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Walter Millsap papers
MS 157
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Title: Walter Millsap papers
Date (inclusive): circa 1860-1997, undated
Date (bulk): 1915-1980
Collection Number: MS 157
Creator:
Millsap, Walter, 1886-1971
Extent:
9.67 linear feet
(17 boxes)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The Walter Millsap papers contains professional and personal correspondence, contracts, financial documents, publications
by Millsap, photographs, audiovisual materials, newspaper clippings, and other material regarding Walter Millsap and the Llano
Del Rio colony, a utopian society created by Job Harriman that was utilized from 1916-1919. Materials also document the community
activism and inventions of Millsap. Topics covered by the collection include philosophical thoughts and theories, patent forms
and daily activities in the Llano community.
Languages: The collection is in English.
The collection is open for research.
Copyright Unknown: Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction,
and/or commercial use, of some materials may be restricted by gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and
publicity rights, licensing agreement(s), and/or trademark rights. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by
copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions
apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for
obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Walter Millsap papers (MS 157). Special Collections & University Archives, University
of California, Riverside.
Purchased in 1984
Processed by Ena Hillery and Bianca Lisek, Student Processing Assistants, 2015.
Processing of the Walter Millsap papers was completed by undergraduate students from the University of California, Riverside
as part of the Special Collections & University Archives Backlog Processing Project started in 2015. This project was funded
by the UCR Library and administered by Bergis Jules, University and Political Papers Archivist, and Eric Milenkiewicz, Manuscripts
Curator.
This collection went through a minor review process in late 2022 that resulted in some rehousing of materials for preservation
concerns. This resulted in minor box and folder renumbering of the contents and moving of some materials to flat files.
Walter Millsap was an active member of the Llano Del Rio colony from 1916 to 1919. This cooperative settlement was formed
in 1914 by Job Harriman, a lawyer and politician from Los Angeles to provide an economic foundation to the ideas of socialism.
Harriman appointed Walter Millsap as head of the Llano Co-Operative Association in 1916. In 1917, the colony experienced a
major shortage in water; small rainfall, an insufficient reservoir, and limited rights to water from Big Rock Creek forced
the colony to abandon the site and find a different location elsewhere. The colony relocated to Stables, Louisiana in 1917
and renamed the colony "New Llano". When Job Harriman died in 1925 in California, George Pickett stepped in to lead New Llano
until it declared bankruptcy in 1936 and fell apart completely by 1938.
This collection contains correspondence, documents, writings, and other material pertaining to American socialist Walter Millsap.
Materials document Millsap's professional life and personal interests covering a wide range of topics that include philosophical
thoughts and theories, inventions, and expansion of the Llano colony. A substantial amount of both professional and personal
correspondence is present in the collection between Millsap and governmental entities, professional colleagues, business industries,
and friends. Of additional significance are numerous publications and articles pertaining to cooperative colonies, Millsap's
personal life, photographs documenting the Llano colony, and various audiovisual materials relating to the Llano Del Rio colony
and Walter Millsap. Lastly, there is select material documenting Millsap's inventions through patents, contracts and financial
documents, pamphlets and booklets regarding utopian colonies, books owned by Millsap, and maps of California.
This collection is arranged into seven series as follows:
- Series 1. Correspondence by name, 1904-1969, undated.
- Series 2. Correspondence by date, 1910-1979, undated.
- Series 3. Official documents and documents on the colony, 1905-1969, undated.
- Series 4. Writings and other personal material by Walter Millsap, circa 1860-1967, undated.
- Series 5. Newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and other material, 1908-1989, undated.
- Series 6. Audiovisual materials, circa 1916-1997, undated.
- Series 7. Publications, 1916-1969, undated.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Llano Colony (Secular community)
Socialism
Audiovisual materials
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence
Publications