John P. Elliott, Sr. papers

The John P. Elliott Papers and the Elliott Consulting Engineering Papers consist primarily of the business correspondence and letter, engineering records, and legal documents relating to Elliott’s development of the Homestake Water Diversion Project and the Yampa River Diversion Project. These projects divert water from the Western Slope of the Colorado Rockies to Front Range urban centers. Elliott began the Homestake Project in 1952 and the Yampa Project in the mid 1960s. Elliott’s activity in these endeavors provides the researcher with insight into the rationale and complexities of natural resource development undertaken by private enterprise. The collection also houses numerous other smaller projects in which Elliott was involved. The collection provides a case study of both an entrepreneur and creative engineer grappling with issues such as the persistent competition for water rights in the semi-arid West, and the continuing local controversy between Western and Eastern Slope interests in the Rocky Mountain region.

There are other aspects of the collection beyond its documentation of the Homestake and Yampa Projects. Elliott was the promoter of the Denver-Boulder Turnpike. Elliott was an amateur politician and semi-professional political pollster throughout the 1950s and the early 1960s. His scrapbook concerns itself with the Four Counties Water User’s Association with emphasis on editorials, water needs and Senator Aspinal.

The two scrapbooks contain dated newspaper clippings from June 1949 to October 1965, a few months before Elliott’s death. There are also 1967 articles regarding Elliott’s projects collected by his family. In general, the articles document Elliott’s political activities, and water diversion projects. They also provide a thorough record of other water projects and controversies in Colorado and the West during the 1950’s and early sixties. The original scrapbooks were returned to donor on June 7, 1983. One large red scrapbook filmed and xeroxed original returned to donor.

The fieldbooks are engineering surveys primarily related to the Homestake Project, but also include smaller projects for clients such as International Harvester, U.S. Rubber, Sears, and smaller reservoirs. Though the chronological order is not always consistent the numerical sequence designated by Elliott is adhered to.

Series 1: Correspondence, Papers, etc. contains the documentation of all of Elliott’s projects, including the Homestake and Yampa projects, as well as his legal and political endeavors and other miscellaneous personal items. Series 2: Field Book and Notes holds Elliott’s field documentation from his various projects and endeavors including Homestake, Gold Park, Yampa, East and West Portals, and Lake George. Series 3: Audio/Visual and Fragile Materials houses sensitive materials from the Elliott Collection. Included are photographs, microfilm scrapbooks, glass negatives, and The Ditch Book. Series 4: Scrapbook 1966-1968 is a four part collection of photocopied news articles pertaining to Elliott’s work. Series 5: Maps is a group of maps, both in folders and tubes, of areas in which Elliott worked.