The Perley M. Lewis Collection consists of printed matter extending from 1848-1978. The bulk of the collection concerns water rights and boundary dispute litigation between the states of Arizona and California and congressional authorization of the Central Arizona Project from 1950-1968.
Identification:
MSS-50
Language:
Material in English
Repository:
Arizona State University Library. Greater Arizona Collection P.O. Box 871006 Tempe, AZ 85287-1006 Phone: (480) 965-4932 E-Mail: archives@asu.edu Questions? Ask An Archivist!
Biographical Note
Perley Mitchell Lewis, engineer and real estate investor, was born to Charles Alexander Lewis (1872-1942) and Louise Marie (Van Hee) Lewis (1876-1965) in La Junta, Colorado on September 17, 1898. He had two siblings, Cora A. (1896-1975) and Charles Alexander (1901-1988). Lewis studied at the University of Colorado for two years before moving to San Marcial, New Mexico in 1917. Here, he worked as a surveyor and clerk in a railway office until returning to Colorado to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1918. He served as an Private in the Student Army Training Corps, Company C, 1st Battalion, at the University of Colorado until he was demobilized in 1919. Lewis returned to school, earning his Bachelor of Science from the University of Colorado in 1922. He moved to Arizona in the mid-1920s and married Mildred Christine Jaeger (1906-1986) on May 28, 1927. The couple had four children: Joseph Perley (1928-1990), Christine Augusta (Lewis) Frederick Hoban (1931-2002), Patricia Louise (1935-), and John David (1936-).
Lewis served as assistant superintendent of the Phoenix Municipal Water Department in the 1940's. He also served on the Arizona Interstate Stream Commission and the Arizona Boundary Commission. His research was used to support Arizona's position in the Arizona vs. California litigation and the congressional battle to authorize the Central Arizona Project. Lewis died in Phoenix on August 24, 1982.
Scope and Content Note
The Perley M. Lewis Collection consists of correspondence, reports, research notes, maps, legal papers and printed matter extending from 1848-1978. The bulk of the collection concerns water rights and boundary dispute litigation between the states of Arizona and California and congressional authorization of the Central Arizona Project from 1950-1968.
To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.
Copyright
The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of the Arizona State University Library. Requests to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.
Access Terms
Personal Name(s)
Lewis, Perley M. (Perley Mitchell), 1898-1982
Corporate Name(s)
All-American Canal System (U.S.)
Central Arizona Project (U.S.)
Gila Valley Irrigation District (Ariz.)
Imperial Irrigation District (Calif.)
Palo Verde Irrigation District (Calif.)
Roosevelt Irrigation District (Ariz.)
San Carlos Irrigation District (Ariz.)
Geographic Name(s)
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)
Subject(s)
Arizona -- Boundaries -- California
California -- Boundaries -- Arizona
Water resources development -- Colorado River Region (Colo.-Mexico)
Water resources development -- Law and legislation -- Arizona
AZ/Sonora Land and Irrigation Co. and Colorado River Irrigation Co, 1957
6
3
Colorado River Compact of 1922, 1916, 1955
6
4
The Colorado Desert, 1953
This document describes Basin and Range Provinces.
6
5
Colorado River Boundary Commission, 1953-1955
6
6
Colorado River Channel Changes in the Mohave Valley, 1954, 1968
6
7
Colorado River in the Mohave Valley Meanderings of the Stream in Historic Times, 1953
6
8
Colorado River Water Budget, 1953
6
9
Ground Water Report, 1936
6
10
Mosaic Map of Colorado from Nevada to Mexico, 1954
6
11
Palo Verde Irrigation and Drainage District vs Bureau of Land Management, 1965
Box
Folder
7
1
Property Maps: Palo Verde Weir to Cibola Valley, 1967, 1969, Undated
7
2
US Senate Hearings on Palo Verde Lands, AZ/CA Boundaries, U.S. vs Palo Verde Landowners, 1954
7
3-3A
Desert Ginning and Desco Ranches (Murphy) Land Filing Papers, 1933-1969
7
4
Report on Colorado Reach, Parker, Palo Verde and Cibola, 1954
7
5
Joseph D. McCain Desert Land Filings, 1960-1969
7
6
Indian Lands in Arizona Adjoining Colorado River, 1955
7
7
Land Releases in Coachella Valley, 1956-1957
Box
Folder
8
1
Arizona Water Resources, 1967
8
2
Central Arizona Project: C. N. Phillips, Ebasco Services Correspondence, 1955
8
3
Central Arizona Project Report, 1948
8
4
Central Arizona Project: Appraisal Report, Region 3, Boulder City, Nevada, 1962
8
5
Central Arizona Project: House Hearings, 1964
8
6
Central Arizona Project: Federal Prepayment Power Arrangement, 1967
8
7
Proposed Cibola, Mohave Irrigation and Drainage Districts, 1961
8
8
Colorado River in Mexico: History and Uses, 1956
8
9
Geology and Ground Water Resources, Verde River Valley Near Fort McDowell, 1945
8
10
Report on Upper Santa Cruz River, 1955-1957
8
11
Report on Irrigable Lands of the Colorado River Basin, 1922
Box
Folder
9
1
Agriculture and Quality of Irrigation Water, 1954, 1964, 1978
9
2
Arizona Public Service Company Electric Rates, 1957-1966
9
3
Colorado River Power Projects (Boulder, Glen and Marble), 1953-1957
9
4
Colorado River Water Uses, 1955-1956
9
5
Ground Water Report, 1968
9
6
Phoenix Municipal Water System 1950. City Priority Water, 1950-1951
9
7
San Carlos Irrigation District and Gila Project, 1944, 1956
9
8
Roosevelt Irrigation District Operations, 1942, 1950, 1954
9
9
Salt River Valley Water Users Association, 1938, 1956
9
10
Surplus Waters of Northern California Available to Southern California, 1956
Box
Folder
10
1-1A
Early 20th Century Water Surveys of Lower Colorado Basin, 1908, 1919, 1923
10
2
Benson vs Allison and 454 others, 1917-1919
10
3
Boulder Canyon Project: Mexican Water Treaty, 1940, 1945
10
4
Travel Guide Through Western Arizona and Eastern California Deserts, 1920
10
5
Water Power and Flood Control of Colorado River Below Green River, Utah, 1925
10
6
Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, 1948
10
7
Kent Decree [a priori water rights], 1910
10
8-8B
Printed Matter Regarding Cattle Ranching, Ground Water, Geology of Gila River and San Simon Creek, Irrigation, and Public Domain Lands, 1938, 1952, Undated
10
9
Roosevelt Irrigation District History, 1925, 1943
10
10
Indians of the United States/San Carlos Irrigation Project Hearings, 1919
10
11
Water-Related Printed Matter, 1922-1957
Box
Folder
11
1
Ferry vs Udall, Lewis vs Udall, 1964-1965
11
2
University of Colorado Correspondence, 1962-1963
11
3
R. Gail Baker Biographical Information, 1941, 1965
11
4
Personal Correspondence with Congressional Delegation: Hayden, Goldwater, Rhodes, Fannin, 1963-1970
11
5
Personal Correspondence, 1960-1971
11
6
Personal Correspondence/Papers, 1846, 1955, 1960
11
7
Personal Correspondence, 1941, 1951-1956
11
8
Tucson Properties, 1945-1953
11
9
Tucson Properties,
1951-1953, 1961-
11
10
1961 Automobile Payment, Insurance and Repair Records, 1961-1971
11
11-12
Adams vs City of Prescott et. al., 1965-1966
11
13
Mary Kimborough Jones Correspondence, 1962
Box
Folder
12
1
Power vs US [Work Sheets], 1970
12
2
Chatter vs Skousen, 1968-1970
12
3
Chatter vs Skousen, 1965-1971
12
4
Chatter vs Skousen, 1959-1971
12
5
Chatter vs Skousen, 1969-1971
Box
Folder
13
1/OV2
Miscellaneous Personal and Colorado River Papers, 1956-1969
13
2
Miscellaneous Personal and Colorado River Papers, 1875, 1961, 1969
13
3
Perley M. Lewis Co.: General Contractors, 1953-1958
13
4
Indian Land Allottment: Balmer, 1924, 1940, 1960
13
5
Piute Land Development Co., 1959-1968
13
6
Arizona Title Insurance and Trust Co., 1968
13
7
Taxes, 1967
Box
Folder
14
1
Aluminum Oxide Mining Claims, 1953
14
2
Properties in San Miguel, Colorado, 1959-1968
14
3
Hacienda del Sol, Lewis Updike Escrow, 1953
14
4
Weideman Transaction, Flagstaff, 1967-1969
14
5
Sante Fe-Lewis to Ladenburger, 1967-1969
14
6
Picacho Townsite Property, 1951-1969
14
7
Tucson Property, Lewis to Abdell, 1953-1969
14
8
Mohave Land and Development Co., 1959-1970
14
9
Real Estate in Mohave County, 1937-1968
14
10
Lewis vs U.S. and Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court, 1913-1973
