Hall, Wm. Ham. (William Hammond)

Hall was a Calif. engineer who served as Superintendent and Engineer of Golden Gate Park (1871-1876), a consultant in the grading and development of the University of California campus at Berkeley (1872-1873), chief engineer for the Central and West Side Irrigation Districts (1870s), the first State Engineer of Calif. (1879-1889), and Supervising Engineer of the Irrigation Bureau at the United States Geological Survey (1889). Beginning in 1890, he worked in the private sector as a civil engineer.

From the description of William Hammond Hall papers, 1878-1914. (California Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 122288044

From the description of William Hammond Hall letter books : ALS, 1870-1883. (California Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 122499012

William Hammond Hall was a field engineer, draftsman, and hydrographer during the Civil War. He was appointed city engineer and first superintendent of Golden Gate Park in 1870. In 1878, Hall was appointed the first State Engineer, producing the earliest overall survey of California's hydrologic system.

From the description of William Hammond Hall Collection, 1817-1915. (California State Library). WorldCat record id: 58744652

A Hall was a Calif. engineer who served as Superintendent and Engineer of Golden Gate Park (1871-1876), a consultant in the grading and development of the University of California campus at Berkeley (1872-1873), chief engineer for the Central and West Side Irrigation Districts (1870s), the first State Engineer of Calif. (1879-1889), and Supervising Engineer of the Irrigation Bureau at the United States Geological Survey (1889). Beginning in 1890, he worked in the private sector as a civil engineer.

From the description of William Hammond Hall papers and scrapbooks, 1873-1911. (California Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 145415681

Biographical Information

William Hammond Hall was born in Hagerstown, Maryland on February 12, 1846, the son of Anna Maria Hammond and John Buchanan Hall. The family came to California in 1850 and his father established a law practice that flourished until his office and library were destroyed in the fire of 1851. Later that year the family settled in Stockton where John Hall reestablished his law practice and became legal advisor to Charles M. Weber, the city's founder. Hall's education in a private academy was designed to prepare him for West Point but the outbreak of the Civil War caused his parents to abandon this plan. He remained in the Stockton academy until 1865 when he began his professional career in civil engineering as a draftsman and surveyor for the United States Corps of Engineers. He quickly advanced to assistant engineer and, as chief engineer, conducted the first survey for a ship canal to bring deep-sea vessels to the port of Stockton.

Early in 1870, Hall was appointed by the first San Francisco Board of Park Commissioners to conduct a topographic survey of the Golden Gate Park site. His plan for the development of the Park was adopted by the Commission and he became engineer and superintendent of construction. In the next six years most of the roads were built, trees and bushes were planted, picnic grounds and a children's play area were laid out, and various rustic buildings were constructed. Hall resigned in 1876 but served for many years without compensation as consulting engineer to the Park Commission. In that capacity he designed and built numerous buildings and other improvements, and selected and trained John McLaren to be the new superintendent.

From 1876 to 1878, Hall was chief engineer for several major irrigation projects, including the West Side Irrigation Commission, at that time one of the largest single irrigation studies in the state. In 1878, he was appointed the first State Engineer of California by Governor William Irwin and served under four successive governors until the office was abolished by the state legislature. During this period he worked with many prominent engineers, including Barton S. Alexander, George H. Mendell, and James B. Eads. In addition, he hired and trained numerous young engineers, including three who later achieved prominence: Carl Ewald Grunsky, Marsden Manson, and James Dix Schuyler. In 1889, he was appointed supervising engineer for the United States Irrigation Survey, the predecessor of the U.S. Reclamation Service, to oversee all of their investigative work west of the Rocky Mountains.

While working in London in 1896, Hall accepted an offer to supervise construction of a water storage system for the Johannesburg mining region in South Africa. He was also in charge of several other projects in the area until the work was stopped because of the Boer War. Before returning to the United States, Hall went to Russia to survey and report on irrigation projects in the Transcaucasus and Central Asia. Back in California, he made a study of the proposed Panama Canal which convinced Senator George C. Perkins to advocate the lock system instead of a sea level canal. Hall continued with numerous hydroelectric and irrigation surveys and, in 1908, acquired properties in the Lake Eleanor and Cherry Creek water sheds which he sold to the city of San Francisco for their water supply.

Hall remained active as consultant and self-appointed guardian of Golden Gate Park until several years before his death in 1934.

From the guide to the Wm. Ham. Hall papers, 1803-1979, bulk 1870-1928, (The Bancroft Library)

Biography

William Hammond Hall was born on February 12, 1846, the son of John Buchanan Hall and Anna Marie Hammond. At the time of his birth the family lived in Hagerstown, MD but moved to Stockton in 1853. Between 1858 and 1865 Hall was enrolled in a private episcopal academy. It had been planned that Hall would attend West Point so his education was directed toward mathematics, however, as a result of the Civil War, Hall's mother would not allow her son to fight against `her people' so he never received a college education.

His practical education began the summer of 1863 when he worked as a rodman and leveler for surveyor A.J. Bender. The folowing summer Hall did barometrical work under a Col. Williamson on Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams in Oregon. Following completion of his schooling in 1865, he was permanently employed by the Board of Military Engineers in San Francisco. A year later he was appointed Asst. Civil Enginer of the U.S. Engineering Corps. In addition to his work for the Army and the U.S. Engineering Corps, Hall worked on the Outside Lands Survey under City Surveyor W.P. Humphreys and in 1869 Hall was involved in mining engineering in the White Pine District, Nevada.

1870 was an important year in Hall's life. He was married to Emma Fitzhugh, member of a prominent Southern family. And in August of that year, Hall, as low bidder, was awarded the contract to survey and topographically map out Golden Gate Park. Following that report, he prepared a plan for the Park's development and the following August was appointed engineer and superintendent of the Park. A position Hall held until his resignation in 1876.

During 1872-73, Hall consulted in the grading and development of the University of California campus at Berkeley. In the few years after his resignation Hall was involved in a variety of projects which included: inspection work and reports on the construction of Wm. Ralston's Palace Hotel;and serving as chief engineer for the Central Irrigation District and the West side Irrigation District.

In the Spring of 1879 Governor William Irwin appointed Hall as the first state engineer of California. He was reappointed to this position by four successive governors. In this capacity he was asked by Gov. Stoneman to act as consulting engineer for Golden Gate Park in 1886. 1886 was also the year in which Hall launched his journal Land and Water with editorial assistance from his Assistant State Engineer James D. Schuyler. Hall resigned as State Engineer in 1889 and was appointed supervising engineer of the U.S.G.S. Irrigation Bureau a position he held for a year.

Hall went into private practice in 1890 and worked as a civil engineer on irrigation projects in central and southern California and as consulting engineer on irrigation and waterworks in England and South Africa. In 1889 Hall went to Russia, in 1905 to Panama to report on engineering studies on the Panama Canal and in 1918 to Turkey where he reported on Armenian and Syrian Relief. During these years Hall was in business as a civil engineer and land developer. During the early part of the twentieth century Hall was involved in a controversy concerning land in Yosemite (now known as Hetch-Hetchy) which the City of San Francisco was seeking for a water supply.

Hall had three daughters, Anna Hammond, Margaret Fitzhugh, and Katherine Buchanan Hall. He died on October 16, 1934 and was buried in Colma.

Source: Clary, Raymond. The History of Golden Gate Park.

From the guide to the William Hammond Hall papers, 1878-1914, (California Historical Society)

Biography of William Hammond Hall

William Hammond Hall was a California engineer who served as Superintendent and Engineer of Golden Gate Park (1871-1876), a consultant in the grading and development of the University of California campus at Berkeley (1872-1873), chief engineer for the Central and West Side Irrigation Districts (1870s), the first State Engineer of California (1879-1889), and Supervising Engineer of the Irrigation Bureau at the United States Geological Survey (1889). Beginning in 1890, he worked in the private sector as a civil engineer.

From the guide to the William Hammond Hall papers, 1873-1911, (California Historical Society)