Mark C. Walker & Son Co. scrapbook
Creation: 1942-1954 Creation: 1963-1964 Creation: 1979Abstract
Mark C. Walker & Son Co. was a general contractor firm in the early to mid-twentieth century. The company was founded as Callahan-Walker Construction Company in Omaha, Nebraska, by Mark Connell Walker (1889-1966) and his father-in-law, William F. Callahan (1856-1930), a railroad contractor. Upon Callahan's death, Walker took on his son, Mark Callahan Walker (1911-1999), as a partner. This album, compiled by Walker Jr., documents construction projects during World War II, as well as the post-war western United States. It highlights the impact of public works in the twentieth century. The album contains photographs, text, and newspaper clippings detailing several key construction projects: the Gary Armor Plate Steel Mill in 1942, the Harlan County Dam between 1946 and 1947, and the Orange County Sanitation Plant in 1953. The album also contains photographs and trade catalogs from the company's Polair Mobile Refrigerator Division, which designed and built refrigerated truck trailers for the U.S. Army.
Dates
- Creation: 1942-1954
- Creation: 1963-1964
- Creation: 1979
Extent
1 volume(s)
Physical Description
1 album : tan, leather ; 14.5 x 13 in. (closed) containing 163 photographic prints : 8 x 10 in. or smaller. Newspaper clippings. Reports. Letters.
Historical Note
Mark C. Walker & Son Co. was a general contractor firm in the early to mid-twentieth century. The company was founded as Callahan-Walker Construction Company in Omaha, Nebraska, by Mark Connell Walker (1889-1966) and his father-in-law, William F. Callahan (1856-1930), a railroad contractor. The Callahan-Walker Construction Company completed many local projects, such as the grading of Dodge Street, and built railroads in Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. The company became one of the largest drainage construction organizations in the country. They built levees in the South and concrete-lined canals in the west. Upon Callahan's death, Walker took on his son, Mark Callahan Walker (1911-1999), as a partner. The company was renamed Mark C. Walker & Son Co. Walker Sr. was president, and Walker Jr. was secretary/treasurer. The firm began to focus on earth-fill and concrete dams, such as the Keystone Dam in Dalina, Kansas, and the Harlan County Dam on the Republic River in Nebraska. In 1944, the company moved to Santa Ana, California, and focused on engineering construction. From 1949 to 1951, Mark C. Walker & Son Co. had a Polair Mobile Refrigerator Division, which designed and built refrigerated truck trailers for the U.S. Army. The division closed during the Korean War due to material shortages, and the company returned to construction.
Scope and Contents
This album, compiled by Walker Jr., documents construction projects during World War II, as well as the post-war western United States. It highlights the impact of public works in the twentieth century. The album contains photographs, text, and newspaper clippings detailing the construction of the historic Gary Armor Plate Plant, showing the stages of construction of the steel mill located along the Calumet River in Gary, Indiana. The last photograph features a large crowd of women mill steelworkers at the plant's opening celebration. There is an obituary of Walker Jr.'s uncle, William Edward Callahan (1883-1944); Walker Jr.'s hunting license; newspaper clippings; and a notice of the company's move to California.
A significant portion of photographs documents the construction of the Harlan County Dam near Republican City, Nebraska, on the Republican River. The images show the loading and transportation of equipment moving through Santa Ana, California, to the rail station and then the construction site. In October 1946, the river flooded and caused damage to the equipment and excavation site. There are images of the flood damage and an engineering audit report on the project.
There are images and a timeline related to the Polair Mobile Refrigerator Division. These images show the facilities, equipment, and manufacturing of the refrigerated trucks dating from 1949 to 1951. There are also catalogs, photographs, and sales literature. From 1951 through 1953, the company turned its attention to the building of the El Toro, California, courthouse; the D.D. Johnson School in Norwalk, California; and the Orange County Sanitation Plant. These projects are chronicled in the album through photographs and project documents.
There are several letters of recommendation for Mark C. Walker Jr. and his abilities as a construction engineer, as well as magazine clippings about his son, Douglas Anthony Walker (1936-1989), who also worked in construction engineering. The final page consists of an associate, Peter Kiewit's (1900-1979) obituary, and photographs.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Subjects
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Mark C. Walker & Son Co. scrapbook
- Author:
- Laurie Sather
- Date:
- 2022
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
