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Ann Arbor, Mich., civil engineering, surveying, and planning firm. Cadastral maps, showing land ownership, of Washtenaw County and Ann Arbor, Mich.; also maps of mill sites on Huron River at Broadway in Ann Arbor. Many of the maps drawn by J. B. Davis.

The maps in this collection were not created by Atwell-Hicks, but were apparently acquired by the firm in the course of its business.

There are four groups of maps in the collection: Plat maps of Washtenaw County (20 maps), Plat maps of Ann Arbor (11 maps), Maps of mill sites along the Huron River at Broadway in Ann Arbor (7 maps), and Miscellaneous (1 map).

Plat maps of Washtenaw County include one map for each township, which show names of initial land purchasers and subsequent landowners through about the 1850s. Plat maps of Ann Arbor are cadastral maps (show property boundaries) and some show land ownership as well. Maps of mill sites along the Huron River at Broadway in Ann Arbor show in great detail the complex of mills, millraces, dams, and outbuildings in the Broadway area. Miscellaneous includes one map of a lake in Lenawee County.

Graduate of the University of Michigan College of Engineering, Class of 1895. Glass negatives and prints of scenes at the University of Michigan, including Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, the Engineering summer camp, football and baseball games, the track team, University buildings and campus scenes, and views of the Huron River; also views of Bay City, Michigan, and portraits of members of the LeFavour, Shearer, and McMillan families.

The David LeFavour glass negatives collection documents a variety of activities, individuals, groups, and buildings in Ann Arbor and Bay City. As a member of the class of 1895, a year which was, coincidently, the first year of formal recognition for a Department of Engineering at the University of Michigan, LeFavour participated in an annual event for engineering students. A summer camp was set up outside the University to conduct field projects. The camp was periodically relocated and in 1895 a change was made from a grove on the outskirts of Leland, Michigan, at an outlet of Carp Lake (now Lake Leelanau), to a point further up the lake near the Fountain Point Hotel.

The scenes of the camp and the engineers depict several projects undertaken by the group, their campsite and equipment, and members of the entourage, including Professor Joseph B. Davis (Geodesy and Surveying) who was in charge of the operation. LeFavour also captured his peers at play, as a print of a baseball game at nearby Sutton's Bay reveals.

As a student, David LeFavour was also a member of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. He photographed his fraternity house, his room, an unidentified ceremony, and several group portraits of his fraternal brothers and their dates.

Although there is no indication of any personal participation by LeFavour in university athletics, he did photograph members of the university track team and local football games. Other negatives and prints detail several university buildings and more "artistic" views of the Huron River and local Ann Arbor streets.

Those negatives and prints focusing on Bay City, Michigan, provide an insight into another facet of LeFavour's life and interests. Several exterior views are present, which detail the various Shearer homes in the city as well as those of other prominent residents. Interior views of the James Shearer home (where David grew up), reflect the style of life and living conditions of a prosperous Michigan family at the turn of the century.

Many Bay City buildings, including schools, hospitals, and government structures are identified. As was done in Ann Arbor, LeFavour also photographed street views and individuals. Two favorite subjects for LeFavour were children and women. He frequently photographed young relatives and used his photographic skills to show his sister Helen in particular. Often the young lady (or ladies) were posed with bicycles.

The LeFavour negatives were randomly described and dated. Available information has been provided when possible, however. All negatives were produced between 1894 and 1895, but no dates have been attempted for undated negatives or prints. The print collection is numbered so that one can refer back to the appropriate glass negative. There are over 155 glass negatives and a corresponding number of prints.