%xmlchars; ]> mc00018 Guide to the Ira B. Mullis Papers, 1925-1964 Processed by: Joel Mauger and Michael Watts;machine-readable finding aid created by: Michael Watts North Carolina State University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center 2005 Machine-readable finding aid derived from xml authoring program Finding aid written in English. Guide to the Ira B. Mullis Papers, 1925-1964 MC 00018 North Carolina State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center &ncsuaddr; Joel Mauger and Michael Watts Michael Watts Descriptive Summary North Carolina State University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center Mullis, Ira B. Ira B. Mullis Papers, 1925-1964 MC 00018 1.5 linear feet, 3 archival boxes This collection contains correspondence, reports, memos, Mullis' professional writings, photographs, blueprints, maps, charts and notes. Materials in the collection date from 1925-1964. The Ira B. Mullis Papers document the career of a professional civil engineer engaged in the practical and theoretical aspects of road and roadbed design, construction and maintenance in the U.S. from 1904-1964. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff. English Information for Users Restrictions to Access

This collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.

 Acquisitions Information

Donated by Ira B. Mullis in 1967 (Accession no. 1967-0001).

 Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Ira B. Mullis Papers, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

 Copyright Notice &ncsucpyrt;

Processed by Joel Mauger and Michael Watts

Encoded by Michael Watts

 Biography Note

Born 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.

Scope and Content Note

This 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.

 Organization of the Collection

The Mullis Papers are organized into five series as follows: Correspondence, Professional Writings, Research Notes, Road Compacting Equipment Promotional Material, and Miscellaneous.

 Online Catalog Terms

The following terms have been used to index the guide to the collection in the NCSU Library's online catalog.

Individuals Lassiter, Robert G. Mullis, Ira Broadis Pratt, Joseph Hyde Corporate Entities American Society of Civil Engineers American Tractor Company Southern Aggregates Inc. United States Government Agencies--Bureau of Public Roads United States Government Agencies--Public Roads Administration Topics Geology--Classification of rocks Roadbeds--Compaction Roadbeds--Design Roads/Highways--United States--Design and Construction Detailed Description of the Collection Correspondence, 1925-1961 0.5 1 archival box

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.

 11Correspondence 1925 - 1937 12Soil Testing Data, Kansas 1934 - 1937 13Soil Testing Data, Nebraska 1935, Aug. - Nov. 14Miscellaneous Soil Testing Data no date 152 Maps, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Weather Bureau no date 16Correspondence 1939, Jan. 18 - Dec. 20 17Correspondence 1940, Jan. 3 - Dec. 11 18Correspondence 1941, Jan. 10 - Aug. 30 19Correspondence 1941, Sept. 7 - Dec. 3 110Correspondence 1942, Oct. 2 - June 7 111Correspondence 1951, Jan. 12 - 1961, Jan. 23 112Biographical Sketch 1939 Professional Writings, 1935-1964 0.5 1 archival box

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).

 21A Method of Evaluating Roadbeds 1935, Feb. 14 22Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds 1937 23Correspondence Regarding Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds 1937, Apr. 12 - 1939, Dec. 7 24Other Correspondence Regarding Distribution and Receipt of Offprints of Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds 1938, July 25 - 1940, Mar. 29 25Roadbed Failures and How to Avert Them 1939 - 1942 26Copies of Discussions Regarding Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds 1939 27Edited Copy of Mullis' Final Discussion for Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds 1939, May 24 28Correspondence Regarding Distribution and Receipt of Offprints of Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds 1939, Dec. 1 - 1941, Oct. 17 29Standards of Compaction 1941 210Report on Aggregates Produced by Seminole Rock and Sand Co., Miami Florida 1943 211Report on Aggregates Produced by South Carolina Granite Co., Blairs, S. C. 1943, Nov. 9 212Report on Railroad Ballast 1943, Nov. 9 213Report on Abrasion Losses on Stone from Greystone Quarry Operated by Greystone Granite Quarries 1944, Aug. 16 214Profitable Railroad Ballast 1944, Aug. 21 215Aggregates for Drainage 1944, Oct. 10 216The Value of Codes, Standards, Inspection, and Labels in Industry 1944, Oct. 27 217Economics of Crushed Stone Road Ballast 1944, Nov. 25 218Report on Woodleaf Stone Sands, handwritten by Mullis for Pratt, Lassiter, and Watkins no date 219Photos, Notes, etc. Principles Applying to Highway Roadbeds no date 31A Method of Rock Classification for Road Use 1951, Sept. 32Street Conditions and Construction Methods in the City of Raleigh, N.C. 1951, Sept. 8 33Properties of Roadbeds and Bases 1952, Apr. 4 34Norlina - Macon N.C. I -755 1953, Dec. 3 35Report to Charles E. Proudley, Raleigh, N.C. on U.S. 29, no date 36Properties Affecting the Strengths of Roadbeds and Bases, 1956 37Properties of Roadbeds, 1961, July 16 38Closing Discussion on Properties of Roadbeds, 1963, Apr. 39Fundamental Principles of the Ideal Roadbed, 1964, Sept. 310Soil Cement Mixtures, no date 311Historical Roadbuilding Techniques and Materials, no date 312Certain Premises Applying to Roadbeds and Construction, no date 313Notes on Roadbed Studies, no date 314More Notes on Roadbed Studies, no date Research Notes, undated 0.25 0.5 archival box

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.

315Handwritten Notes, Principles of Roadbeds, Ira B. Mullis, no date 316Handwritten Notes and Charts no date 317Articles, Catalogues and Publications no date 318Miscellaneous Notes From Secondary Sources on Roadbed Design and Construction no date 319Notes and Tables on Porosity and Sub-Grade Soil Testing Methods no date 320Compaction Studies, Charts, Tables and Graphs no date Road Compaction Equipment Promotional Material, undated 0.125 0.25 archival box

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.

 321Letters, Brouchures, and Publicity Photos for Manufacturers of Road Compaction Equipment no date Miscellaneous, undated 0.125 0.25 archival box 322Reprint from an Article from the Baptist Student; American Railway Engineer's Association - List of Publications; American for Testing Material - List of Publications no date