MC 00018 Guide to the Ira B. Mullis Papers, 1925-1964The Mullis Papers are organized into five series as follows: Correspondence, Professional Writings, Research Notes, Road Compacting
Equipment Promotional Material, and Miscellaneous.
Mullis' correspondence is almost entirely of a professional nature as even the most personal items contain mention of his
career or publications. Included in this series are items such as internal reports from the Bureau of Public Roads, extensive
biographical outlines, letters to North Carolina representatives and senators and engineering faculty members at North Carolina
College. An extensive correspondence, written from 1939-1942, with Robert G. Lassiter of Southern Aggregates and Joseph Hyde
Pratt, a well known professor of geology and engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, details Mullis'
attempts to obtain a cooperative placement at North Carolina State College under the auspices of the Bureau of Public Roads
and the Department of Engineering. Almost all outgoing correspondence is in the form of typewritten carbon copies, while incoming
correspondence is in the form of signed originals. Some third party correspondence is also present in this series.
[Box
1,
Folder
1]
Correspondence,
1925 - 1937
[Box
1,
Folder
2]
Soil Testing Data, Kansas,
1934 - 1937
[Box
1,
Folder
3]
Soil Testing Data, Nebraska,
1935, Aug. - Nov.
[Box
1,
Folder
4]
Miscellaneous Soil Testing Data,
no date
[Box
1,
Folder
5]
2 Maps, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Weather Bureau,
no date
[Box
1,
Folder
6]
Correspondence,
1939, Jan. 18 - Dec. 20
[Box
1,
Folder
7]
Correspondence,
1940, Jan. 3 - Dec. 11
[Box
1,
Folder
8]
Correspondence,
1941, Jan. 10 - Aug. 30
[Box
1,
Folder
9]
Correspondence,
1941, Sept. 7 - Dec. 3
[Box
1,
Folder
10]
Correspondence,
1942, Oct. 2 - June 7
[Box
1,
Folder
11]
Correspondence,
1951, Jan. 12 - 1961, Jan. 23
[Box
1,
Folder
12]
Biographical Sketch,
1939
Mullis' professional writings, including reports and articles, published and unpublished, from ca. 1939 to 1964. these represent
Mullis career as a professional road engineer for the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads until January of 1942 when he entered the
private sector as a consulting engineer for Southern Aggregates and Pratt, Lassiter and Watkins, a Raleigh NC based engineering
firm for which he worked until retiring in 1956. Sizable amounts of correspondence, especially professional responses and
congratulations from friends and family, accompany two published papers: Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds February
(1939) and Properties of Roadbeds (1963).
[Box
2,
Folder
1]
A Method of Evaluating Roadbeds,
1935, Feb. 14
[Box
2,
Folder
2]
Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds,
1937
[Box
2,
Folder
3]
Correspondence Regarding Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds,
1937, Apr. 12 - 1939, Dec. 7
[Box
2,
Folder
4]
Other Correspondence Regarding Distribution and Receipt of Offprints of Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds,
1938, July 25 - 1940, Mar. 29
[Box
2,
Folder
5]
Roadbed Failures and How to Avert Them,
1939 - 1942
[Box
2,
Folder
6]
Copies of Discussions Regarding Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds,
1939
[Box
2,
Folder
7]
Edited Copy of Mullis' Final Discussion for Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds,
1939, May 24
[Box
2,
Folder
8]
Correspondence Regarding Distribution and Receipt of Offprints of Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds,
1939, Dec. 1 - 1941, Oct. 17
[Box
2,
Folder
9]
Standards of Compaction,
1941
[Box
2,
Folder
10]
Report on Aggregates Produced by Seminole Rock and Sand Co., Miami Florida,
1943
[Box
2,
Folder
11]
Report on Aggregates Produced by South Carolina Granite Co., Blairs, S. C.,
1943, Nov. 9
[Box
2,
Folder
12]
Report on Railroad Ballast,
1943, Nov. 9
[Box
2,
Folder
13]
Report on Abrasion Losses on Stone from Greystone Quarry Operated by Greystone Granite Quarries,
1944, Aug. 16
[Box
2,
Folder
14]
Profitable Railroad Ballast,
1944, Aug. 21
[Box
2,
Folder
15]
Aggregates for Drainage,
1944, Oct. 10
[Box
2,
Folder
16]
The Value of Codes, Standards, Inspection, and Labels in Industry,
1944, Oct. 27
[Box
2,
Folder
17]
Economics of Crushed Stone Road Ballast,
1944, Nov. 25
[Box
2,
Folder
18]
Report on Woodleaf Stone Sands, handwritten by Mullis for Pratt, Lassiter, and Watkins,
no date
[Box
2,
Folder
19]
Photos, Notes, etc. Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
1]
A Method of Rock Classification for Road Use,
1951, Sept.
[Box
3,
Folder
2]
Street Conditions and Construction Methods in the City of Raleigh, N.C.,
1951, Sept. 8
[Box
3,
Folder
3]
Properties of Roadbeds and Bases,
1952, Apr. 4
[Box
3,
Folder
4]
Norlina - Macon N.C. I -755,
1953, Dec. 3
[Box
3,
Folder
5]
Report to Charles E. Proudley, Raleigh, N.C. on U.S. 29,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
6]
Properties Affecting the Strengths of Roadbeds and Bases,
1956
[Box
3,
Folder
7]
Properties of Roadbeds,
1961, July 16
[Box
3,
Folder
8]
Closing Discussion on Properties of Roadbeds,
1963, Apr.
[Box
3,
Folder
9]
Fundamental Principles of the Ideal Roadbed,
1964, Sept.
[Box
3,
Folder
10]
Soil Cement Mixtures,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
11]
Historical Roadbuilding Techniques and Materials,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
12]
Certain Premises Applying to Roadbeds and Construction,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
13]
Notes on Roadbed Studies,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
14]
More Notes on Roadbed Studies,
no date
These notes pertain to Mullis' professional research and include charts, notes from secondary sources, copies of articles,
and listings of principles relevant to the construction of roadbeds.
[Box
3,
Folder
15]
Handwritten Notes, Principles of Roadbeds,
Ira B. Mullis, ,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
16]
Handwritten Notes and Charts,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
17]
Articles, Catalogues and Publications,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
18]
Miscellaneous Notes From Secondary Sources on Roadbed Design and Construction,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
19]
Notes and Tables on Porosity and Sub-Grade Soil Testing Methods,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
20]
Compaction Studies, Charts, Tables and Graphs,
no date
This series contains brochures and photos of equipment including compacting rollers and tractors used in the construction
of roadbeds, earthen dams and other types of projects requiring soil compaction.
[Box
3,
Folder
21]
Letters, Brouchures, and Publicity Photos for Manufacturers of Road Compaction Equipment,
no date
[Box
3,
Folder
22]
Reprint from an Article from the Baptist Student; American Railway Engineer's Association - List of Publications; American
for Testing Material - List of Publications,
no date
CreatorMullis, Ira B. (Ira Broadis), 1877-1956 Quantity1.5 Linear feet 3 archival boxes General Physical Description note3 archival boxes LocationFor current information on the location of these materials, please consult the
Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff LanguageEnglish Acquisitions InformationDonated by Ira B. Mullis in 1967 (Accession no. 1967-0001). ProcessingProcessed by: Joel Mauger and Michael Watts;machine-readable finding aid created by: Michael Watts Scope and Content NoteThis collection documents the professional career of Ira B. Mullis as a civil engineer working on road and roadbed design, construction and maintenance from 1925-1964. Correspondence and Professional Writings form the bulk of the collection and provide detailed information about the day to day duties of an engineer working for the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in the form of memos, reports, articles, papers and letters, as well as material on his tenure as a consulting engineer for two private Raleigh, N.C. based companies, Southern Aggregates Corporation and Pratt, Lassiter and Watkins. Biographical information can be found in the Correspondence series but the collection contains few items of a strictly personal nature. Other types of materials found in the collection include photographs, blueprints and maps. Biography NoteBorn in Wingate, NC on August 29, 1877, Ira Broadis Mullis spent the whole of his professional career (1904-1956) as a civil engineer engaged in road construction and design. He specialized in the materials, techniques, maintenance and design of roadbeds, bringing to this field a personal interest in geology as well as engineering. Mullis graduated from Wingate College and then attended North Carolina State College, now North Carolina State University, from 1903 to 1904 until the death of his father, and the subsequent financial hardship, forced him to leave without graduating in order to pursue a professional career as a civil engineer. He spent the early part of his career from 1904-1920 in North Carolina serving as the City Engineer for Lumberton, NC (1910-1913) and, under the direction of Joseph Hyde Pratt, as a Highway Engineer for the North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey (1913-1915) and the North Carolina Highway Commission (1915-1918). From 1920 until 1940, he worked for the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads first as a Testing Engineer based in Washington D.C. (1920-1931) and then as a Highway Engineer (1931-1942) based in the Midwest. Mullis' district, District 5, encompassed Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. His duties included the supervision of road and bridge construction in the district, road location and inspection, examination of pavement and roadbed failures and the development of specifications for adequate roadbed compaction. He left the Bureau of Public Roads in January 1942, and moved to Raleigh, N.C. to work for two Raleigh based firms, Southern Aggregates Corporation and the engineering firm of Pratt, Lassiter and Watkins. He retired in 1956 at the age of 79. Mullis had several papers published in the Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers between 1938 and 1963, and retained a lifelong interest in roadbed design, construction and maintenance. He was married to Annie Duckett Mullis and had one child, a son, Ira Broadis Mullis Jr. Controlled Terms
Access to CollectionThis collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice. For more information contact us via mail, phone, fax, or our web form. Special Collections Research Center Telephone(919) 515-2273 Fax(919) 513-1787 Preferred Citation[Identification of item], Ira B. Mullis Papers, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC Access to CollectionThe nature of the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NCSU Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. |
