A Guide to the
Papers of Robert A. Allen
Collection no. NC97

Robert A. Allen 1886-1968

Robert A. Allen was born on May 16, 1886 in Pueblo, Colorado.  He received his education there and also at the University of Nevada, Reno where he studied electrical engineering and graduated in 1915.  He served as an assistant state engineer under J.G. Scrugham and was subsequently appointed by Governor Scrugham to the post of state engineer, 1923-1927.  Following a period of private engineering practice in Carson City, Allen served as federal public works administrator from 1933 until 1935, then as a state highway engineer until 1947.   He also served on the State Planning Board, 1935-1938 and was appointed state chairman of the State Public Service Commission in 1947.

In his various engineering positions, Allen was involved in many state water decisions and controversies.  He represented the Upper Carson River water users in the U.S. v Alpine Land and Reservoir case, 1925, and as state engineer, he filled the final order of determination for claimants to the waters of the Humboldt River, 1927, both leading to lengthy court proceedings.  Allen was also a Nevada history enthusiast  and collected information and material on Nevada History especially relating to the emigrant trails.  Robert Allen’s home was in Carson City, Nevada.  He died there, after a long illness, in 1968.

Scope and Content

The Robert A. Allen papers are contained in five archival boxes and in five map drawers.  The collection includes 284 maps of the major river basins and water systems in Nevada.  A simple numerical index serves as a finding aid for the large maps which are grouped according to geographical area. 

The remainder of the collection consists of  handwritten notebooks, hand-drawn and small printed maps, notebooks containing typewritten and printed material, and published documents, 1893-1960, mainly concerning water and water related subjects in and around Nevada.  Virtually all of the papers in the collection relate to Allen’s activities as a professional engineer.  No personal papers are included and material he collected as Nevada history enthusiast can be found in a collection at the Nevada Historical Society. 

This collection is divided into the following series:

Series 1                  US v Alpine Land and Reservoir Company, a corporation, et al, 1925. D183.

Series 2                  Carson River Basin

Series 3                  Union Mill and Mining Company v Fred Dangberg, et al, 1893. Case 520.

Series 4                  Humboldt River

Series 5                  Colorado River

Series 6                  Newlands Project

Series 7                  Correspondence and Miscellaneous Subject Files

Series 8                  Maps.    

 

Box 1

Series 1  NC97/1                   U.S. v Alpine Land and Reservoir Company, a corporation, et al, 1925, d –183.

The documents on this series are directly related to the U.S. v Alpine Land and Reservoir Company court case.  Concern for adequate water to fulfill the irrigation prospects of the Newlands Project prompted the U.S. government to file suit against Upper Carson River  water users in May, 1925.  The U.S. government claimed ownership of the waters on lands withdrawn for the Newlands reclamation project.  The defendants denied the federal government’s right to reserve water on the withdrawn land without proof of beneficial use and they claimed equal right to the Carson River water.  A proposed decree was issued in July, 1951, appropriating waters of the Carson River,  A final decree was not issued  until October 28, 1980. 

Documents included in this series are, a preamble; Springmeyer stipulation, January 1926; plaintiffs opening brief, two volumes; certain defendants answering briefs, two volumes; transcript of testimony, volume 4 and volumes 7 through 13, 1932; briefs and orders, 1941; 13th partial report of the special master, 1950; Proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Decree, 19151.  Material is typed and copied.  19 folders.

 

Box 2

Series 2  NC97/2                   Carson River Basin

This series contains a variety of materials concerning the Carson River and the Carson Valley.  Five Allen notebooks of handwritten notes, court testimony, and maps directly relate to the U.S. v Alpine Land and Reservoir Company court case in which Allen served as representative for the Upper Carson River water users.  Additional materials includes reports on the Carson Valley and Carson River for the Truckee- Carson project, 1913, 1918, 1928; Bureau of Reclamation report on the Upper Carson Project, 1918; Carson River daily gauge, 1921-1925; report on Carson River investigations, 1912; proposed decree for Carson River and tributaries, 1939; lists of claimants on the Carson River, 1930; annotated copies of Nevada state documents regarding order of determination and abstract of claims to waters of the Carson River and its forks, 1921-1930.  (“Marean-Allen Final 1-23-20”). 5 notebooks, 15 folders, 8 government documents.

 

Box 3

Series 3  NC97/3                   Union Mill and Mining Company v Fred Dangberg, et al, 1893.  Case 520.

This series contains seven volumes of testimony for the Union Mill and Mining Company v Fred Dangberg, et al, court case, 1893.  Suit was brought by the Union Mill and Mining Company in U.S. district court on the 11th of September, 1889 against Carson Valley farmers in a dispute over waters of the Carson River.  A decree was issued in 1897 which stipulated that the farmers could divert and use all the waters of the Carson River for irrigation, stock watering, and domestic purposes during the months of July, August, and September.  These months were periods of annual low water and it was understood that Carson River water would be sufficient for everyone for the remainder of the year.  Volumes 3 & 4, volumes 5 –10.

 

Series 4  NC97/4                  Humboldt River

The material in this series concerns the Humboldt River stream system and tributaries.  Robert Allen, a state engineer, filed a final order of determination of the relative rights of the claimants and appropriators to the use of the water of the Humboldt River Stream System and its tributaries on January 17, 1923.  Between 1923 and 1938, court proceedings resulted in decrees, orders, and decisions adjudicating water rights to about 6,000 water users. 

Included in this series are two personalized bound volumes of Nevada government documents relating to the Humboldt River water, 1916-1923; one bound volume entitled, Humboldt River Adjudication, Findings of the Court and Revisions, containing annotated Nevada government documents and additional notes, 1931; one bound volume,  The Humboldt River Adjudication, 1922-1938, 1943; map (Xeroxed) of Lovelock Valley cultivated lands, Humboldt County, Nevada; the Humboldt County, Nevada; the Humboldt River Research Project ( pamphlet), 1961.  4 volumes, three folders. 

 

Box 4 & 5

Series 5  NC97/5                  Colorado River

The material in this series concerns the Colorado River Basin and Boulder Dam.  Nevada was one of seven states whose representatives comprised the Colorado River Commission.  They first assembled in 1922 to agree on a compact providing for an equitable division of the water supply of the Colorado River.  The series contains records of the commission's proceedings and hearings as well as a variety of material relating to the Colorado River dam construction and power allocation, 19189-1948.  Box 4 contains nine bound volumes entitled “Boulder Dam”, which includes copies of meetings , proceedings and hearings of the Colorado Interstate Compact Commission, January-April, 1922; volume 10, “Colorado River Report, Treaties and Laws” includes copies of federal legislation and water laws of the seven states involved in the compact; “Investigation of Virgin, Little Colorado and Williams Rivers”, Robert J. Newell, September, 1923; “Statement Regarding Water Resources, Colorado River”, U.S. Department of Agriculture, August, 1936; “Comparison of Division Routes, Central Arizona, Project, appendices”, (preliminary draft), U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, September 1946. 14 volumes.

Box 5 contains 10 folders of material relating to the Colorado River Basin and Boulder Dam, 1920-1944.  Included are information regarding dam construction, water data, hydraulic problems, the Colorado River Commission, allocation of power, the Mexican Treaty of 1944, and printed material.

 

Box 5

Series 6  NC97/6                   Newlands Project

This series contains material relating to the Newlands Project and the Truckee-Carson irrigation District.  The Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902 created the first federal reclamation project in Nevada.  The goal of the Truckee-Carson Project, as it was initially called, was to bring water to arid desert lands  in the Truckee-Carson Basin to increase their productivity.  Later called the Newlands Project, it precipitated an era of water controversy that in Western Nevada,  Since 1926, the area of responsibility and control of the Newlands project has been the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District.  Included in the series are Robert Allen’s notebooks on the Truckee River- Newlands Project, 1913-1924 which contain water data for the Truckee River and Lake Tahoe, maps and charts; Bureau of Reclamation report on the Carson Valley Unit, Truckee- Carson Project, December 14, 1918; “U.S.R.S. Newlands Project, Nevada, Annual History and O and M Report”, 1922, with photographs; “Hydrographic and Miscellaneous Data, 1923, Newlands Project”; maps.  6 folders. 

 Series 7  NC97/7                   Correspondence and Miscellaneous Subject Files

This series contains correspondence, 1905-1960, printed material and subject files on various topics of concern to Allen  in his professional work.  Included are Reno v Reno power, Light and Water Company hearing, 1914; report of irrigation investigations in Nevada, 1915; maps for the Truckee River adjudication suit, 1920; Muddy River decree, 1920; field notes and maps, stateline survey, 1932; “Statement Regarding Water Resources, Great Basin,” U.S. Department of Agriculture, August, 1936; notebook, “Book No. 1”, containing material on the Humboldt River, Colorado River, White River, and Owyhe River.  15 folders.  

 

Series 8  NC97/8                   Maps

The maps in this series, 1863-1950, present information such as water use, water development plans, land ownership, agricultural use, settlements, and topography.  Maps are briefly listed below.

In the following list , 284 maps, charts, and plans are divided by area and date and listed by title or subject.  Categories are Nevada; Lake Lahonton; Truckee-Carson Project Area; Truckee River; Upper Carson River; Lower Carson River; Walker River; Humboldt River; Northern, Central, and Eastern Nevada, including city and county maps; Southern Nevada; and U.S. Geological Survey Maps.

Included are published maps and copies, many with hand drawn additions, and original manuscripts.  A few maps with unknown provenance, similar in content to Allen maps, have been integrated into the collection. 

Each sheet is individually numbered.  Maps are stored flat in five map drawers or rolled and stored separately if oversize (f).

Nevada

1.             De Groot’s Map of Nevada Territory- 1863.

2.            General Land Office, State of Nevada, 1930. (West Half only)

f3-7.       Department of Highways. 1941 Official Road Map of the State of Nevada;

                Map of Strategic Network for National Defense Highways of the Twelve Western States. 1941.

 

Lake Lahontan

8.                 Israel C. Russel.  Lake Lahontan. [1885]

9.                 Nevada State Planning Board.  Lake Lahontan- 1937.

 

Truckee-Carson Project Area

10-15.   United States Reclamation Service. 

              General maps of the Truckee-Carson Project Area, showing proposed Spanish Springs Reservoir, proposed Pyramid and Lovelock diversion, etc. 1910, 1918, n.d.

16-18.      United States Reclamation Service.  Truckee Carson Project

              Topography of a portion of “14 Acre Tract” at outlet of Lake Tahoe. 1917.

 

Truckee River

19-20.    United States Reclamation Service.  Truckee-Carson project.  1906. 

               Topo. Survey of irriagable land. 1905-1906.

 

Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake

16-18, 128-130.

 

Upper Carson River

f21.        W.W. Coleman.  Kirman Ranch. Carson Valley, Nevada. 1899.

22-32.   Reclamation Service.  Truckee-Carson Project.  1904. 

              Upper Carson Valley Topographic Survey. 1904. 

              Topographic Survey of Upper Carson.  1906.

33-34.    U.S.R.S. Truckee Carson Project.  Reconnaissance Map Carson Valley. 1913. 

              Carson Valley Ditches. 1913.

35-38.      These four cultural maps show the Scossa Ranch and the Palmer Church Ranch in Douglas County, Nevada.

f39, 40. Map showing use of the water of the West Fork of the Carson River, n.d.

              State Water Commission of California.

              Plane table Survey of lands irrigated from the West Fork of Carson River.  Alpine County, California, 1920.

41,42.    J.A. Millar.  Land irrigated by Mary Coser from the Brockliss Slough.  1920.

              Land irrigated by Henningsen Brothers from East Carson River. n.d.

43.                 L.H. Taylor.  Map of Heenan Lake Reservoir. 

              H.F. Dangberg Land and Livestock Company. 1921.

f44, 45-51.  Robert A. Allen.  Carson Valley Ditches.  1913.

52-56, f57.   Alpine Storage maps.  1926, n.d.

58-70.        S.T. Harding.  Ditches and Irrigated Areas for Lands of Defendants in United States v Alpine Land and Reservoir Co. 

              Showing recommended reasonable rates of use of water for irrigation. n.d. 

71-78.        Robert A. Allen, J.A. Millar.  These maps show lands owned by and/or irrigated by:…

                H.F. Dangberg L. and L.S. Co. 

                Kirman and Hot Spring Field Fields. 1926…. 

                Settelmeyer Ranching Co.  under Tillman and Falcke

                Ditch from West Fork Carson River. n.d. …

                Land ownership H.F. Dangberg L. and L.S. Co. and others. 

              Alpine County. 1932. … From East Fork Carson River thru Edna Ditch by various users. n.d.

              W.F. Dressler, et al from East Carson River through Edna Ditch. 1925.

79-84.        The following are sketch maps of Carson Valley Ranches.  Ambrosetti Bros. Ranch, C.L. Fulstone River Ranch, Fritz Cordes Ranch, Portion D.L. Jones Co. Ranch, and Winkelman-Adams- Campbell Ranches in relation to Old Carson Valley Ranch. n.d.

85.                Robert A. Allen.  Map showing Approximate Irrigated Area.  Eagle Valley.  1931.

86.                Robert A. Allen.  Map Carson River Headwaters showing various reservoirs.  1931.

f87.       Robert A. Allen.  Map of Carson Valley lands, n.d.

88.        Truckee Carson Irrigation District.  Newlands Project Nevada.  Irrigates Mountain Hay and Pasture.  D.W. park. 

             Youngs Crossing Cal and Nev.  1935.

89,90.   U.S. Department of Agriculture. Forest Service.  California Region.  Ebbet Pass and Freel Peak Quadrangles.  1944. 

             Hand Drawn additions show land owned by the Dressler family, Dangberg, and Scossa, 1950.

91-100.  United States Department of the Interior.  Geological Survey.  These ten sheets are plans and profiles for the East and West  Forks of the Carson River Dam showing dam sites.  1944.

101.             Allen’s map tube was labeled: “ West Carson River Dam Site.” n.d.

              See also map 236, Carson River Adjudication.  Gardnerville. 

 

Lower Carson River

f102.     General Map Sink Valley. Ca 1903.

103-109.   Reclamation Service.  Truckee Project.  Topographic Survey Carson Valley.  19103.

110-123.   Reclamation Service.  Truckee-Carson Project.  Topographic Survey of Irrigable land.  1905.

124-126.   Reclamation Service.  Truckee-Carson Project.  1908.

f127.     Reclamation Service.  Newland’s project… showing settlement, status of ownership and irrigable lands.  1905.

128-140.  Truckee-Carson Irrigation District.  Donner Lake Storage.  1928, 1929.  

                Map to accompany Application to Appropriate Water… from Old River.  1928.  

                From Truckee River for Additional Storage in Lahontan Reservoir.

141-143.  Robert A. Allen.  Three charts of the Newlands Project vested water right owners, priority claimed, acres, etc. for years 1862-1908. 1929, n.d.

f144, f145, 146.  [Robert A. Allen] Newlands Project- Vested Water Rights as Evidenced by proofs filed by Claimants.  n.d. 

                A sketch map of the Newlands Project area shows ownership and application numbers.  n.d. 

147-160.  Fourteen Reclamation Service Topographic maps with additions by Allen, 1932.          

161-175.  The provenance of these 15 Reclamation Service topographic maps is unknown. 

                However, because they are similar or complementary to Allen’s maps they have been integrated into this collection. 

176-178.  [Truckee-Carson Irrigation District] Topographic maps, n.d. 

f179-f181.Departmant of Irrigation, Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, and Nevada Emergency Relief Administration.  

                Map of Fallon Area.  Land classification map.  1936. 

182-185.Truckee-Carson Irrigation District.  Map showing settlement status of ownership and Water Rights Areas. 1940. 

              Canals and Drains operated and maintained.  1945.  Topography and sub-divisions. 

186-188. Map to accompany Application to Appropriate Water- by the U.S. Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Nevada Fish and Game Commission from the Stillwater slough, n.d. 

 

Walker River

189.    Department of the Interior.  Office of Indian Affairs.  Map of Walker River Reservation.  1913.

190,191. These maps show the Walker River Irrigation District.  n.d.

192-195.  Department of the Interior.  U.S. Indian Irrigation District.  Walker River Project, Nevada.  1934.

 

Humboldt River

196.  Reclamation Service.  Humboldt Project.  Topographic survey of Humboldt River Valley.  1906.

197-205.    Maps show water use, culture, and dam sites along the Humboldt River: property of Eric Johnson-1914.  Property of J.A. Callahan showing beneficial use of water-1920.  Map of irrigation Works of John G. Taylor and Jerry Sheehan-1927.  Map to accompany application to change the point of diversion and place of use by Carlo and Luigi Arobio-1931.  William Dunphy Estate.  Golconda Cattle Co. n.d.

206,207.  Lovelock Valley Drainage District.  Maps and profiles of main drainage channels.  1922.  207 is a small roll in the map drawer. 

208,209.  Key maps for Argenta Slough and Lovelock cultural sheets.  n.d.

210.    Map of proposed Rock Creek Reservoir. n.d.

f211, f212, 213-215. State of Nevada.  Office of the State Engineer.  Water Right Survey.  Little Humboldt River Stream System.  1924.

216-218.  Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station and Land Utilization Division, Resettlement

216-219.  Administration.  Humboldt Land Classification Key Map.  1937.  Land Classification Map.  South Fork section. 1936.  Carlin section. 1927.

219-233. Nevada State Planning Board.  Paradise Valley Water Storage Survey.  Work by the W.P. A. 1937.

 

Northern, Central and Eastern Nevada, Including City and County Maps

234.    Compiled Map of Washoe District showing Properties of Nevada mining , reduction, and power company.  n.d.

f235.   Official Map of Douglas County. 1924.

236.    State of Nevada.  Engineer’s Office.  Carson River Adjudication.  Key Map sheet No.4 Gardnerville, 1926.

f237.   Map of  Lovelock, Pershing County, Nevada.  1920.

f238.   Map of Humboldt County.  1935.

239.    Map of White Pine County.  1930.

240.    map of Ely, n.d.

241.     Ely Municipal Airport. 1936-1938.

242.     Zone 4.  Map showing Water Development under the Nevada Emergency Relief Association. 1934.

243.    Map of Nye County, Nevada, n.d.

244-259.  Fallon Water Works,  PWA project no. 2010. 1933. 

 

Southern Nevada

260.    Colorado River Commission.  Colorado River Basin.  1922.

f261.    State of Nevada.  Office of State Engineer.  Cultural Map Pahranaget Valley.

262, 263.    Sketch maps of approximate irrigable areas in Clark and Lincoln counties.  n.d.                      

264.     Union Pacific systems.  L.A. & S.L. R.R.  Map and profile of proposed Line to Boulder Dam site. 

265.    Map to accompany Applications to Appropriate Water for stockwatering by McGonigle and Gentry.

266, 267.     Maps showing Tonapah Bombing Range.  1941.

 

U.S. Geological Survey Maps

268-282.    Fifteen topographic maps quadrangles, California and Nevada.  Big Trees, Bridgeport, Colfax, Downieville, Mt. Diablo, Mt. Lyell, Red Bluff, Weaverville, Yosemite, Goldfield Special, Silver Peak, Wabuska.  1894-1913.  

283.    Topographic map of Yosemite National Park.  1915.

284.    Topographic map of Utah. 1918.