Jeremy D. and John K. Hass Papers MS-06
Presidio Research Center
215 East Canon Perdido St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
chris@sbthp.org
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Presidio Research Center
Title: Jeremy D. and John K. Hass Papers
creator:
Hass, Jeremy D., 1936-2014
creator:
Hass, John K.
Identifier/Call Number: MS-06
Physical Description:
6 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1853-1990
Date (bulk): 1958-1987
Abstract: This collection documents the early activities of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation in partnership with California
State Parks to reconstruct El Presidio de Santa Barbara. It includes correspondence, research materials and legal documents
about property acquisition and management on land where the former presidio stood. It also includes administrative materials,
such as minutes, correspondence, and policies collected by board members Jeremy D. Hass and his father John K. Hass, who were
active on the board from 1970-1986.
Scope and Contents
A significant portion of this collection was created by Jeremy Hass and represents various activities he undertook for the
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP). A smaller portion of the collection was created by his father John
K. Hass, when he was on the Board of Directors of SBTHP.
Biographical / Historical
Jeremy Dennis Hass was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 24, 1936 and spent his early years in St. Paul, Minnesota,
before his family moved west. He attended Pomona College where he majored in economics-engineering, with a minor in history,
before going on to Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, and Loyola University in Los Angeles. He was admitted to the
California State Bar and joined the family law firm Weldon and Hass. Jeremy retired from the firm in 2001.
In the mid-1960s, while working for Jules Brasseur at Santa Barbara Title Company, Jeremy became interested in the Presidio
project, a historic site in downtown Santa Barbara. He plotted the boundaries of the old fortress by studying historic property
documents. By 1967 he was an active member of the Presidio Volunteers, a group who conducted archaeological excavations and
public events at the site.
In early 1971, Jeremy wrote a proposal for the future presidio project at the request of Miss Pearl Chase and the Santa Barbara
Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP). For the next several decades Jeremy played a major part in property acquisitions
for what became El Presidio de Santa Barbára State Historic Park. Working with local and state legislators, he made numerous
trips to Sacramento to consult with state officials about transfers to the State of lands purchased by SBTHP for the park.
He and an assistant to the director of the California Dept. of Parks and Recreation developed the concession agreement through
which SBTHP operates the State Park.
Hass was instrumental in early efforts to discover the boundaries of the original presidio and to acquire property for the
newly formed State Park. He played an important role in helping negotiate the gift of El Paseo and Casa de la Guerra to SBTHP
in 1971. He was a board member from 1970-1976 and was named a Life Honorary Trustee in 1983. He also served briefly as Acting
Director of SBTHP in late 1984 to March 1985. In the 1990s he helped arrange the purchase of the Santa Inés Mission Mills
lands by SBTHP and he later became a member of SBTHP's Mills Committee. He was a recipient of the Pearl Chase Historic Preservation
and Conservation Award in 2000.
Jeremy presented papers at a number of conferences. His intensive research on the subjects of waterworks, fulling mills, and
of California pioneer Joseph Chapman contributed not only to his own publications, but to the academic field, providing source
material for scholarly research on the subject by others. Hass passed away on June 30, 2014, at his home in Santa Barbara.
Jeremy Hass' father John Kelleher Hass was an attorney and intelligence officer at the Marine Corps air base in Goleta during
World War II. The family made Santa Barbara a permanent home after the war. John Hass was the founding partner in the law
firm, Weldon and Hass. Like his son, he served on the board of the Trust from 1981 until 1986 and was president from 1984-1985.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series:
Series 1: Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
Series 2: Jeremy Hass Research and Personal Papers
The collection was received in several separate donations with many documents in no specific order. Staff arranged these loose
documents chronologically.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Jeremy D. Hass.
Separated Materials
One envelope and one folder of miscellaneous photographs were transferred to the Presidio Research Center photograph collection.
The envelope contains images of the November 1973 visit of the Duke and Duchess of Seville to Santa Barbara. The folder contains
several photos of Jeremy Hass, a parade, early photos of the Presidio reconstruction site, Santa Barbara Mission, and Mission
Santa Ines Mills. Twenty-three maps and architectural plans were added to the flat file collection.
Other Finding Aids
For additional materials on the history of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation and the reconstruction of the
Santa Barbara Presidio, see also the Pearl Chase Papers, MS-01, and the Richard Whitehead Papers, MS-02, both located in the
Presidio Research Center.
Preferred Citation
Jeremy D. and John K. Hass Papers, MS-06, Presidio Research Center, Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, Santa Barbara,
California.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archivist and Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation Research Center as the
owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be
obtained by the reader.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Deeds
Buildings
Santa Barbara (Calif.)--History
Santa Barbara Presidio (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation Activities
Chronological Files
Scope and Contents
The Chronological Files subseries contains correspondence, historical research, property research, legal documents, and board
materials related to the years Jeremy Hass began working as a Presidio Volunteer researching the boundaries of the Santa Barbara
Presidio up through his years as a board and committee member, property advisor, and his brief stint as Acting Director of
SBTHP in late 1984. Since the papers were originally filed in the law offices of Weldon and Hass, there are materials addressed
to John K. Hass sprinkled throughout. It is likely that both father and son filed materials related to SBTHP into the same
filing system.
box-folder 1/2A
Correspondence with Richard Santos 1968-1970
Jeremy Hass Subject Files
Scope and Contents
The Jeremy Hass Subject Files subseries complement the chronological files in terms of subject matter. The files are all
in their original numbered order and, for the most part, represent activities of Jeremy Hass as Acting Director from 1984-1985.
As mentioned above in the chronological subseries, there are some John Hass papers interfiled.
box-folder 2/8
El Paseo Contractor Invoices
box-folder 2/13
Financial 1972 - Sept. 1984
box-folder 2/14
Financial Oct. 1984 - 1985
box-folder 3/6
Plot Maps/El Paseo & Presidio
box-folder 3/10
Canon Perdido Parking Lot
box-folder 3/15
Leases & Rental Agreements
box-folder 3/16
Revitalization Proposals for El Paseo
box-folder 3/17
Present Trust Problems & Progress
box-folder 3/18
Landmarks/Sign Regulations
box-folder 3/19
Correspondence Joe Nickelson
box-folder 3/20
Correspondences 1979-1983
box-folder 4/1
Abstract of Title Blocks 197 & 215
box-folder 4/2
Deeds of Declaration 1964-1971
box-folder 4/3
Land and Building History
box-folder 4/4-6
SBTHP Property Acquisition
box-folder 4/11
Property Relocation Law and Regulations
box-folder 4/15
Restaurante del Paseo: a California Limited Partnership
box-folder 4/16
SBTHP Administration Policy Disagreement
box-folder 4/17
Goleta Cannons--Notes, Reports
box-folder 4/18
Goleta Cannons--Correspondences
John Hass Subject Files
Scope and Contents
The John Hass Subject Files subseries has a narrower focus and represent the elder Hass' years on the board of SBTHP and his
two year period as president. However, two miscellaneous files on SBTHP actually contain material on early activities from
the 1950s and complement the chronological files in subseries one. It is unclear how they came to be filed within John Hass'
board papers.
box-folder 5/7
SBTHP Board of Trustees Feb. 1975 - Aug. 1984
box-folder 5/8
SBTHP Board of Trustees Sept. 1984 - Jan. 1985
box-folder 5/10
SBTHP Executive Committee 1984
box-folder 5/11
SBTHP Merchants Assoc. 1984
box-folder 5/12
SBTHP Management, Administration & Other Committees, 1975-1984
box-folder 5/13
SBTHP Management, Administration & Other Committees 1984-1985
box-folder 5/14
SBTHP Fundraising Committee 1981-1983
box-folder 5/15
SBTHP Miscellaneous Jan. 1959 - Feb. 1981
box-folder 5/18
SBTHP Trust Committee--Rebuilding 1981
box-folder 5/19
SBTHP Presidio Trust Fund
Jeremy Hass Research and Personal Papers
Scope and Contents
The Jeremy Hass Research and Personal Papers series contains files on Joseph Chapman, the Santa Inés Mission mills, and mills
in general. Included are research notes, drafts, and correspondence. Several additional unrelated files on the Philippines,
the Pearl Chase birthday celebration, and copies of some miscellaneous property documents are included in this series.
box-folder 6/1
Talks Presented at Conferences
box-folder 6/3
Joseph Chapman Research Notes
box-folder 6/8
Pearl Chase Birthday Fund 1968
box-folder 6/9
Photocopies of Historic Documents
General
Includes a copy of Assessment Roll, Santa Barbara Co., Aug. 1853