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Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, Oral History Project Transcripts, A&M 3394, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from Kline, Michael Nobel and Kline, Carrie Nobel, 2001 October 31

Biographical / Historical

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, founded on 1775 June 16, was founded to develop the nation's infrastructure. The Huntington District is one of 44 Districts that make up the Corps and is responsible for a geographic area in the Appalachian hills and mountains of southern and central West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, western Virginia, and northwestern North Carolina and southeastern and central Ohio. Within this 45,000-square-mile area, the Huntington District Corps has designed and constructed more flood-control dams, levees, and floodwalls than any other Corps District. It developed the navigation infrastructure on the middle Ohio River and on the Kanawha River in West Virginia. This work has saved billions of dollars in flood damage, allowed cities and towns to develop free from flooding, and aided regional development through the transport of bulk commodities.

Scope and Contents

Facsimiles of transcripts of oral history sound recordings regarding the history of the Huntington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the period 1970 to 1995. The 64 interviews were conducted by Carrie Nobel Kline and Michael Nobel Kline. Interviewees include Corp of Engineers administrators and other workers, engineers, and scientists. Each provides background information including their family history as well as details regarding their work with the Corps providing a rich history of the work and impact of the Corps on West Virginia waterways, communities, environment, culture, and economy. Specifically the interviews discuss aspects of engineering including navigation systems, automation, geotechnical factors, mapping, locks and dams, flood walls, and construction; natural resources including fish and wildlife, floods, and hydrology; public affairs including programs such as diving, community relations, planning, impact on cultural resources, and recreation such as white water rafting; and management including employment, lockmasters, human resources, internships, and labor unions. West Virginia communities impacted by the Corps are also discussed.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Kline, Carrie Nobel
• Kline, Michael Nobel
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Huntington District. Oral History Project