E.L. Corthell papers

1872-1916

Elmer Lawrence Corthell (1840-1916), a civil engineer, was active as a consulting engineer on railway, bridge, hydroelectric, irrigation, jetty, levee, and other projects in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. He had an office in New York City from the 1870s until 1916. Collection consists of correspondence, notebooks, reports, journals, scrapbooks, maps, and other materials documenting the technical, organizational, financial, and political aspects of Corthell's engineering projects. Major projects include Trans-Alaska-Siberian railway, irrigation of rice fields in Louisiana, electric railway between Switzerland and Italy, and hydroelectric projects in Connecticut. Miscellaneous projects, professional activities, and personal matters are also discussed. Related materials, such as memoranda, reports, financial records, clippings, maps, and plans accompany the letters. Notebooks, journal, reports, and scrapbook of clippings concern the projects with which Corthell was involved.