W. H. Holabird Papers

This collection contains forty items primarily related to the work of railroad agent and California Development Company receiver W.H. Holabird (1845-1921), as well as some personal and ephemeral items.

The first and largest series (HM 73863-73875) is comprised of 13 items including correspondence and one report related to Holabird's survey of Miller and Lux's property for Southern Pacific in 1909. Holabird's surveys were in response to the Southern Pacific's interest in purchasing Miller and Lux and its various holdings. Includes one letter by Henry Miller to Holabird.

Series 2 (HM 73876-73878) contains 3 documents related to Holabird's time as receiver and general manager of the California Development Company.

Series 3 (HM 73879-73884) is made up of various reports Holabird wrote during and after his trips to the Philippines, Manchuria, and Siberia while working for E.H. Harriman and the Southern Pacific Railroad. This section also includes related correspondences regarding Manchuria with New York City-based journalist George Kennan (1845-1924).

The final series (HM 73885-73892) contains 12 miscellaneous and personal items including a photograph of Holabird, biographical and autobiographical materials, letters, and World War I-era essays written by Holabird regarding nationalism and communism; it also includes a folder of ephemera with two copies of the Los Angeles Times announcing Holabird's death and a newspaper clipping written by Holabird on agriculture and irrigation in the Imperial Valley.