Elgin V. Kuykendall

Elgin V. Kuykendall was first elected to the Washington State Senate in November 1916. Elgin Victor Kuykendall (1870–1958) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician in the state of Washington in the United States. For several years the chairman of the state committee of the Republican Party of Washington, Kuykendall was first elected to the Washington State Senate in November 1916 and re-elected to a second term two years later. Kuykendall was appointed a judge of the Washington State Superior court in December 1924 and remained in that capacity until his retirement in December 1949. In his twilight years Kuykendall also pursued the avocation of regional historian, ultimately publishing two works on the history of Southeastern Washington state as well as his memoirs.

Biography

Early years

Elgin Victor Kuykendall was born in Oakland, Oregon, on October 8, 1870. His father, G.B. Kuykendall, was a prominent physician in the Southeastern Washington town of Pomeroy, Washington. It was in that region of the state that Kuykendall grew up, attending the public schools of rural Garfield County.

In 1919, Washington Governor Louis F. Hart appointed Kuykendall to the Washington Public Service Commission. He remained at that post for five years.

Death and legacy

Elgin V. Kuykendall died in Pomeroy, Washington on February 25, 1958. He was 87 years old at the time of his death.

Elgin Kuykendall's papers are housed in the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections section of Terrell Library at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. The collection consists of approximately 8,000 documents and includes business documents, judicial papers, political speeches and historical writings, and correspondence. The collection is open for the use of researchers and an online guide to the material is available.

Footnotes

Works

Explanation of the Operation of the Washington Department of Public Works, Formerly the Public Service Commission of Washington. Olympia: c. 1921. Historic Glimpses of Asotin County, Washington. Clarkston, WA: Clarkston Herald, 1954. Eighty Years in the Changing West: Memoirs of E.V. Kuykendall. n.c.: n.p., 1954. History of Garfield County. With Dan Walsh. Fairfield, WA: Ye Galleon Press, 1984. —Posthumously published.