This collection is primarily comprised of manuscripts, and some corresponding published articles/materials, written by Dr. R. Bruce Harley regarding Agua Mansa/La Placita and related New Mexican history, the Catholic Church in southern California, and March Air Force Base, focusing on the area that is now Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Harley earned his PhD in history from the University of Iowa and spent his career teaching U.S. and world history, eventually becoming the historian for the U.S. Air Force and later the archivist for the Diocese of San Bernardino.

Robert Bruce Harley was born in 1918 in Minnesota. In 1940 he graduated with a bachelor's degree in history from William Penn University and a year later with a master's degree from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army from 1941-1945 in Great Britain, North Africa, and Italy as a combat engineer, landing craft engineer, and a heavy cargo truck driver. He resumed his graduate studies at the University of Iowa, graduating in 1948 with a doctorate, specializing in American colonial history. He taught at Western Illinois University for 11 years during which time he met and married Clara Horcasitas of New Mexico. In 1959 he was employed by the U.S. Air Force serving mostly at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California but also in Germany. In 1983 he transitioned from the Air Force to become the first archivist for the Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino until 1998. He died in Redlands, California in 2008 and was buried in the Riverside National Cemetery.

0.84 linear feet (2 boxes)

Copyright Unknown: Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction, and/or commercial use, of some materials may be restricted by gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing agreement(s), and/or trademark rights. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user

This collection is open for research.