A.A. Durand and Son drilling records, 1930-1980

Overview of the Collection

Creator
A.A. Durand and Son
Title
A.A. Durand and Son drilling records
Dates
1930-1980 (inclusive)
Quantity
49 linear feet, (49 boxes)
Collection Number
WCMss.060
Summary
This collection houses drilling records and information for wells across the Pacific Northwest from the A.A. Durand and Son well-drilling company based in Walla Walla, Washington. The states include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Alaska, and Montana.
Repository
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

A.A. Durand and Son was a well-drilling company founded by Albert Aloysius Durand in Walla Walla, Washington. Albert Durand moved from Missouri in 1897 to Walla Walla, and brought with him an early-type well drilling rig. He ran the well drilling business for decades before his retirement. His company is responsible for thousands of wells across Washington, Oregon and other western states.

The company had many clients throughout the Pacific Northwest, offering their services on both the private and corporate levels. They supplied water for agriculture, industrial plants, government projects, as well as domestic locations. Their slogan was "No well too large. No well too small."

Some of their services included the construction of oil, gas and water wells, core drilling, seismograph drilling, drainage, and sanitary facility wells and pump installation.

The company was later owned and run by his son Paul A. Durand, a Walla Walla native and graduate of Whitman College, until it was sold in 1958 after more than 50 years of operation.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection includes geological surveys, information about irrigation districts, correspondence, legal documents, and reports of Walla Walla well-drilling contractors. Other files such as blueprints, maps, newspaper clippings, water reports, video footage from drilling sites, and field notes can be found in this collection. The dates span from approximately 1930 to 1980. Many items relate to several hundred contracts in the Northwest.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by Paul A. Durand in 1970 and 1987. The accession number is retro-0106.

Processing Note

In 2012 this collection was transferred to archival boxes. The original order provided by the donor was maintained, and no additional arrangement was imposed by the archvist. Materials were described on the collection-level.

In 2019, the collection was rehoused to stabalize the materials, and the inventory provided by the donor was used to create a box-level container list.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box
1 Washington cities: Albion-Ephrata
2 Washington cities: Ephrata-Kennewick
3 Washington cities: Laurier-Moxee
4 Washington cities: Naches-Pullman
5 Washington cities: Pullman-Spokane
6 Washington cities: Tacoma-Walla Walla
7 Washington cities: Walla Walla-Waterville
8 Washington cities: Waterville-Yakima
8 Washington, private: Abbey-Burstatte
9 Washington, private: Campbell-Gerken
10 Washington, private: Gilkerson-Kilbourn
12 Washington, private: Neff-Stockdale
13 Washington, private: Stone-Zuger
14 Oregon, private: Anderson-Kramer
15 Oregon, private: Leonnig-Wright
16 Oregon, private: Yarington-Zerba
16 Oregon cities: Arlington-Mt. Vernon
17 Oregon cities: Nyssa-Weston
17 Idaho cities: Alameda-Moscow
18 Idaho cities: Moscow-Worley
19 Corporate records: Albertson's-Birds Eye Division
20 Corporate records: Boise Cascade Corporation-Dumas Estate
21 Corporate records: Earl Fruit Company-Kaiser Rolling Mill
22 Corporate records: Lamb-Weston Company-Northwestern Natural Gas
23 Corporate records: Olson Estate-Smith Canning Company
24 Corporate records: Spokane Brewing and Malting Company-Utah-Idaho Sugar Company
25 Corporate records: Utah-Idaho Sugar Company-Yakima Golding Farm
25-27 Union Pacific Railroad
27 Alaska records
27-28 Montana records
28-29 City of Yakima (Washington) records
29 Cities of Selah and Clarkston (Washington) records
30-31 Cities of Imbler, Elgin, Union, La Grande, Summerville, Cove and Alicel (Oregon) records
31-32 Lewiston, Idaho: Well study reports and geological reports of the area
32-34 U.S. Army Engineers: Damsites
34 U.S. Army Engineers: Bombing and firing ranges
34-35 Umatilla Ordinance Department
35 U.S. Army Engineers: Radar stations
35 U.S. Army Engineers: CCC camps
35 U.S. Army Engineers: Air fields
35-36 U.S. Hanford Engineers: DuPont wells
37 U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
37-38 U.S. Navy wells
38-39 Miscellaneous U.S. agency wells
38 CAA airport and weather station wells
38 Bonneville Power Administration
38-39 U.S. Federal public housing
39 Farm Security Administration
39-41 Non federal public works: State-county schools and irrigation districts
41-45 Sorted and selected well logs
44-46 Selected technical wells and water
47-48 Home materials
49 A.A. Durand and Son general well information

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Water-supply engineering
  • Wells

Personal Names

  • Durand, Albert Aloysius
  • Durand, Paul A.

Geographical Names

  • Walla Walla (Wash.)