Wilmer Waldo Papers

Collection

Identifier: 1969-039

Staff Only

Comprised of a Project File and a Subject File, materials in the collection date from 1894-1957 and include project blueprints, correspondence, financials, reports, maps, and field notes. Project File materials document Waldo's professional activities, ranging from construction and site planning to worksite and employee management. These materials document major projects, such as the Beaumont, Sour Lake, and Western Railway and the layout of Rice University, and smaller projects, such as the movement and reconstruction of the Waldo Mansion to its present Westmoreland location. Collection materials also include personal correspondence, financials, maps, scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, and a small amount of material related to the teaching career of Gentry Waldo, Wilmer Waldo's brother.

Dates

1894-1957
Majority of material found within 1894-1920

Creator

Waldo, Wilmer (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish from copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian. Reproduction decisions will be made by Special Collections staff on a case-by-case basis.

Extent

35 linear feet

Additional Description

Biographical Information

Wilmer Waldo was born in Houston in 1876 to J.P. and Mary Virginia Gentry Waldo. Educated in Civil Engineering at Princeton University, Waldo was instrumental in the planning and execution of myriad public and private infrastructure projects in the city of Houston and beyond. While perhaps most known for his role in planning the layout of the campus of Rice University, Waldo also contributed to railway construction projects in service of the Suderman-Dolson and Fred A. Jones Companies and completed numerous projects in the Houston community and across Southeast Texas as an individual contractor. In 1902, Waldo led the effort to move the now-famous Waldo Mansion from the original location at the corner of Rusk and Caroline to its present location on Westmoreland Avenue. Waldo resided in the mansion with his siblings until his death in 1962.