Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Administrative Information
Administrative History
Scope and Content
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter Records,
Date (inclusive): 1939 -[on-going]
Collection Number: BANC MSS 71/292 c
Collector:
Sierra Club. Mother Lode Chapter
Extent:
Number of containers: 3 cartons
Linear feet: 3.75
Repository: The
Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Languages Represented:
English
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library 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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter Records, BANC MSS 71/292 c, The Bancroft Library, University of
California, Berkeley.
Related Collections
Title: Sierra Club Records,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/103 c
Title: Sierra Club Members Papers,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/295 c
Title: Sierra Club National Legislative Office Records,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/289 c
Title: Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund Records,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/296 c
Title: Sierra Club Foundation Records,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 89/230 c
Title: Sierra Club International Program Records,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/290 c
Title: Sierra Club Mountain Registers and Records,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/293 c
Title: Sierra Club California Legislative Office Records,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 91/1 c
Title: Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter Records,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/291 c
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Mother Lode Chapter of the Sierra Club began donating its historical files to the The Bancroft Library in 1976.
Funding
The Sierra Club Records Project was made possible by a major grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Administrative History
The Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter was founded in 1939. The chapter encompasses the Sacramento Valley as well as the foothills
and Sierra Nevada region of Northeastern California. The chapter is one of the oldest in the state, and contains within its
borders much public-owned land, which its members strive to preserve and enjoy. Of the nearly 50 charter members, half were
women, and most were from the Sacramento-Davis, California, area. Charlotte Mauk, later a long-time member of the national
Sierra Club Board of Directors, served as the first chapter chairperson.
Mother Lode Chapter members wrote chapter histories in 1970 and 1975. Most recently, LaVerne and Luis Ireland prepared
A History of the Mother Lode Chapter, The First 50 Years, 1939-1989. All three of these histories can be found in carton 1, folder 61.
Scope and Content
This collection documents the internal affairs, activities, and conservation concerns of a chapter which is based in Sacramento,
but which includes most of northeastern California as well as the upper San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys. Because of the
large geographical size of the chapter, much of the work takes place in regional groups and activity sections.
This geographical region contains some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in California, much of it national forest lands.
The chapter's conservation activities reflect concern over how these public land will be utilized. Lake Tahoe Basin planning,
ski resorts, use of all terrain vehicles, and evaluation of roadless areas for inclusion in wilderness are some of the issues
documented in the second and largest series, Conservation Records.
In addition to its Conservation Committee, the chapter continues to have an active Outing Committee. Activities include car
camping, day hikes, knapsacking, and peak and gorge "scrambling."