Ernest J. Kump, Sr. Collection
Scope and Contents
The Ernest J. Kump, Sr. Collection documents the architect’s career as a sole practitioner from 1914-1939. The collection is divided into two series: Professional Papers and Project Records.
Kump’s Professional Papers are minimal, consisting of reference drawings collected from colleague Richard F. Felchlin. Kump’s Project Records comprise the bulk of the collection and contain architectural drawings and specifications documenting his design work. Visalia Union High School and Tranquillity Union High School are well represented among his numerous educational projects. In addition to schools, Kump’s records also contain several commercial, medical, residential, and recreational projects.
The Ernest J. Kump Sr. Collection was originally given to his son, Ernest Kump, Jr., and was stored with Kump Jr.’s professional archives in Palo Alto, CA. An office fire in 1964 caused significant damage to a portion of the records, in some cases making the drawings unidentifiable. Kump Sr.’s records remained with his son’s papers until they were donated simultaneously to the Environmental Design Archives in 2005.
Dates
- Creation: 1914-1939
Creator
- Kump, Ernest J. Sr., 1888-1939 (Architect, Person)
- Kump, Ernest J., 1911-1999 (Architect, Person)
Access Statement
Collection is open for research. Many of the Environmental Design Archives collections are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the Curator.
Biographical Note
Fresno architect Ernest J. Kump, Sr. was born March 29, 1888 in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in San Jose, California, he attended St. Joseph’s College and as a young man began working as a carpenter in the Bay Area. He moved to Bakersfield in 1910 to apprentice with the architecture firms of Jefferson & Griffith and Bemus & Clark. There he married Mary Petsche and had two sons, Ernest, Jr. and Peter.
Kump became a licensed architect in 1912 and began practicing on his own. In 1914, he moved his office to Fresno where he specialized in school design. According to the September 1916 issue of The Architect and the Engineer of California, in which he was generously praised, Kump designed thirty-three schools in four years. Some of his most prominent works include Orosi Union High School (Orosi, CA), Caruthers Union High School (Caruthers, CA), Wasco Union High School (Wasco, CA), and Alta Grammar School (Fresno, CA). Kump was known as a major school architect into the early 1930s. Unfortunately, many of his educational projects are no longer standing.
Kump also designed more than thirty homes throughout California’s Central Valley. Many of them still exist and can be found in areas of Fresno, Tulare, Visalia, and Porterville.
Ernest J. Kump, Sr. died tragically on November 12, 1939 at the age of 51.
Sources:
Powell, John Edward. “Ernest J. Kump, Sr. (1888-1939).” A Guide to Historic Architecture in Fresno, California. 1996. Accessed 27 Feb. 2013. http://historicfresno.org/bio/kumpsr.htm
Michelson, Alan. “Kump, Ernest.” Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD). Accessed 27 Feb. 2013. https://digital.lib.washington.edu/architect/architects/378/
Extent
44 Linear Feet: (13 flat file drawers, 5 tubes, 2 cartons, 1 document box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Ernest J. Kump, Sr. Collection spans the years 1914 to 1939, and includes drawings created by Kump and his firm documenting projects throughout his career. The collection is organized into two series, Personal Papers and Project Records, and contains drawings and specifications.
System of Arrangement
This collection is organized into two series: Professional Papers and Project Records.
Colophon
The Ernest J. Kump, Sr. Collection came to the Envrionmental Design Archives as a part of the Ernest J. Kump, Jr. Collection. At that time, the project drawings were grouped without respect to job number, project name, or date. The projects that sustained the worst damage were foldered individually while other drawings were regrouped with an effort to maintain the original order whenever possible.
Funding
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by a grant from the National Historic Publication and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Title
- Ernest J. Kump, Sr. Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Cailin Swarm, Emily Vigor, Cacena Campbell
- Date
- March 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives Repository