Ernest Kump Sr. (1888-1939)

Ernest J. Kump, Sr. was an architect based in Fresno, CA. As a young man, he began working as a carpenter in the Bay Area moving to Bakersfield in 1910 to apprentice with the architecture firms of Jefferson & Griffith and Bemus & Clark. Earning his license in 1912, in 1914, he moved his office to Fresno where he specialized in school design. According to the September 1916 issue of The Architect and the Engineer of California, in which he was generously praised, Kump designed thirty-three schools in four years. Some of his most prominent works include Orosi Union High School, Caruthers Union High School, Wasco Union High School, and Alta Grammar School. Kump was recognized as a major school architect into the early 1930s.

The Ernest J. Kump, Sr. Collection spans the years 1914 to 1939, and includes drawings created by Kump and his firm documenting projects throughout his career. The collection is organized into two series, Personal Papers and Project Records, and contains drawings and specifications.