Collection Guide
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Save the Redwoods League Records
BANC MSS 88/15 c
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Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Save the Redwoods League records
Creator:
Save the Redwoods League
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 88/15 c
Physical Description:
184.2 linear feet
(141 cartons, 3 boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 nitrate negative box, 2 oversize volumes, 13 oversize folders)
Physical Description:
.002 GB
(6 digital files)
Date (inclusive): 1854-2013
Date (bulk): 1917-2010
Abstract: The Save the Redwoods League records document the organization's work to preserve redwood trees, and its role in the development
and protection of state and national parks in California. The bulk of the collection covers the tenures of League executive
directors Newton B. Drury (1919-1940 and 1959-1978), Aubrey Drury (1920-1959), and John B. Dewitt (1965-1996). This includes
the early years of the organization and its four key projects, preservation of: I. Humboldt Redwood State Park, including
Bull Creek-Dyerville and Avenue of the Giants; II. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park; III. Del Norte Coast Redwoods State
Park; and IV. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, including Mill Creek.
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English.
Collection is open for research with the following exception: Nitrate Negatives are CLOSED TO RESEARCH DUE TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
RESTRICTIONS.
Future additions are expected.
The Save the Redwooods League Records were given to The Bancroft Library by Save the Redwoods League on January 26, 1960.
Additions were made on November 3, 1982, December 2, 1987, and 1994-2013. Previous accessions formerly shelved under BANC
MSS C-A 284 and BANC MSS 83/57c have been consolidated in the collection described in this guide.
Save the Redwoods League protects redwood forests from destruction; works with the California State Parks and the National
Park Service to establish redwood parks and reserves; purchases redwood groves by private subscription; fosters better understanding
of the value of these trees to current and future generations; and supports conservation and restoration of forest areas.
In 1917, Stephen Tyng Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, inspired conservationists John Campbell Merriam,
Madison Grant and Henry Fairfield Osborn to investigate the state of redwood forests in Northern California. The new Redwood
Highway had opened the area to more logging, which threatened the ancient trees. The trio visited established logging operations
on the Mendocino County Coast, and still undisturbed forests along the Eel River. Continuing north, they reached Humboldt
County and the Bull Creek-Dyerville Flat area, where gigantic redwoods soared more than 300 feet. Awed by the trees' beauty
and serenity, and troubled by the devastation that logging had wrought along the Redwood Highway, Merriam, Grant, and Osborn
agreed that a national or state park was necessary to save part of the redwood forest. This motivated the founders, with the
support of others, to establish Save the Redwoods League in 1918. The League soon received its first donations to purchase
redwood lands, and in 1919, hired its first Executive Director, Newton Bishop Drury.
Throughout its history, the League has worked with activists, private donors, legislators – and often with lumber companies
– to purchase and protect redwoods. The League established a memorial grove program as a way for donors to save trees and
honor loved ones. In 1921, the first grove was established in honor of World War I veteran, Raynal C. Bolling. As its centennial
approached, the League had dedicated over 1,000 memorial groves and preserved nearly 200,000 acres of redwoods.
The fight to save the redwoods affected the preservation of land in parks throughout California. In 1928, the League led the
campaign that won public approval of legislation that established the California state park system and allocated $6 million
in funds to acquire state park lands. Land purchased by the League is generally donated to national or state parks for public
use and permanent protection.
Some of the League's key projects include: acquisition and preservation of groves in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, including
Bull Creek-Dyerville Flat and the Avenue of the Giants Parkway; Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park; Del Norte Coast Redwoods
State Park; and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, including Mill Creek. In partnership with the Sierra Club and the National
Geographic Society, the League helped revive the idea of creating a national Redwood Park. Congress established Redwood National
Park in 1968. The League also helped preserve land in Calaveras Big Trees State Park, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Navarro
River Redwoods State Park, Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, along the Santa Cruz County Coast, and in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Save the Redwoods League continues to protect redwood forests from logging and pollution, provides gifts to establish parks
and preserves, and has active scientific research and education programs. For more information on the League's history, including
a timeline of League milestones, please see the League's website: http://www.savetheredwoods.org/about-us/mission-history/
There are no alternative forms of this collection.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Series 6: California State Park Legislation contains born-digital content. Items must be requested in order to be accessed.
A link to view the materials will be provided once the request has been processed.
[Identification of item], Save the Redwoods League Records, BANC MSS 88/15c,The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
Arranged to the folder level.
Processed by Marjorie Bryer in 2015-2016.
Born-digital content was received on four separate 3.5" floppy disks. The disks were scanned for viruses using Malware Bites.
Archives staff created disk images of the disks using AccessData FTK Imager 3.2.0.0. The disk images were analyzed using Forensics
Toolkit 5.0.0.84 (FTK). Archivists also screened material for personal identifiable information (PII) and protected health
information (PHI) using Forensics Toolkit 5.0.0.84 (FTK).The processed files were exported from FTK in their original formats
and saved to the Library's preservation server. The files were migrated from .doc files to PDF for access.
Save the Redwoods League photograph collection (BANC PIC 2006.030)
Portraits of Save the Redwoods League members (BANC PIC 1988.040)
California State Parks Council records (BANC MSS 68/125 c)
Scope and Content of Collection
The Save the Redwoods League records document the organization's work to preserve redwood trees, and its role in the development
and protection of state and national parks in California. The bulk of the collection covers the tenures of League executive
directors Newton B. Drury (1919-1940 and 1959-1978), Aubrey Drury (1920-1959), and John B. Dewitt (1965-1996). This includes
the early years of the organization and its four key projects, preservation of: I. Humboldt Redwood State Park, including
Bull Creek-Dyerville and Avenue of the Giants; II. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park; III. Del Norte Coast Redwoods State
Park; and IV. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, including Mill Creek.
Council and Councilor files for these years are robust. Records documenting the significant role the League played in the
creation of the California State Park system and in the establishment of Redwood National Park are particularly comprehensive.
Other notable topics are discussed in Series and Sub-series scope notes. Many people, places and things were important throughout
the League's history, so significant correspondence from the organization's leadership can be found throughout the collection.
There are very few records related to the Executive Directors that followed John B. Dewitt, or from the late 1990s and early
21st Century more generally. There are also gaps regarding land acquisition because the League has currently retained most
of its property files. Some records were damaged or destroyed in a 2001 fire.
Most of the photographs in the collection have been removed and cataloged separately under the call number BANC PIC 2006.030.
However, photographs that are intrinsically related to the manuscript materials they were filed with have been kept in the
collection to provide context for the researcher. These include portraits of Councilors and photographs accompanying land
appraisals.
The League staff used several filing systems, categorizing documents using a numerical code and/or by recording the subject
matter or key project number on them. They also made multiple copies of each document, because they fell into more than one
category, were sent to different people, or served multiple functions. Consequently, there is great deal of overlap and some
duplication in the collection, and researchers looking for materials on a certain topic or correspondence with a specific
person may find records in more than one place. Chronological order is sometimes approximate because incoming and outgoing
correspondence was often stapled together. A filing key through 1942 can be found in the Archival and Administrative Records
to help with navigation. Original order was maintained whenever possible and original folder titles and pertinent League designations
were retained when available, but folders were not always checked to verify that their contents matched the label.
The collection has been divided into eleven Series: Archival and Administrative Records; Financial Records; Executive Directors'
Records; Council and Board of Directors' Records; John C. Merriam, Lawrence C. Merriam, and Merriam Family Papers; California
State Park Legislation; Redwood National Park; Subject and Research Files; Agencies and Organizations; Publicity, Publications,
and Circulation; and Maps.
Photographs and artifacts transferred to the Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library (BANC PIC 2006.030).
Audiovisual materials transferred to the Audiovisual Collections of The Bancroft Library (Phonodisc 786 B).
Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction
of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions,
privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond
that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Save the Redwoods League -- Archives
Dewitt, John B. -- Archives
Drury, Aubrey, 1891-1959 -- Archives
Drury, Newton Bishop, 1889-1978 -- Archives
McDuffie, Duncan, 1877-1951 -- Archives
Merriam, John C. (John Campbell), 1869-1945 -- Archives
Merriam, Lawrence Campbell, Sr. -- Archives
Born digital
Coast redwood--California
Conservation of natural resources--California--History.
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park (Calif.)
Environmentalists--California
Forest conservation -- California, Northern -- History
Forest ecology -- History
Forest reserves -- California
Humboldt Redwoods State Park (Calif.)
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (Calif.)
Logging -- California, Northern -- History
Parks -- Law and legislation -- California
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (Calif.)
Redwood National Park (Calif.)
Redwoods
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Collection Details
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- Processing Information
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- Related Collections
- Scope and Content of Collection
- Separated Materials
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