L.M. Winsor papers, 1912-1964

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Winsor, L. M. (Luther Martin), 1884-1968
Title
L.M. Winsor papers
Dates
1912-1964 (inclusive)
Quantity
16 boxes, (7.75 linear feet)
Collection Number
UUS_COLL MSS 98
Summary
Consists of personal and job-related photographs and published and unpublished essays from his work as an irrigation engineer, much of which focused on flood control. Most of the essays are typed reports to government agencies.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions
Restrictions

Open to public research.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Luther M. Winsor, born in Hebron, Utah on January 21, 1884, spent his whole life working with water, irrigation, and flood control. With his experience and expertise he was appointed to governmental positions, on both the state and national level, and he also served as a specialist to private companies. The bulk of his work with irrigation and flood control kept him in Utah, but he also studied and developed water programs in Chile, Iran, Canada, and much of the western United States.

His early life in Hebron, Washington County, consisted of learning first-hand about irrigation, masonry, and railroad surveying. In 1904 he registered at Utah Agricultural College (now Utah State University) in Logan. From the outset of his education he focused on studying irrigation. For seven years he not only continued his studies in college, but he also gained valuable field experience such as working under the State Engineer in Logan measuring water levels in canals and studying water use in crop production with an appointment from the United States Division of Irrigation Investigations. In 1911 he became the first person in Utah to receive a degree in Irrigation Engineering. In 1926 Winsor earned a Masters degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Winsor held an extensive and varied array of positions, most of which were concerned with irrigation and flood control. Shortly after he received his degree, Winsor became the first County Agent in the West and served posts in the Uintah Basin and in Colorado, but returned to Utah in 1913 to serve as Irrigation Specialist, a position he held for more than 20 years. It was in this capacity that he assisted in analyzing floods and developed the barrier system of flood control, in which debris is channeled away from flood waters.

Besides assisting in many flood control projects in Utah, in 1918 Winsor was called upon by the American Smelting and Refining Company to investigate irrigation and, as a result, increase food production for the company's copper mine camp in northern Chile. He would also assist the company on future projects in Garfield, Utah and Black Lake, Quebec.

The project that Winsor himself deemed most important was his work in Iran under appointment from the President of the United States in the early 1940s. In Iran he served as Director General at the Ministry of Agriculture. Winsor spent almost five years in the Middle East working with irrigation problems.

L.M. Winsor's varied career as an Irrigation Engineer is difficult to summarize. He extensively published the results from the many projects he assisted on or developed. On January 18, 1968 Winsor passed away. His groundbreaking work set the pace for flood control and irrigation in many areas of the West, especially Utah.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The L.M. Winsor collection consists of personal and job-related photographs and published and unpublished essays from his work as Irrigation Engineer. Most of the essays are typed reports to government agencies. The first three boxes of the collection house these reports with the reports on his work in Iran located in Box 15.

The photographs in this collection are mounted on sheets of paper with hand written captions accompanying most of them, and are grouped into related topics as outlined in the register. The photographs themselves can be separated into two types: personal and job-related. Box 4 Folders 1-6 contains the personal photographs, while the remainder of the collection consists of job-related pictures.

There is also a separate L.M. Winsor photographic collection (P0343) which houses about 800 negatives and prints.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Copyright

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 Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Permission to publish material from the L.M. Winsor papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation

L.M. Winsor papers, 1912-1964. (COLL MSS 98). Utah State University. Special Collections & Archives Department.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Manuscripts arranged by associated publication or article.

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated to Utah State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Department.

Processing Note

Registered Updated by: Matthew Stiffler, December 2002

Related Materials

L.M. Winsor photographic collectionP0343

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Reports, Published and Unpublished EssaysReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1 Circa 1926
1 2 1926
1 3 1926
1 4 1923
1 5 1923
1 6 1931
1 7 1954
1 8 1928
1 9 1921
1 10 1937
1 11 1930
1 12 1947
1 13 1947
1 14 1934
1 15 1954
1 16
Flood control work at Mt. Pleasant [Click to access]
Transcript report with photographs and news clippings
1947
2 1 1925
2 2 1922
2 3 1922
2 4 1923
2 5 1923
2 6 1922-1923
2 7
Map of Ashley Valley, Uintah County, Utah, showing ownership plats, canals and laterals
1920-1921
2 8 1924
2 9 1924
2 10 1927
2 11 1950-1959
2 12 1950-1959
2 13 1933
3 1 1964 June 1
3 2 1964
3 3 1964
3 4 1964
3 5 1964
3 6 1964
3 7 1964
3 8 1964
3 9 1964
3 10 1964 January 1
3 11 1963 June 1
3 12 undated
3 13 1963 December 1
3 14 1964
4 1 1921-1938
4 2 1924-1934
4 3 1929-1937
4 4 1930-1937
4 5 1933-1940
4 6 1923-1937
4 7 1917-1933
4 8 1923-1925
4 9 1915-1933
4 10 1917-1938
4 11 1922-1941
4 12 1917-1940
4 13 1927
5 1 1921-1934
5 2 1921-1941
5 3 1920-1938
5 4 1922-1940
5 5 1938-1939
5 6 1927-1938
5 7 1925-1927
5 8 1925-1927
5 9 1927
5 10 1927-1930
5 11 1927-1930
5 12 1927-1930
5 13 1927-1930
5 14 1927-1930
6 1 1925-1927
6 2 1925-1927
6 3 1923-1925
6 4 1924
6 5 1924-1927
6 6 1924-1927
6 7 1924-1927
6 8 1924-1933
6 9 1925
6 10 1924-1933
6 11 1923-1933
6 12 1923-1927
7 1 1933-1941
7 2 1926-1935
7 3 1933-1941
7 4 1933
7 5 1930-1935
7 6 1924-1928
7 7 1923-1933
7 8 1926-1932
7 9 1922-1930
7 10 1923-1941
7 11 1924-1933
7 12 1920
7 13 1922-1930
7 14 1925-1930
7 15 1920-1933
7 16 1916-1933
7 17 1922-1935
7 18 1916-1934
7 19 1933-1934
8 1 1923-1924
8 2 1925-1938
8 3 1925
8 4 1925-1927
8 5 1928-1937
8 6 1923-1930
8 7 1930-1934
8 8 1930-1933
8 9 1922-1932
8 10 1923-1928
8 11 1912-1938
8 12 1916-1922
8 13 1924-1933
8 14 1926-1933
8 15 1915-1925
9 1 1934-1939
9 2 1934
9 3 1934
9 4 1940-1941
9 5 1938-1939
9 6 1936
9 7 1936-1939
9 8 1941
9 9 1941
9 10 1936-1941
9 11 1939
9 12 1939
9 13 1939
10 1 1926-1931
10 2 1925-1939
10 3 1926-1940
10 4 1926-1936
10 5 1935-1939
10 6 1923-1928
10 7 1927-1933
10 8 1922-1938
10 9 1923-1941
10 10 1923-1940
10 11 1926-1938
10 12 1937-1938
10 13 1938
10 14 1926
10 15 1939
10 16 1923-1938
10 17 1938
10 18 1926-1941
11 1 1935
11 2 1935-1936
11 3 1935
11 4 1935-1936
11 5 1936
11 6 1935
11 7 1935
11 8 1935-1936
11 9 1935
11 10 1935-1936
11 11 1936
11 12 1935-1940
11 13 1935-1936
11 14 1935
11 15 1934-1935
12 1 1935-1939
12 2 1931-1935
12 3 1927-1932
12 4 1934-1938
12 5 1937-1940
12 6 1937-1940
12 7 1926-1937
12 8 1938-1940
12 9 1940-1941
12 10 1941
12 11 1938
12 12 1934-1940
12 13 1939-1940
12 14 1926
12 15 1939
13 1 1927-1947
13 2 1927-1928
13 3 1927-1929
13 4 1928-1929
13 5 1929
13 6 1928-1929
13 7 1928-1929
13 8 1927-1931
13 9 1929-1932
13 10 1923-1932
13 11
Bear Bay, Utah migratory bird refuge development project
1930-1933
13 12 1927
14 1 1926-1941
14 2 1937-1941
14 3 1927-1938
14 4 1934
14 5 1927-1941
14 6 undated
14 7 1941
14 8 1934
14 9 1935-1939
14 10 1900-1909
15 1 1937-1941
15 2 1937
15 3 1937-1939
15 4 1938
15 5 1933-1941
15 6 1933-1937
15 7 1926-1934
15 8 1925-1933
15 9 1916-1933
15 10 1933-1934
15 11 1955 December-1956 January
15 12 1941-1946

Articles by L.M. Winsor concerning Iran, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
15 13 1941-1946

L.M. Winsor correspondence concerning Iran, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
15 14 1946-1949

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Flood control
  • Irrigation engineering
  • Irrigation--Utah.
  • Water-supply--Iran

Personal Names

  • Winsor, L. M. (Luther Martin), 1884-1968 (contributor)