James B. Clover and Katherine M. Clover papers

The collection consists of correspondence, documents, maps, reports, publications, and clippings related to land tenure and water use in and around Mono County (including Mono Basin, Mono Lake, Lee Vining Creek and Rush Creek), Inyo County, and Los Angeles, California. The contents of the collection were assembled by James B. (James Benton) and Katherine M. (Katherine Mary) Clover over a period of more than sixty years.

Although the Clovers eventually sold most of their land in Mono County, they maintained a small parcel and ranch. Katherine M. Clover kept a diary from the 1950s-1970s recording her activities with the property including repairs, water and land problems, and meetings with local residents. She also gathered information on land and water issues related to Mono County, the City of Los Angeles, and California in general, and her many pages of handwritten notes on these subjects may be found scattered throughout the collection. There is a small amount of family papers (123 pieces), including census forms, income tax records, and wills, and there are a few materials related to land and natural resources in Colorado, where the Clover family also owned some land.

The bulk of the collection consists of materials related to the interests of the City of Los Angeles (Calif.) in acquiring land in and the rights to appropriate water from Mono County for the city's use and consumption. Throughout the collection may be found correspondence and publications related to water use and supply, land tenure and use, applications to appropriate water, public hearings and related legislation. Of note in the collection are copies of federal legislation on the sale and granting of public lands in Mono County to the City of Los Angeles (1921-1981) and an extensive amount of documentation regarding several court cases related to water and land rights in Mono County, including the National Audubon Society…vs. Los Angeles (Calif.) Dept. of Water and Power (1980-1988) and City of Los Angeles vs. Nina B. Aitken, et al. (1927-1942), the latter in which the Clovers were named as defendants.

Although the bulk of the collection focuses on land and water rights in Mono County, the documentary materials gathered by the Clovers also illustrate the agricultural history of Mono County, activities of advocacy groups such as the Mono Lake Committee, interests in geothermal resources in the vicinity, and federal legislation establishing the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area. The Clovers also assembled publications and other materials related to land and water issues in California and in the greater United States, and these items illustrate trends not only at the local level but also within the state and throughout the nation.

The collection includes a large amount of material on the governance and operations of the City of Los Angeles including city charters (1923-1972) and city ordinances (1909-1970). Along with pages of handwritten notes by Katherine M. Clover on the history of Los Angeles and its government, there is also material on several city departments including the Office of the City Clerk, the Dept. of Public Works, the Dept. of City Planning, and the Dept. of Water and Power. Of these, the Dept. of Water and Power is most prominently represented, with 15 annual reports (1926-1964) of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, the Department of Water and Power's newsletter (1933-1943) and magazine, Intake (1936- 1948), promotional literature and various departmental publications. The Dept. of Water and Power also figures prominently in the collection, as it is the administrative body of the City of Los Angeles responsible for overseeing applications to appropriate water from Mono County and construction of the Los Angeles aqueduct.

Also in the collection are business records and correspondence of approximately a dozen California-based water and utility companies including the Mono Valley Improvement Company (1915-1921), Rush Creek Mutual Ditch Company (1914-1959), and Sierra Land and Water Company (1920-1955). The papers of these and other corporations indicate the economic interests they had in owning, selling, and irrigating lands in Mono County and the construction of aqueducts, canals, and dams to generate hydroelectric power.

173 maps (101 of which are oversize) of aqueducts, land, reservoirs, and water sources may be found in the collection. The counties of Mono and Inyo are particularly well represented, as is the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. Of note are 42 township plat maps in Mono County and another 40 topographic maps by the United States Geographical Survey.

The collection also contains 4,759 clippings (1914-1990) on subjects such as dams, geothermal power, and water in Inyo, Los Angeles, and Mono Counties. There are also some clippings related to water and land issues in Colorado.