Environmental History: Researching the Environment:
Department of Public Works construction photographs
The print version of the finding aid was compiled by Karen Cannell, New York State Archives.
© 2005
OverviewArrangement
Biographical Note
Content Description
Administrative Information
Use of the Collection
Related Information
Access Terms
Overview of the Collection
| Repository: | Warren County Records Center and Archives |
| Sponsor: | Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. |
| Collection Number: | WCA_DPWConstPhotos |
| Creator: | Warren County. Department of Public Works |
| Title: | Department of Public Works construction photographs |
| Dates: | 1918 - 1974 |
| Physical Description: | 2523 items of graphic material: glass plate negatives (371 items); safety film negatives (322 items); nitrate film negatives (198 items); and black and white prints and reprints produced from glass plate or film negatives (1632 items) |
| Summary: | The Department of Public Works construction photographs document construction and improvement projects for highways, bridges, dams, encroachments, and county facilities acarried out by the Warren County Highway Department, c. 1918–1970. The photographs also record automobile accidents that happened in the area. |
Arrangement
The photographs are arranged by format and then by town name, project number, and item number.
Overview
This series consists of over 2500 prints, glass plate negatives, and film negatives created by the Warren County Highway Department and the Warren County Department of Public Works. The materials document construction and improvement projects for highways, bridges, dams, and encroachments, and automobile accidents that happened in area. Almost 400 glass plate negatives survived undamaged for over eighty years. While the bulk of the collection documents construction through the late 1930s (including all major road construction, repair, and improvement projec as well as the construction of the 1928 Westmount Tuberculosis Sanitarium and the County Highway Department Building in 1927), more modern arteries such as the Quaker Road By-Pass are also documented in this collection. T back of each print displays the following information: project description, road number, project number, station numbers, and the date as entered by the Highway Department. The prints date from c. 1918-1974, while the negativ date from c. 1918-1940s.
Biographical Sketch
One of the most significant pieces of state legislation in the 20th century was the enactment of the Consolidated Highway Act of 1908, which had a direct impact on county government. Prompted by increased demand for improved transportation services, the law eliminated obsolete statutes, reorganized the state's department of highways, and focused increased attention on the construction of a publically-funded system of state and county highways and public roads. The creatio of the county Department of Highways and the Office of County Superintendent can be traced to this legislation.
Warrensburg native Bertram E. Murray was appointed the first Superintendent of Highways on Ap 7, 1909. A licensed civil engineer and surveyor, Murray was recognized by colleagues statewide as an authority in his field and led the department until his death in 1939. He was succeeded by long-term county highway employee and engineer Herrick "Hap" Osborne. Osborne devoted more tha forty years to the Warren County Department of Highways, retiring in May 1969. In 1971, the Department of Highways was reorganized as the Department of Public Works under the leadership of Superintendent Frederick Austin who served from 1969 to 1997. The change reflected a much broade scope of duties and responsibilities. Since its establishment in 1908, the department has been headquartered in the Warren County Town of Warrensburg. The department first operated out of a sm storefront within the village. During Murray's administration, the department moved to a newly constructed Administrative Office and Storehouse, from which the department still operates today. Today over 132 employees are responsible for oversight of all county highway and bridge construction maintenance of all road machinery, snow removal, and management of the following eight divisions: Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport, Civil Defense & Natural Disaster, Sewer Administration, Parks & Recreation, Recycling, Highway & Traffic, Engineering, and Buildings and Grounds (Source: Pam Vogel and Thomas Lynch. http://www.warrencountydpw.com/About%20Us.htm).
Administrative Information
Custodial History
The Department of Public Works transferred the material to the archives.
Processing Information
This collection's description was enhanced as a part of the New York State Archives Environmental HistoryVirtual Research Collection Project, 2004. The National Endowment for the Humanities provided funding for this project.
Use of Collection
Access Restrictions
Staff will access all records and must approve all requests for copies.
Available Alternate Formats
Some of the photographs are reprints produced from glass plate or film negatives.
Related Information
Related Material
Maps - Highway Right-of-way; Civil Actions - Highway; Highway Papers; Payroll - Highway; Payroll - TERA; andall highway records series listed in the Highway Guide at the Warren County Records Center and Archives, Lake George, N.Y.
Other Finding Aids
A printed catalog is available at the repository.
Access Terms
Corporate NamesSubjects
Roads Design and construction
Public works
Public buildings
Geographic Names
Adirondack Park (N.Y.)
Warren County (N.Y.)
Genre/Form
Photoprints
Negatives
