Abstract
The Robert B. Griffith Collection (1928-1975) documents the work of Robert B. Griffith, an instrumental figure in the development of water resources in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as the creation of McCarran International Airport and Nellis Air Force Base. The collection consists of Colorado River Commission papers, 1928 International Air Race documents, general correspondence, a feasibility study, an airport guide, American Legion papers, the memoirs of Alfred Merritt Smith, and death and burial records belonging to his father. The collection also includes slides from various countries, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Robert B. Griffith Collection (1928-1975) documents the work of Robert B. Griffith, an instrumental figure in the development of water resources in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as the creation of McCarran International Airport and Nellis Air Force Base. The collection consists of Colorado River Commission papers, 1928 International Air Race documents, general correspondence, a feasibility study of a mechanical system for Griffith Phytotronics Laboratories at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a 1928 Oakland Municipal Airport guide, American Legion papers, the memoirs of Alfred Merritt Smith, and death and burial records belonging to his father. The collection also includes slides from various countries, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
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 as they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
Robert B. Griffith was born in 1899 in California and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada with his father E.W. Griffith, a Las Vegas contractor and pioneer, in 1905. He attended the University of Nevada in Reno, graduating in 1923 with a degree in civil engineering. That same year he married Ruth Atcheson and returned to Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1925, upon his appointment as postmaster, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce assigned him the task of determining if the city could accommodate airmail service. As part of this task, Griffith helped the city lease Anderson Field, which was renamed Rockwell Field as part of the lease agreement. Upon the expiration of the lease, the owners of Rockwell Field sold the land and Griffith selected a new site that later became Nellis Air Force Base. Griffith retired as postmaster in 1930, but continued to serve as an aviation expert for the community. He was instrumental in the development of both the Nellis Air Force Base and McCarran International Airport.
During World War II, Griffith began working towards securing water for Southern Nevada. Starting in 1957, Griffith served on the Colorado River Commission and served as chair in 1966. Griffith, along with other community leaders, convinced the federal government to assist in the building of a water pipeline that went from Lake Mead to the Las Vegas Valley. The project, initially named the Southern Nevada Water Project, supplies water to Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, and Nellis Air Force Base. Griffith passed away in 1979. Three years later in 1982, the city renamed the project the Robert B. Griffith Water Project.
Sources:
Stoldafor, Robert. “Robert Griffith.” Las Vegas Review-Journal, February 7, 1999. Accessed June 27, 2018. https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/robert-griffith/.
Rogers, Jedediah. “Robert B. Griffith Water Project.” Bureau of Reclamation, 2006. Accessed June 27, 2018. https://www.usbr.gov/projects/pdf.php?id=181.
Preferred Citation
Robert B. Griffith Collection, 1928-1975. MS-00315. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were received periodically from 1980 to 1990; accession numbers 80-134 and 90-48.
Processing Note
In 2018, as part of an archival backlog project, Christina Lamoureux rehoused the materials, wrote the finding aid and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.