and-white photographs, most of which were
taken by Smith. Categorized by subject or place, most are grouped according to
the labels and dates which Smith had on his original photograph envelopes.
These photographs deal primarily with agriculture, irrigation, rivers, tamarisk
trees, and water in Arizona. All of them measure 4" X 5" or less, with the
exception of one hand-colored photograph of Dean Talbot, Smith, and Stevens,
which measures 9" X 12". Included are photographs taken by Smith and others in
California, Idaho, India, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Many of the photographs
contain annotations by Smith. Please notice that some envelopes do not contain
all the places or subjects that were listed on the envelope. Twenty-two
photographs were developed during the processing of the collection. All
negatives were nitrate based and were not retained.
