George E.P. Smith papers

George Edson Philip Smith was born 29 December 1873 in Lyndonville, Vermont, the son of Franklin H. Smith and his wife Harriet Lovisa Powers. Both parents died by the time Smith was 12, and he spent the rest of his youth living with his grandparents.

In 1893, he entered the University of Vermont at Burlington, graduating in 1897 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He taught at the University of Vermont for three years before coming to Tucson and the University of Arizona. On 1 October 1904, Smith married Maude North, a teacher. They had one son, George Edson Philip Smith, Jr., born 31 October 1905.

From 1900-1906, Smith served as Professor of Engineering, teaching physics, engineering, hydraulics, and surveying at the University of Arizona. In 1906, he became both Professor of Irrigation Engineering and head of the Agricultural Engineering Department. He remained in that field until his retirement in 1955 , at which time he was appointed Professor Emeritus in Agricultural Engineering and continued his active interest in the field of water resources development. Smith's career at the University spanned 54 years.

Smith revolutionized the field of water resources. He was an authority on irrigation and a pioneer in the development of the underground and surface waters of the state of Arizona. Instrumental in Arizona's fight for water supply rights, Smith wrote many argumentative letters to state officials and Arizona Senator Carl Hayden advising against Arizona's involvement in the Colorado River Compact. He was the first to advocate a state water code and wrote the first code, which was enacted by the Arizona legislature in 1919.

The writer of Tucson's first city water code, Smith gave early and continuous warnings to Tucson city officials of the need to secure a future and more permanent water supply. He advised of the eventual disaster which would result if areas with accumulations of groundwater having little annual recharge were overpumped.

The author of over 100 technical bulletins and professional papers in the field of water supply and irrigation, Smith also wrote numerous articles in related fields. In addition to his professional involvements, Smith had a profound influence in civic affairs and politics. Active in the Arizona Pioneers Historical Society, he chaired a committee for preservation of geographic and historic names within the state. When George Edson Philip Smith died in 1975, he was 10l.