George H. Mendell Correspondence
Finding aid prepared by Katrina Denman.
Manuscripts Department
© 2012
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: manuscripts@huntington.org
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Title: George H. Mendell Correspondence
Dates: 1894-1899
Bulk dates: 1897-1899
Collection Number: Consult
repository
Creator:
Mendell, George H.
Extent:
141 items
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2203
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: manuscripts@huntington.org
URL:http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: Collection of letters from George H. Mendell to D.D. Clarke - who was Engineer
of the Water Board for Portland, Oregon – written between 1897 and 1899. Mendell
writes detailed letters of instruction and advice for engineering issues raised by
Clarke, particularly regarding drainage, wells, and the sinking of shafts.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the
Reader Services Department. For more information, please go to the following
website .
In order to quote from, publish, or reproduce any of the manuscripts or visual
materials, researchers must obtain formal permission from the office of the
Library Director. In most instances, permission is given by the Huntington as
owner of the physical property rights only, and researchers must also obtain
permission from the holder of the literary rights. In some instances, the
Huntington owns the literary rights, as well as the physical property rights.
Researchers may contact the appropriate curator for further information.
[Identification of item], George H. Mendell correspondence, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Purchased from Ian Brabner, Bookseller on May 1, 2012.
Colonel George Henry Mendell was born in Pennsylvania in 1831 and graduated from the
United States Military Academy in 1852. Mendell joined the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and served with a variety of topographical surveys before the Civil War,
including the survey of the Northwestern Lakes (1852-1854) and various posts in the
Oregon and Washington Territory (1855-1858). He was also an assistant professor at
the U.S. Military Academy from 1859-1863. During the Civil War he served under
Colonel Miles in the Manassas Campaign (1861) and carried on siege operations in the
Petersburg, Virginia area (1864); was Assistant Engineer of Defenses of Baltimore
(1864); and was Superintending Engineer of the construction of the Defenses of New
Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts (1865) and the Preservation of Plymouth Beach,
Massachusetts (1866). He was made a Colonel for his war service in 1865 and
subsequently became superintending engineer in charge of fortifications of Alcatraz
Island and Lime Point, San Francisco Harbor (beginning 1867) and for defenses of the
Columbia River (1867-1871). He later served on the board of engineers for
fortifications of the Pacific Coast (1867-1886); on the commission for a system of
irrigation for the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys (1873-1874); was
Supervising Engineer of Districts in California, Oregon, and Washington in charge of
junior officers (1884-1888); was Division Engineer for Inspection of Engineer Works
in the Pacific territory (beginning in 1888); was Division Engineer of the Pacific
Division (until 1895); and was in charge of construction of defenses of San
Francisco Harbor (1890-1895). In civilian life he worked as Engineer to the Water
Commissioners of San Francisco (1876-1878), was the author of a report on water
supply for San Francisco (1877), and was Consulting Engineer for the State of
California (1878-1880). Mendell retired from the Engineering Corps due to mandatory
age requirements in 1895. Following his military retirement he worked as a
consulting engineer in San Francisco, where he died in 1902. The Battery Mendell at
Fort Barry was named in his honor.
Collection of letters from George H. Mendell to D.D. Clarke - who was Engineer of the
Water Board for Portland, Oregon – written between 1897 and 1899. Mendell writes
detailed letters of instruction and advice for engineering issues raised by Clarke,
particularly regarding drainage, wells, and the sinking of shafts. The majority of
the letters were written from Mendell’s office in San Francisco, although some
originated in Los Angeles or Springfield, Illinois, where Mendell had traveled “on
account of mental illness of a relative” in 1897. He also mentions meeting with
Clarke in Portland on his return trip from Illinois in September 1897. Also included
in the collection are a few other pieces of miscellaneous correspondence from
1894-1899 relating to water engineering in Portland.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged chronologically in two boxes.
A detailed container list is available through the Manuscripts Department.
Clarke, D.D.
Mendell, George H.
(George Henry), 1831-1902.
Drainage.
Shafts (Excavations)
Water-supply--Oregon.
Water-supply
engineering--Portland--Oregon--History.
Wells.
Oregon--History--19th
century.
Portland
(Ore.)--History.
Letters (correspondence)--Oregon--19th
century.
Collection Contents
Box 1
Correspondence, 1894-1898, Apr. HM 77770-77847.
Box 2
Correspondence, 1898, May-1899. HM 77848-77910.