Cecil Willis Creel, (1889-1968), was a 1911 graduate of the University of Nevada. In 1921, he became director of Agricultural Extension for the University. During the years he was head of Agricultural Extension, Creel performed other public services. In 1929, he acted as consultant to the State Engineer and the Nevada Senators in the pending Boulder Dam Legislation. In 1931, by appointment of the Secretary of Interior, he served as a member and Secretary of the Board which appraised farm lands and town property in Nevada and Arizona flooded by Boulder Dam. In 1932, he was appointed a member and Secretary of the State Emergency Relief and Construction Committee. In 1933, Creel was appointed a member and Executive Secretary of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare, and later State Relief Administrator in which he served until 1934. Also in 1933, he was appointed State Director for the selection of men for the Civilian Conservation Corps. At this same time, he was made State Director of the Agricultural Adjustment Program. And in November 1933, he was appointed State Civil Works Administrator and was in charge of the Civil Works Program until its termination in 1934. He served as State Director of Rural Rehabilitation from April 1934 to May 1935, when the program was transferred from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration to the Resettlement Administration. He was also State Director of Drought Relief in 1934.

In May 1935, Creel was detailed by the University of Nevada to assist the Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. in connection with pending federal legislation. He served in a similar capacity each year until 1937, when he was elected President of the Association for 1938-1939.

The objective of the Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities was to institute such programs and activities to improve the fields of resident teaching, research, and extension relevant to Federal and State laws as the proper functions of land-grant colleges and universities.

In 1942, Creel resigned from the University to make an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate, but returned to the position of Director of the Agricultural Extension Division in 1943, which he held until his retirement in 1952. He was named Dean of the College of Agriculture in 1945, while still heading the Extension Division, and held this position through 1949.

Cecil W. Creel died in Reno, March 15, 1968.

Collection Description

This collection covers the years 1917-1951, but primarily documents 1931-1939, and is arranged in two series:

Series 1: Folders 1-16. Nevada issues.

Personal correspondence and reports concerning reclamation (includes Land Appraisal Records), Civil Works Administration, and Rural Rehabilitation.

Series 2: Folders 17-49. Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities.

Personal correspondence and reports concerning federal agricultural education legislation.

2 cubic feet.

Series 1. Nevada

Folder:

1-2.	U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Boulder Canyon Project, Land Appraisal Records. 1931.
3.	Creel removed as administrator of Civil Works Administration, 1933. Correspondence.
4.	Memorandum of Understanding, Department of Agriculture and Rural Rehabilitation Division of (Federal Emergency Relief Administration). June 7, 1934.
5.	Program, Objectives and Procedures for Rural Rehabilitation in the State of Nevada. Oct. 1934.
6.	Objectives and Suggested Procedures for Rural Rehabilitation. Revised, Dec. 5, 1934.
7-10.	Correspondence. 1935: February-June.
11.	Flood Controls at Hamlight and Delmue Sites, Lincoln County. By King and Malone, Engineers. 1935.
12.	Misc. correspondence, and press releases. 1935.
13-14.	Scrapbooks. c.1917-1938.
15.	Feb. 21, 1939, correspondence concerning CCC Camp at Bunkerville, Nevada.
16.	Kingston Canyon deer hunt, 1939. Includes photos of Creel and Vail Pittman.

 

Series 2. Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities.

17.	General information concerning agricultural education (Federal). [1921-1934]. Land Grant Association. Correspondence. 1935-1937.
25.	National Committee on Boy and Girls Club Work. 1937.
26.	Special 4-H Club Committee. 1937. [Includes 1935 Recommended Policies Governing 4-H Club Work].
27.	Mimeograph announcements. 1937.
28-44.	Land Grant Association. Correspondence. 1938-1939.
45.	Undated correspondence. 1939?
46.	Training for National Defense. 1940.
47.	General correspondence. 1940.
48.	General correspondence and miscellaneous reports. [1941-1951].
49.	Undated correspondence; photograph identified as Cecil Creel at second wedding.

University Archives

Please direct questions to James Bantin
Updated August 18, 2008