Abstract
The Franklin M. Murphy Photograph Collection, dates from approximately 1929-1933 and consists of black-and-white photographic prints with 27 corresponding negatives. The majority of the images show locations in and around the current site of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead in southern Nevada and Arizona with a focus on the geology of the area; a smaller number show individuals and locations in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Franklin M. Murphy Photograph Collection dates from approximately 1929-1933 and consists of black-and-white photographic prints with some corresponding negatives. The majority of the images show locations in and around the current site of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead in southern Nevada and Arizona with a focus on the geology of the area; a smaller number show individuals and locations in Las Vegas and Boulder City, Nevada. Of particular interest are photographs that highlight early preparation for the dam and areas of the Colorado River canyons that were submerged by Lake Mead.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in original order.
Biographical / Historical Note
Consulting geologist and surveyor Franklin Mac Murphy was born on December 27, 1898 in Wheaton, Minnesota. He studied at Columbia University, the University of Arizona, and the University of California, Los Angeles, completing his graduate studies in 1930 at the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, California.
After his graduation, Murphy worked for the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). From 1930 to 1933 he provided surveys and geological mapping of the Eldorado Range in southern Nevada for the Hoover Dam site and vicinity. From 1933 to 1937, he worked as a geologist on irrigation and flood control projects, including the Colorado River Indian Irrigation Project. After 1940, Murphy acted as an independent geologist on many other dam sites and mining projects until his sudden death in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 10, 1957.
Sources:
Genealogical research on "Franklin Mac Murphy." Accessed December 12, 2019 on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org
Alumni death notice, "Franklin Mac Murphy." California Institute of Technology Alumni Association Engineering and Science newsletter, 1957. Accessed November 26, 2019, http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/1849/1/personals.pdf
Preferred Citation
Franklin M. Murphy Photograph Collection, approximately 1929-1933. PH-00232. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 1979 by the Las Vegas (Nevada) Public Library; accession number T-130.
Processing Note
Materials were processed by Special Collections staff in 1979. In 2019, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Melise Leech wrote the finding aid and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.