RS 11-1-11 Anson Marston Papers

Descriptive summary
creator:	Marston, Anson (1864-1949)
title:	Papers
dates:	1864-1983, n.d.
extent:	9.66 linear ft. (14 document boxes 3 map case folders)
collection number:	RS 11/1/11
repository:	University Archives, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

Administrative information
access:	Open for research
publication rights:	Consult Head, Special Collections Department
preferred citation:	Anson Marston Papers, 1864-1983, RS 11/1/11 University Archives Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

Biographical note

Anson Marston was born in Seward, Illinois on May 31, 1864 to George and Sarah Scott Marston. He received a C.E. degree (1889) from Cornell University. Marston worked as a construction engineer (1889-1891) for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. He joined the staff at Iowa State College (University) in 1892 as Professor and Head (1892-1917) of the Department of Civil Engineering and became Dean (1904-1932) of the Division of Engineering. Marston, after stepping down and resuming teaching duties, was named Senior Dean (1932-1937) until he retired in 1937.

While at Iowa State, he developed the Engineering Division into a prestigious program. Marston established the Engineering Experiment Station (1904) and became its first Director (1904-1932). He designed Iowa State College sewage disposal system and water tower (Marston Water Tower), and initiated the building of Engineering Hall (Marston Hall). He also supervised the building of the Campanile and the restoration of Lake LaVerne. He established the Iowa State Highway Commission (Iowa Department of Transportation).

In addition to his work for Iowa State, Marston also engaged in consulting work. For the city of Ames, he designed the water pumping station, the reservoir, the elevated water tank, and the Ames Water Pollution Control System. He served as a consultant on many projects such as the Marshalltown (Iowa) sewage system, Manning (Iowa) water tower, and riverfront improvements with flood control at Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, and Council Bluffs. He also designed and consulted on waterworks projects for Waterloo (Iowa) and Rockford (Illinois). Anson Marston was also consultant on both the national and international level. He worked with the Hoover Commission on the Panama and Nicaragua Canals, the Mississippi River Flood Control Review Board, the Florida Everglades Research Commission, and the Columbia Basin Reclamation Project. In addition, he worked on several civil engineering projects in the cities of Lincoln (Nebraska), Chicago, Miami, Oakland, and Alameda (California).

During World War I, he served as a Major (1917-1918) in the Engineering Corps and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (1918). He was a Colonel of Engineers (1924-1928) for the U. S. Reserve Corps and a member of the auxiliary reserve (1928-1944). At the time of his death, he held the honorary commission of Colonel.

Anson Marston's main area of research was in road construction, culverts and sewer systems, compression and pressure tests, and load distributions. In addition, he studied soil dynamics, bridges, and flood control. He developed a theory commonly used in computing the backfill loads on pipes and received patents for special types of reinforcing for concrete pipes and for the methods of reducing loads carried by closed conduits buried in embankments or ditches. He wrote over 200 technical publications, books, and manuals.

Anson Marston belonged to numerous professional organizations, boards, and commissions. He was a member of National Research Council, the American Society of Engineers (Director, 1920-1922; Vice-President, 1923-1925; and President,1929), American Society for Testing Materials, the Society for Promotion of Engineering Education, the Land Grant College Engineering Association (President, 1913-1914), the Joint Concrete Culvert Pipe Committee (Chairman, 1920-1932), and the Committee C-6 on Drain Tile. He was also the Chairman for the Advisory Board on Highway Research National Research Committee and the Chairman of the Valuation Committee American Society of Civil Engineers.

In his prestigious career, he won the Fuertes Medal (1904) from Cornell University, the Chanute Medal (1904) from the Western Society of Engineers, and the Lamme Medal (1941) from the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education. He also received honorary degrees from the University of Nebraska (1925), Michigan State College (1927), and Iowa State (1948). Iowa State also established the Marston Medal (1938) in honor of Marston. The Marston Medal recognizes outstanding alumni of the College of Engineering.

Anson Marston married Alice Day December 14, 1892. They had two sons: Morrill Watson and Anson Day. Marston died October 21, 1949 from injuries he received during a car accident.

Collection description

The collection (1864-1983, n.d.) contains the papers and publications, research, engineering projects, and correspondence of Anson Marston. The papers also contain biographical information, including a biography of Marston written by Herbert Gilkey, memorials, documents concerning his military career, and a history of the Phelps-Newcomb family. In addition, the collection includes information regarding Marston�s projects and research involving sewage and drainage systems, culvert material tests, good roads. Also included are documents concerning engineering projects for the Florida Everglades, Iowa municipalities� water and sewage systems, Nebraska�s highway design, and the Panama Canal. In addition, the papers contain Marston�s writings, which focus on sewage and drainage systems, culvert material tests, Iowa Highway System, Iowa State College projects and the Engineering Experiment Station.

Organization

This collection is arranged into 6 series:
Series 1, Biographical Records, 1864-1983 (listed alphabetically)
Series 2, Papers and Publications, 1893 -1967 (listed alphabetically)
Series 3, Associations and Iowa State College 1894 -1938, (listed alphabetically)
Series 4, Presentations, 1905 -1942 (alphabetically)
Series 5, Projects and Research, 1897-1940, n.d. (listed alphabetically)
Series 6, Correspondence, 1896-1948 (chronologically)

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
1	1	Biographical information (includes 1 2x3 B&W photograph)	1864-1983
2	36	Bibliographies and Publication List of Anson Marston	n.d.
1	2	Certificates	1907
1	3	Genealogy of Phelps -Newcomb Family	1914-1977
1	4	Honors and Awards	1925-1949
1	5	Memorials and Obituaries	1949-1958
1	6	Military Service	1917-1947
1	7	Newspaper Clippings	1917-1944
1	8	The Ormesby Magazine Article about Marston	1960
5	1	Anson Marston; Iowa State University's First Dean of Engineering, by Herbert J. Gilkey	1968
5	2	Anson Marston; Iowa State University's First Dean of Engineering, by Herbert J. Gilkey - Table of Contests for Appendices	n.d.
5	3	Anson Marston; Iowa State University's First Dean of Engineering, by Herbert J. Gilkey - Appendix A A-4 to A6	1944
5	4	Anson Marston; Iowa State University's First Dean of Engineering, by Herbert J. Gilkey - Appendix B B-1 to B40	1901-1920
5	5	Anson Marston; Iowa State University's First Dean of Engineering, by Herbert J. Gilkey - Appendix C C1 to C2, C4 to C13	1913-1963
5	6	Anson Marston; Iowa State University's First Dean of Engineering, by Herbert J. Gilkey. - Appendix D D6, D8 (1 of 2)	1938-1941
5	7	Anson Marston; Iowa State University's First Dean of Engineering, by Herbert J. Gilkey. - Appendix D D2 to D3 (2 of 2)	1912,1949
1	12	�Alumnus of Iowa State College Civil Engineers Honor Marston�	1929
1	13	�Ames Engineers�	1921
1	14	�Anson Marston Makes Many Contributions to Engineering�	1929
Map Case	3	Certificate State Highway Commissioner	1907
Map Case	3	Phelps Family Tree	1914

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
6	7	�109^th Engineers U. S. Army World War 1917-1918�	1918
6	8	�Advance of Education�	1922
6	9	�Aim and Scope of the Engineering Division�	1926
6	10	�Aims and Purposes of Civil Engineering Education�	1930
6	11	�American Society of Civil Engineers�	1921
6	12	�Ames Engineering�	1924
1	15	�Brick Paving in Iowa�	1902
6	13	�Business Training for the Engineer�	1919
1	16	�Care and Operation of Sewage Disposal Plants in Iowa�	1916
1	17	�Causes of Structural Failures of Sewers�	1933
6	14	�Causes of Structural Failures of Sewers�	n.d.
1	9	�Century of Progress in Civil Engineering�	1931
1	18	�Ceramic School, Its Value to the State and the Clayworking Trade�	1967
1	19	�Choice of Subjects for Thesis�	1967
1	20	�Civil Engineer and His Place in the World�s Economy�	1909
6	15	�Civil Engineering Department�	n.d.
6	16	�Cooperation Among Deans for the Selection and Advancement of Teachers�	1926
6	17	�Cooperation of Land Grant Colleges in Highway Research�	1923
1	21	�Cornell Civil Engineer�	1930
6	18	�Data of Iowa Sewage and Sewage Disposal�	1901
1	22	�Demand of the Times as to Engineering Education�	1894
6	19	�Discussion of Report on Culvert Pipe Investigations�	1925
6	20	�Drainage Investigators of the Iowa State College Experiment Station During 1908�	1908
6	21	�Draining of the Florida Everglades�	1928
6	22	�Duplication in Engineering Between Land Grant Institutions and State Universities�	1915
6	23	�Effect of the War Upon Engineering Education in the United States�	1919
1	23	�Engineer as a Citizen�	1929
1	24	�Engineer in the World Freedom War�	1942
6	24	�Engineer�s Responsibility to the State�	1931
6	25	�Engineer�s View of the Contractor�	1929
1	25	�Engineering and Engineering Education�	1929
1	26	�Engineering Division�	1924
6	26	�Engineering Education at State Technical and at Institutions of Technology�	1912
6	27	�Engineering Education its Relation to Professional Engineering Organizations�	1929
6	28	�Engineering Ethics�	1912-1925
6	29	�Engineering Experiment Station of the Iowa State College�	n.d.
1	27	�Engineering Experiment Station�	1967
6	30	�Engineering in Ancient India�	1913
6	31	�Engineering in Iowa�	n.d.
1	28	�Engineering in War Times�	1917
6	32	�Engineering Problems of the Great Lakes�	1928
6	33	�Engineering Research in Land Grant Colleges�	1928
6	34	�Engineering Valuation of Highway Systems�	1933
1	29	�Engineering Valuation�	n.d.
6	35	�Excerpts from Dean Marston�s 10 Year Building Program�	1931
6	36	�Field Work in Civil Engineering at Iowa State College Ames, IA�	n.d.
1	30	�Fifty Years of Engineering Leadership�	1889-1938
1	31	�Freshmen Engineers�	1918
1	32	�Friction Rollers�	1894
6	37	�Future of Engineering Experiment Stations at Land Grant Colleges�	1919
1	33	�Good Roads Problem in Iowa�	1905
6	38	�Grade School Buildings in Ames�	1922
6	39	�Has Specialization Been Overdone in College Courses�	n.d.
6	40	�High School and the High School Graduate in the World War�	1917
1	34	�Highway Engineering in Iowa�	1913
6	41	�Highway Research Work of American Association of Land Grant Colleges�	1923
6	42	�History of Sewage Tanks and of Patent Litigation in Connection Therewith�	1916
1	35	�Iowa Engineer Major A. Marston�	1917
1	36	�Iowa Engineer�	1951
1	37	�Iowa State College Engineering Experiment Station Bulletin vol. 4 no.3�	1908
1	38	�Iowa State College Sewage Disposal Plant�	1900
1	39	�Iowa State�s First Engineering Dean�	1968
1	40	�Iowa�s Industrial Survey�	1929
7	1	�Lake LaVerne Committee Meeting�	1938
7	2	�Lake LaVerne Maps, Photographs and Blueprints� (includes 15 3x4 b&w photographs)	1935
7	3	�Lake LaVerne Reports- Reports on Results of Laboratory Tests Made on Water of Lake LaVerne Inlets Thereto�	1940
7	4	�Land Grant College Engineering Association�	1914
2	1	�Legislative Appropriations for the Engineering Division�	1888
2	2	�Making Iowa State Famous�	1936
7	5	�Methods of Choosing City Engineers�	n.d.
2	3	�Midland Municipalities�	1900
7	6	�Modern Engineering Education�	1916
1	10	�Mortality Curve Study of the Actual Service Lives of Brick-on-Concrete Pavement Des Moines, Iowa�	1934
7	7	�National Program for Highway Research�	1919
7	8	�New Engineering Division�	1920
7	9	�New Sewage Plant at Grinnell, Iowa�	1902
2	4	�Original Investigations by Engineering Schools and Duty to the Public and the Profession�	1900
7	10	�Our National Highway Engineering Problem�	1921
7	11	�Place and Field of the Agricultural Engineer�	1914
7	12	�Place of the Engineer�	1916
7	13	�Preliminary Report on Data Obtained by Studies Conducted by the Founders Societies�	1926
2	5	�President W. M. Beardshear an Appreciation�	1902
7	14	�Probable Future of Engineering and of Engineering Education�	n.d.
7	15	�Professional Ethics and Practices�	1930
7	16	�Progress in Research During 1921�	1921
2


Series 1:	Biographical Information	1864-1983
extent:	19 folders
description:	This series contains the biographical information of Anson Marston. It consists of material regarding his military career, honors and awards, memorials, and newspaper clippings. This series also contains information from Herbert J. Gilkey�s Bibliography �Anson Marston: ISU First Dean of Engineering�. In addition, the series includes genealogical information about the Phelps, Newcomb, Marston, and Day families.


Series 2:	Papers and Publications	1893-1967
extent:	2.52 linear feet (6 boxes)
description:	This series contains the papers and publications written by Marston. Many of the writings focus on engineering as a profession, engineering education, and Iowa State College (University) Division of Engineering. The papers also reflect Marston's interest in road construction, water and sewage systems, concrete, cement, and clay. The series also contains recommendations and reports regarding projects such the Florida Everglades and the Sanitary District of Chicago.