William H. Neff Architectural Papers, (1929-2001)
COLL MSS 311
Biographical Note:
William Henrichsen Neff was born September 22, 1905 in Salt Lake City, Utah the son of William Cyprus and Caroline Henrichsen Neff.
During his teenage years Neff worked at Frank Crocker’s nursery. In 1925 Neff established the Mount Olympus Nursery which he operated until
1995 in addition to his landscaping work. In 1926 Neff enrolled at the University of Utah to study landscape architecture, but majored in
art and botany because the university did not offer landscape architecture courses at the time. Neff however took correspondence courses from
the American Landscape School in Des Moines, Iowa where he received his landscaping degree in February 1929. That same year Neff married
Elizabeth Leggett and they later had two daughters, Caroline and Diana.
Beginning in 1930 Neff began working as a landscape architect. Although the market for landscape architectural work was small in
Utah during the 1930s, Neff still managed to secure a number of residential jobs and received federal support for a few projects, such as his
work at Fairmont Park in Salt Lake City. During the 1940s Neff received a contract to landscape the “booming” mining towns of Dragerton and
Sunnydale, in Carbon County, Utah. During his work at these locations Neff invented a turf planting machine (originally costing him $2,000),
which improved his profits substantially. Neff was able to obtain several patents for his turf machine in the United States and also in
several other countries, including Germany, England, Italy, Canada, and Sweden.
In 1952 Neff was asked to overhaul the Salt Lake Country Club’s golf course. This project helped Neff establish a name for himself
as a major golf course landscape architect. During this period Neff improved his knowledge of golf course architecture through personal study
and also teamed with architect William P. Bell on a number of projects. During this period, Neff went on to supervise work on golf courses at
Mountain Dell, Hobble Creek, and the Bonneville Country Club. After W.P. Bell died, Neff worked with his son, William F. Bell, on the
Riverside Golf Course as a construction supervisor. Although Neff was primarily a golf course landscape architect, occasionally he also took
residential and commercial jobs, as well as projects for the US National Parks Service. During the mid-1950s Neff oversaw the landscaping
done at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Los Angeles Temple.
In 1967 landscape architect William Howard Neff (no relation) moved to Salt Lake and joined with Neff to design several golf
courses. They worked on numerous projects in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and other western states. Neff worked with William Howard Neff until
1981 when the latter started his own landscaping business. Neff continued on his own to design golf courses and country clubs until his death
in 2001.
Over the course of Neff’s career he was also actively involved in local and civic affairs. Neff was the first president of the Holliday Lions Club, served as president of the Utah-Idaho Nurseryman’s Association, was a member of the Sugarhouse Rotary Club, a member of the Surety Life Organization, and a member of the Red Butte Garden & Arboretum. Neff was also one of the early members of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and helped to write the organization’s founding by-laws and constitution. Neff was also an avid golfer in his spare time.
Neff died at his home in Holliday, Utah on March 24, 2001. In 2002 William Henrichsen Neff was posthumously inducted into the Utah Golf Association Hall Of Fame.
Provenance Note:
The material in this collection was donated to USU Special Collections in 2001 by Carolyn Neff Dunn, the daughter of William H. Neff.
Scope & Content Note:
This collection contains the papers of landscape architect William H. Neff and spans the period of 1929 to 2001. This collection
consists of Neff’s working files, project drawings, correspondence, financial papers, personal family papers, Mount Olympus Nursery papers,
American Society of Golf Course Architects papers, and other papers. The organization of the material in this collection is based on Neff’s
personal filing system.
Researcher Note: Photographs originally contained in this collection were separated and transferred to USU Special Collections Photograph
Division. Those interested in viewing Neff’s photographs should see P0334: The William H. Neff Photograph
Collection. A large number of books were also donated with this collection and were transferred to USU Special Collections’ Rare Books
Division. Those interested in viewing these publications should contact USU Special Collections’ Book Curator.
Collection at a Glance:
Boxes Materials:
Series 1: Boxes 1-12: Working Files, 1940-2001.
Series 2: Boxes 13-17: American Society of Golf Course Architects Papers, 1960s-1990s.
Series 3: Boxes 18-19: Ledgers, 1937-1995.
Series 4: Boxes 20-21: Mount Olympus Nursery Invoices, 1929-1995.
Series 5: Box 22-25: Various Personal and Professional Papers, 1940-2000.
Drawings are housed in:
Tubes 1-121
Poster Cabinet 1, Drawer 2
Courses Designed by Neff:
Designed:
Alpine CC, American Fork 1960
Bloomington CC, St. George 1972 (1969?)
Bonneville GC, SLC 1956 (as construction supervisor, 9 holes)
Bountiful GC 1975
Cascade Fairways GC, Orem (9 holes, 1968)
Cottonwood Club, SLC (r.9, a.9 par 3, 1963)(1973, remodel, 5 of 9 holes?)
Davis Park GC, Kaysville (9, 1963; 9, 1968)(1967?)
Fore Lakes CC, Taylorsville (executive 9, 1974) (1972, 18 holes ex., & pr 3?)
Glenmore G&CC, South Jordan 1967
Hidden Valley CC, Draper (a.9)
Majestic Oaks GC, SLC (9 par 3, 1973)(1974, 4 hole par 3?)
Mountain Dell GC, SLC (1960, supervised construction)(1959?)
Mountain View GC, West Jordan 1968
Oakridge CC, Farmington 1957
Park City GC (original 9, 1962)
Riverside CC, Provo (1960, supervised construction)
Rose Park GC, SLC (9, 1960, with Bell)
Stansbury Park CC, Toole 1972
Sweetwater GC, Bear Lake (9, 1974; 9, 1980)
Wasatch State Park GC, Midway (1966, a.3rd 9, 1972)(1965?)(1971, 9 h. add.?)
Westland Hills GC, South Jordan (9 holes) 1967
Little America Cheyenne GC, Cheyenne, WY executive 9 1974 (1973?)
SL Country Club, SLC, UT (9, 1954 remodel)
Willow Creek CC, Sandy 1973
Dugway GC, Dugway, UT
Series 1: Working Files (Boxes 1-12).
Box 1: Lion’s Club papers, Yampa Valley Golf Course, and the Hidden Valley Country Club.
Fd 1: Lions Club correspondence, 1980s.
Fd 2: Marincic, Debra L., “Creekside Community Recreation Center,” thesis, 1992.
Fd 3: Correspondence and papers, 1991.
Fd 4: Lions Park proposal, 1992.
Fd 5: Colorado, Craig, Yampa Valley Golf Course, financial papers, 1979.
Fd 6: Colorado, Craig, Yampa Valley Golf Course, papers.
Fd 7: Colorado, Craig, Yampa Valley Golf Course, papers.
Fd 8: Colorado, Craig, Yampa Valley Golf Course, papers.
Fd 9: Colorado, Craig, Yampa Valley Golf Course, papers.
Fd 10: Yampa Valley field notes and project description.
Fd 11: Colorado, Craig, Yampa Valley Golf Course, papers.
Fd 12: Hidden Valley Country Club, project plan, Draper, Utah, 1977.
Fd 13: Hidden Valley Country Club, project plan, Draper, Utah, 1977.
Fd 14: Hidden Valley Country Club, papers.
Fd 15: Hidden Valley Country Club, sprinkler irrigation papers and plans.
Fd 16: Hidden Valley Country Club, sprinkler irrigation papers and plans.
Fd 17: Hidden Valley Country Club, gardens.
Fd 18: Hidden Valley Country Club, various papers and blueprints.
Fd 19: Hidden Valley Country Club, record of materials ordered.
Fd 20: Hidden Valley Country Club, cross-sections.
Fd 21: Hidden Valley Country Club, contracts.
Fd 22: Hidden Valley Country Club, subdivision and drawings.
Fd 23: Hidden Valley Country Club, nine hold addition.
Fd 24: Hidden Valley Country Club, mid-continent engineering corp. file.
Fd 25: Hidden Valley Country Club, financial papers and record of materials ordered.
Fd 26: Hidden Valley Country Club, Gene Carroll file.
Fd 27: Hidden Valley Country Club, sand and gravel.
Fd 28: Hidden Valley Country Club, invoices for materials ordered.
Fd 29: Hidden Valley Country Club, storage lake and settling pond plan, 1977.
Fd 30: Hidden Valley Country Club, nine hold addition papers.
Fd 31: Hidden Valley Country Club, original project plans.
Fd 32: Hidden Valley Country Club, financial papers, agreement.
Fd 33: Hidden Valley Country Club, agreement papers.
Fd 34: Hidden Valley Country Club, agreement papers.
Fd 35: Hidden Valley Country Club, agreement papers.
Fd 36: Hidden Valley Country Club, agreement papers.
Fd 37: Hidden Valley Country Club, agreement papers.
Fd 38: Hidden Valley Country Club, agreement papers.
Fd 39: Hidden Valley Country Club, agreement papers.
Box 2: The Salt Lake City Country Club, Bloomington Country Club, and other papers, 1950-2000.
Fd 1: Agreement between Neff and the Halley Co. concerning an Ogden course, 1965.
Fd 2: Cerruti & Ward (attorneys), correspondence, 1990s.
Fd 3: Sugarhouse Country Club, meeting minutes, correspondence, and papers, 1970s.
Fd 4: The Country Club, SLC, 1970s.
Fd 5: The Country Club, SLC, billings.
Fd 6: The Country Club, SLC, meeting minutes, correspondence, and newsletters, 1960s.
Fd 7: The Country Club, SLC, speech by Neff and papers, 1996.
Fd 8: The Country Club, SLC, newsletters and reports, 1990s.
Fd 9: The Country Club, SLC, miscellaneous papers, 1960s.
Fd 10: The Country Club, SLC, facilities master plan, 2000.
Fd 11: The Country Club, SLC, correspondence, 1950-1999.
Fd 12: Bloomington Country Club, correspondence and contract for room, 1970.
Fd 13: Bloomington Country Club, agreements.
Fd 14: Bloomington Country Club, correspondence, 1969-1971.
Fd 15: Terracor, correspondence, 1969.
Fd 16: Outgoing letter to Jim Kimball, 1970.
Fd 17: Terracor, invoices, 1969.
Fd 18: Johnson Land Company, invoices, 1968.
Fd 19: Bloomington Country Club, correspondence, 1970.
Fd 20: Terracor, invoices, 1969-1970.
Fd 21: Bloomington Country Club, financial summary papers, 1972.
Fd 22: Johnson Land Company, invoices, 1960s.
Fd 23: Bloomington Country Club, invoices.
Fd 24: Bloomington Country Club, correspondence with project manager, 1970.
Fd 25: Bloomington Country Club, incoming correspondence, 1970.
Fd 26: Bloomington Country Club, financial summary papers.
Fd 27: Bloomington Country Club, billings, 1971.
Fd 28: Bloomington Country Club, billings, 1970.
Fd 29: Bloomington Country Club, maps of.
Fd 30: Bloomington Country Club, Neff’s notebook.
Fd 31: Bloomington Country Club, Franklin Johnson file.
Fd 32: Bloomington Country Club, golfing papers.
Fd 33: Bloomington Country Club, estimates.
Fd 34: Bloomington Country Club, Terracor file.
Fd 35: Bloomington Country Club, newspaper clippings about.
Fd 36: Bloomington Country Club, by-laws, papers, and correspondence, 1970s.
Fd 37: Bloomington Country Club, papers and correspondence, 1970s.
Fd 38: Bloomington Country Club, papers and correspondence, 1970s.
Fd 39: Bloomington Country Club, papers and correspondence, 1970s.
Fd 40: Bloomington Club Townhouse Assoc., Inc, 1990s.
Box 3: Bloomington Country Club papers, 1960s-1980s.
Fd 1: Bloomington Range Foundation papers.
Fd 2: Bloomington Country Club, correspondence, 1974.
Fd 3: Bloomington Country Club, contracts.
Fd 4: Bloomington Country Club, terracon, 1969.
Fd 5: Bloomington Country Club, notices.
Fd 6: Bloomington Country Club, notices and correspondence.
Fd 7: Bloomington Country Club, newsletters and meeting notices, 1960s.
Fd 8: Bloomington Country Club, newsletters and meeting notices, 1970s.
Fd 9: Bloomington Country Club, newsletters and meeting notices, 1980s.
Fd 10: Bloomington Country Club, newsletters and meeting notices, 1980s.
Fd 11: Bloomington Country Club, gardens.
Fd 12: Bloomington Country Club, preliminary engineering report, 1970.
Fd 13: Bloomington Country Club, master plan.
Fd 14: Bloomington Country Club, plan of work.
Fd 15: Bloomington Country Club, plan of work.
Fd 16: Bloomington Country Club, plan of work.
Fd 17: Bloomington Country Club, plan of work.
Fd 18: Bloomington Country Club, rosters.
Box 4: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, Bear Lake State Park, Round Valley Country Club, Cottonwood Club, Willow Creek Country Club, and other, 1960-1989.
Fd 1: Cottonwood Club, billings, 1966.
Fd 2: Jeremy Ranch file, 1980s.
Fd 3: Cottonwood Club, billings, 1980s.
Fd 4: Cottonwood Club, billings, 1980s.
Fd 5: Granite School District project, 1960s.
Fd 6: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, Midway, Utah, invoices, 1971.
Fd 7: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, invoices, 1971.
Fd 8: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, drawings, photographs, and plans, 1970s.
Fd 9: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, master plan.
Fd 10: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, working papers.
Fd 11: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, Utah State Parks & Recreation Commission, 1966.
Fd 12: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, contracts.
Fd 13: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, billings.
Fd 14: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, correspondence, 1972.
Fd 15: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, accounts.
Fd 16: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, banks.
Fd 17: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, billings.
Fd 18: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, master plan.
Fd 19: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, plan of work.
Fd 20: Wasatch Mountain State Park project, Wm Howard Neff field notes, 1971.
Fd 21: Bear Lake State Park, repair plan for marina dike, 1965.
Fd 22: Willow Creek Country Club, correspondence and papers, 1970s.
Fd 23: Willow Creek Country Club, record of labor by hours.
Fd 24: Round Valley Country Club, papers and correspondence, 1960s-1970s.
Fd 25: Round Valley Country Club, papers, 1970s.
Box 5: Sun Valley project, Patent papers for turf machine, The Pinery, Wasatch Hills, and other papers, 1940s-1970s.
Fd 1: Terracon publications, 1960s-1970s.
Fd 2: Terracon, note and option.
Fd 3: Santa Clara property contracts, 1971.
Fd 4: Soil testing results, 1970.
Fd 5: Soil testing results.
Fd 6: Soil testing results, Bloomington.
Fd 7: Soil testing results.
Fd 8: Sun Valley project, financial papers, 1970s.
Fd 9: Sun Valley project, financial papers, 1970s.
Fd 10: Sun Valley project, financial papers, 1970s.
Fd 11: Sun Valley project, financial papers, 1970s.
Fd 12: Sun Valley project, financial papers, 1970s.
Fd 13: Sun Valley project, financial papers, 1970s.
Fd 14: Sun Valley project, correspondence and papers, 1970s.
Fd 15: Sun Valley project, drawings.
Fd 16: Sun Valley project, estimates.
Fd 17: Sun Valley project, drawings and working notes.
Fd 18: Sun Valley project, Dalt file, drawings and papers.
Fd 19: Sun Valley project, Foss Lewis billings.
Fd 20: Sun Valley project, drawings and working papers.
Fd 21: Sun Valley project, cross-sections file.
Fd 22: Lawn planting machine, 1960s.
Fd 23: Mesa Gardens, Santa Fe, New Mexico, correspondence and papers, 1950s.
Fd 24: Patent papers for turf machine, Germany, 1960s.
Fd 25: Patent paper for turf machine, Salt Lake City, 1950.
Fd 26: Incoming correspondence, S.C. Heth, 1961.
Fd 27: Patent application papers and correspondence.
Fd 28: Patent papers and correspondence, 1940s-1950s.
Fd 29: Patent papers for turf machine, Canada, 1957.
Fd 30: Patent papers for turf machine, USA.
Fd 31: Patent papers for turf machine, Great Britain, 1960.
Fd 32: Patent papers for turf machine, USA.
Fd 33: Patent papers for turf machine, USA general papers.
Fd 34: Utah State Department of Highways, quote, 1969.
Fd 35: Department of Parks, SLC, correspondence, 1960s.
Fd 36: Agreement with SLC Parks Department for golf course job, 1965.
Fd 37: Agreement with Terracor, Denver, CO project, 1970.
Fd 38: The Pinery, correspondence and papers, 1970.
Fd 39: The Pinery, correspondence and papers, 1970.
Fd 40: The Pinery, billings, 1971.
Fd 41: The Pinery, notes, drawings, and other.
Fd 42: The Pinery, agreement contract.
Fd 43: The Pinery, financial papers.
Fd 44: Wasatch Hills, Ogden, Utah, reports, 1970.
Fd 45: Albert C. Martin & Associates, correspondence and papers, 1970s.
Fd 46: Wasatch Hills Concept Master Plan, 1971 (two copies).
Fd 47: Wasatch Hills Concept Master Plan Report, 1971.
Fd 48: Planet Ranch Master Plan Report, 1971 (two copies).
Box 6: Mountain View Golf Course, Riverside Country Club, Mount Olympus Nursery, and Pioneer Craft House papers, 1950-2001.
Fd 1: Rancho San Diego Development Concept Plan Report, 1970.
Fd 2: Riverside Country Club, cost estimates, nd.
Fd 3: Riverside Country Club, correspondence and plan of work, 1970.
Fd 4: Riverside Country Club, agreement.
Fd 5: Riverside Country Club, correspondence.
Fd 6: Riverside Country Club, billings.
Fd 7: Riverside Country Club, equipment and labor costs.
Fd 8: Riverside Country Club, invoices.
Fd 9: Riverside Country Club, work proposal, 1961.
Fd 10: Bailey Creek Files.
Fd 11: Mount Olympus Nursery license, 2001.
Fd 12: Mount Olympus Nursery, papers concerning, 1950s-1970s.
Fd 13: Mount Olympus Nursery, price lists, 1976-1979.
Fd 14: Rosepark Elementary School job, papers, 1952.
Fd 15: Pioneer Craft House, SLC, papers, 1990s.
Fd 16: Pioneer Craft House, papers and correspondence.
Fd 17: Pioneer Craft House, papers and correspondence.
Fd 18: Pioneer Craft House, papers, awards, and correspondence, 1980s.
Fd 19: Pioneer Craft House, board of director’s papers, 1980s.
Fd 20: Pioneer Craft House, papers, 1989.
Fd 21: Pioneer Craft House, article about.
Fd 22: Pioneer Craft House, correspondence, 1980s.
Fd 23: Pioneer Craft House, old time movie night, 1989.
Fd 24: Mountain View Golf Course, SLC, papers, 1960s.
Fd 25: Mountain View, papers, 1960s.
Fd 26: Mountain View, plan of work.
Fd 27: Mountain View, invoices, 1969.
Fd 28: Mountain View, landscape drawings.
Fd 29: Mountain View, Jim Carter file.
Fd 30: Mountain View, sprinkler irrigation.
Fd 31: Mountain View, master work plans.
Fd 32: Mountain View, master work plans.
Fd 33: Mountain View, Neff’s sketch book with drawings.
Box 7: Copper Golf Club, Treasure Mountains, Stansbury Park Project, and Sweetwater Project, 1960s-1980s.
Fd 1: Copper Golf Club, plan of work, 1975.
Fd 2: Copper Golf Club, state road appraisals, 1973.
Fd 3: Copper Golf Club, correspondence, working papers, and state reviews, 1970s.
Fd 4: Wilderness Assoc., Hermitage Mountain, 1980s.
Fd 5: Wilderness Assoc., Hermitage Mountain, 1980s.
Fd 6: Wilderness Assoc., Hermitage Mountain, 1980s.
Fd 7: Treasure Mountains Golf Course, invoices, 1960s.
Fd 8: Treasure Mountains, invoices, 1963.
Fd 9: Treasure Mountains, invoices, 1964.
Fd 10: Treasure Mountains, correspondence, 1960s.
Fd 11: Treasure Mountains, irrigation system papers.
Fd 12: Treasure Mountains, invoices, 1963.
Fd 13: Treasure Mountains, equipment.
Fd 14: Treasure Mountains, correspondence and papers, 1963.
Fd 15: Treasure Mountains, contract.
Fd 16: Treasure Mountains, working papers.
Fd 17: Stansbury Park Project, agreement, 1969.
Fd 18: Stansbury Park Project, correspondence, 1971.
Fd 19: Stansbury Park Project, Neff’s notebooks.