Our smaller collections of interest include books, newspaper articles, technical journals, pamphlets, government documents, engineering and planning reports, well records, maps, and aerial photos. They come from a wide-ranging group of donors, including individuals and public agencies, elected officials, engineers, and businessmen. Donors of collections to the WRI archives include:
Alan Nestlinger Collection– retired engineer from Orange County Flood Control District. The collection includes reports, compilation of flood records and histories, movies of floods in Orange County, PowerPoint presentations given by Mr. Nestlinger to various groups throughout the years, photos, electronic images, and paraphernalia related to flooding in Orange County.
Albert A. Webb Associates Collection– Albert A. Webb Associates is a respected engineering company located in Riverside, California. The founder of that company was Albert Webb. This collection is part of his historic collection of engineers’ reports, well reports, state water project reports, maps and drawings. The materials are from the early 1950’s to mid 1980’s.
Bill Leonard Collection– former member and Chair of the State Transportation Commission. Mr. Leonard also led the Water Action Committee in San Bernardino during the early 1960’s and played a vital role in the 1964 election concerning joining Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The Leonard Collection includes ledger books from the Leonard Families businesses, including Insurance and a Department Store in San Bernardino. Also included is a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map collection dated from 1911 of the City of San Bernardino.
Bob Chesney Collection– engineer and rancher based in the Needles, CA area, worked on the construction of Davis Dam. He also served on the Colorado River Salinity Commission for many years. The Chesney Collection covers Colorado River salinity issues and state boundaries.
Bob Holcomb Collection– former Mayor of the City of San Bernardino was an advocate for local control over water supplies during the 1960’s. The Holcomb Collection covers this period, and includes an Oral History.
Bookman-Edmonston Collection– one of the foremost water resources engineering firms in the United States. The Bookman-Edmonston Collection included unique engineering reports, San Gabriel Watermaster Reports, California State Project reports, maps, drawings, and a wide variety of engineering reports from the Colorado River to the Sacramento Delta.
California State Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region Collection– aerial photos of the Ontario area in the time period of the 1970’s.
Dan Powers Collection- retired engineer from Edison that worked in the hydroelectric industry. The Powers Collection includes many hydroelectric industry journals, over a period of nearly four decades.
Earth Technology Corporation Collection -a major environmental consulting company. This collection is all of their documents pertaining to the closing of Military Bases in Southern California, especially in regards to water resources at those facilities. It includes maps, aerial photos, technical reports, and other supporting documents from their research.
Ed Taylor Collection– Redlands based attorney that represented the City of Redlands in numerous lawsuits concerning the Santa Ana River. The Taylor Collection contains legal documents.
Kent Schofield Collection– Professor Emeritus from Cal State San Bernardino who is a founding member of the Water Resources Institute and continues to teach California History and Water History. The Schofield Collection includes textbooks, videos, books, personal papers, journals and maps.
Natural Resources Conservation Service Collection– full set of aerial photographs of San Timoteo Canyon dated 1980’s.
Ruben Ayala Collection– former State Senator from Chino and longtime Chair of the Senate Water and Agriculture Committee who proposed the Peripheral Canal. The Ayala Collection includes some of his papers from his time as Chair. Ayala High School in Chino also has a large portion of this collection
San Bernardino County Flood Control Collection (Water Resources Division)– extensive collection of historical maps, photos, reports, drawings, and graphs from San Bernardino Public Works dated pre-Flood Control creation in 1939. This collection pre-dates that creation but also runs into the 1980’s.
Virginia Harshman Collection– longtime resident of Lytle Creek is the author of the book The Story of Lytle Creek, a history of the area. Virginia’s husband Walter Harshman worked for Fontana Union Water Company for many years. The Harshman Collection includes Virginia’s book, documents and maps related to the Lytle Creek area, and photos of the Fontana Union Water Company.
