Guide to the Edgar Hastings Board of Supervisors Collection
MS 192
Finding aid prepared by Amanda Hughes
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
San Diego History Center Document Collection
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA, 92101
619-232-6203
July 30, 2012
Title: Edgar Hastings Board of Supervisors Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS 192
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.75 Linear feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1926-1940
Abstract: The collection contains documents related to Edgar F. Hastings' time as a County Supervisor for District 1 in San Diego County.
creator:
Hastings, Edgar F.
Biographical / Historical Notes
Edgar F. Hastings (1884-1961) was a carpenter and building contractor for 44 years, finally retiring in 1957. He is best known
in San Diego as a longtime member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, serving as the Supervisor for District 1 from
1929-1936 and as Chairman of the Board from 1935-1936. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, he was heavily involved with
the County Road Commission and the Welfare Commission as well as bringing several New Deal opportunities to San Diego during
the Great Depression. He was also a representative on the San Diego City Board of Education from 1923-1927. In November 1956,
he established the San Diego Historical Society’s County History Project, a program of locating and interviewing County Pioneers
in order to record the oral history of San Diego County.
Preferred Citation
Edgar Hastings Board of Supervisors Collection, MS 192, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Amanda Hughes on July 30, 2012.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Conditions Governing Use
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Arrangement
Arranged by subject.
Scope and Content
The collection contains documents pertaining to Hastings’s time as County Supervisor. A majority of the collection consists
of correspondence with constituents and other elected officials together with newspaper articles and letters to the editor,
committee reports and board resolutions. The documents concern various subjects including the County Road Commission, the
Welfare Committee, the Mattoon Act and several New Deal Programs such as the Works Progress Authority and the Civilian Conservation
Corps. The documents also reflect Hastings’s involvement with several high profile projects such as the Palomar Mountain Observatory,
the La Playa Trail memorial, road construction to the Old Spanish Lighthouse and the completion of State Highway 101.
Comments
Edgar F. Hastings file from Document Files Collection added to this collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Burnham, George
Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.).
County Supervisors Association of California.
Davidson, Winifred
Fletcher, Ed
Hastings, Edgar F.
Marston, George White, 1850-1946
Palomar Observatory.
United States. Works Progress Administration.
Cabrillo National Monument (San Diego, Calif.)
Fort Rosecrans
Imperial County (Calif.)
Kamia Indians
La Playa Trail (Calif.)
Mattoon Act
New Deal, 1933-1939
Old Spanish Lighthouse (San Diego, Calif.)
San Diego (Calif.)
San Diego County (Calif.)
Box-folder 1:1
Planning Commission,
Includes:
By-laws of the Planning Commission
Correspondence concerning the designation of area beaches as city and state parks in order to curtail residential development
Box-folder 1:2
Welfare Commission,
1929 January 17-1933 January 18
Box-folder 1:3
Welfare Commission,
1933 February 1-1936 July 22 and undated
Box-folder 1:4
Conditions on Kumeyaay Indian Reservation,
1931 August 24-1934 July 17
Box-folder 1:5
County Employment Board,
1932 March 18-1936 August 4 and undated
Scope and Content
Documents and correspondence concerning the ongoing Works Progress Administration projects in San Diego County and the effect
of liquidating several work camps in California.
Box-folder 1:6
Civilian Conservation Corps,
1930 March 15-1934 July 1
Scope and Content
Documents related to President Roosevelt’s Reforestation Projects and how to take advantage of these programs in San Diego
County, especially the potential for fire prevention projects.
Box-folder 1:7
County Roads Commission,
1929 June 12-1936 June 18
Includes:
Documents relating to County Road development, especially in the more rural areas in North and East County.
Correspondence with several influential people including Brigadier General George C. Shaw about maintaining the scenic road
through Fort Rosecrans to the Old Spanish Lighthouse, now the site of the Cabrillo National Monument.
Correspondence with Ed Fletcher, George Marston and Winifred Davidson of the San Diego Historical Society regarding placement
of historical markers along the La Playa Trail.
Box-folder 1:8
Country Roads Commission: Right of Way,
1926 July 9-1935 October 12
Includes:
Correspondence concerning purchasing or otherwise acquiring right of ways to build or improve roads through San Diego County.
Correspondence with Ed Fletcher concerning the completion of Highway 101 and the scenic overlooks that make up the Pacific
Coast Highway.
Box-folder 1:9
Palomar Mountain Observatory,
1935 May 8-1936 August 26
Scope and Content
Correspondence and other documents related to the building of the Palomar Observatory, in particular preparing the Mountain
roads for construction.
Box-folder 2:1
Mattoon Act in San Diego County,
1935 August 9-1936 July 7
Includes:
Documents, correspondence and newspaper clippings about the effect of the Mattoon Act in San Diego and the attempt to solve
the problem through Improvement District Bonds sold throughout the county.
Letter to the Editor of the Ocean Beach News by Edgar Hastings explaining how the Mattoon Act has affected the rural parts
of San Diego County, the danger of the Mattoon Act to the County and how the problem can be solved through the purchasing
of Improvement District Bonds.
Box-folder 2:2
San Diego County School Districts,
1929 January 25-1935 November 23 and undated
Includes:
Pasadena School Review, December 15, 1932 (in Oversize Collections D6)
Box-folder 2:3
San Diego County Water Supply Development,
1935 July 2-1936 January 31 and undated
Includes:
Correspondence concerning use of WPA project to build reservoirs from the Colorado River to supply San Diego County with a
new water supply.
Box-folder 2:4
Grub Stake Mining in Imperial County,
1930 September 18-1933 October 13
Scope and Content
Correspondence related to a program initiated by Edgar Hastings to send men to Imperial County to perform grub stake mining
for gold, in order to relieve pressure on the welfare programs in San Diego County.
Box-folder 2:5
San Diego County Lifeguard Program,
1936 May 11-July 7
Scope and Content
Documents relating to program to train more lifeguards for San Diego County beaches in order to boost tourism.
Box-folder 2:6
San Diego County Society of Natural Resources,
1929 April 17-1932 March 3 and undated
Box-folder 2:7
Tuberculosis Hospital, San Diego County,
1933 May 27-1936 March 3 and undated
Scope and Content
Correspondence related to a WPA program to build a Tuberculosis Hospital in San Diego county, including several offers by
private citizens to sell or in some cases donate their land as the site of the hospital.
Box-folder 2:8
State and Local Legislature,
1935 March 4-1936 June 18
Includes:
Records and correspondence related to changes to the structure of state government.
Letter to George Burnham supporting a proposal to change the California State Legislature to a unicameral system.
Box-folder 2:9
Board of Supervisors: miscellaneous correspondence,
1930 July 25–1938 September 22
Includes:
Edgar Hastings’s resignation from the State Relief Administration.
Box-folder 2:10
Miscellanea,
1938 April 20–1960 April 28 and undated
Includes:
Personal and thank-you letters
Title and deed of transfer for land purchased by Hastings
Empty envelopes
