Guide to the Works Progress Administration collection on Orange County, California MS.R.010
Finding aid prepared by Laura Clark Brown, 1997; machine-readable finding aid created by Brooke Dykman Dockter, 1997.
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 1997
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu
Note
Social Sciences --Anthropology--ArchaeologyHistory--History, California --History, Los Angeles AreaGeographical (by Place) --California --Los Angeles Area
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Works Progress Administration collection on Orange County, California
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.010
Physical Description:
15.75 Linear Feet
(15 document boxes, 3 record cartons and 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1935-1939
Abstract: The collection is comprised of reports from the historical and anthropological projects completed by the Works Progress Administration
in Orange County, California from 1935 to 1939. The projects' reports reveal factual information on local history and anthropological
research on Native Americans. Most reports are original or first carbon typescripts; they are illustrated with original photographs
and sketches.
Language of Material:
English
.
Access
Collection is open for research
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with Rancho Santiago College. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their
heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and University Archives.
Preferred Citation
Works Progress Administration Collection on Orange County, California. MS-R 10. Special Collections and Archives, The UCI
Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Acquisition Information
Placed on permanent deposit by Rancho Santiago College in 1989.
Processing History
Processed by Laura Clark Brown in 1997.
Organizational History
President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935 as a part of his New Deal to curtail
the Depression's effects on the United States. The WPA attempted to provide the unemployed with jobs that allowed individuals
to preserve skills or talents.
The Federal Writers' Project (FWP), one branch of the WPA, provided work for over 6,600 unemployed writers, journalists, editors
and researchers throughout the United States. Directed by Henry G. Alsberg in Washington, the FWP concentrated its efforts
on the
American Guide Series, comprised of travel guides for every state and for numerous municipalities and regions. The guides contained material on regional
and state history, architecture, geography and commerce. Other FWP writers worked on smaller local projects, including ethnic
studies, folklore collections, nature studies and local history.
California's FWP produced
California: A Guide to the Golden State, as well as guides to San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Death Valley. In Orange County, the
FWP created "A History of Orange County, California" (1936). Less than fifty years old at the time, Orange County had many
living early settlers who contributed information to the historical compilation.
The WPA in Orange County also employed anthropologists and archeologists who excavated several sites and compiled reports
and lists of artifacts related primarily to Native Americans in the region.
When the United States entered World War II, the Depression and with it the New Deal came to an end. The new war economy resulted
in low unemployment and eliminated the time and money formerly available for the types of projects undertaken by the WPA.
Scope and Content
The collection is comprised of reports from the Historical and Anthropological projects completed by the Works Progress Administration
in Orange County, California from 1935 to 1939. The projects' reports reveal factual information on local history and anthropological
research on Native Americans. Most reports are original or first carbon typescripts; they illustrated with original photographs
and sketches.
The collection is organized into three series: History of Orange County, Anthropological Project, and Duplicate Originals
and Photocopies. Original reports are in the first two series, and duplicates and copies of these originals are in the third
series.
The "History of Orange County, California" project attempted to document local history from 1769 to 1889 and emphasized the
era before the County was formally established in 1889. The WPA produced 27 volumes of reports on such topics as historic
adobe buildings, architecture, agriculture, water supply, irrigation, natural resources, commerce, transportation, cities
and towns, government, notable lawsuits, education, religion, sports and recreation, biography, and the partition of Rancho
Santiago de Santa Ana (the Spanish land grant that now contains the communities of Orange, Villa Park, Santa Ana, Tustin,
Costa Mesa, and part of Newport Beach). Many historical reports were based on secondary sources, but some writers used primary
sources as well.
An indexed guide to the reports has been cataloged (SpCol Ref. F868.O8 U551936) and is available in Special Collections. The
arrangement of the reports within the series is based on the index, which is a rough alphabetical order by title. The detailed
index should be used together with this guide to navigate through the collection.
The Anthropology project consists of 23 volumes of reports on excavations of Orange County archaeological sites; it includes
lists and sketches of artifacts and photographs of the excavations. It concludes with a summary monograph,
A Study of Primitive Man in Orange County and Its Coastal Areas, by Gladys E. Ashby and John W. Winterbourne. The anthropological reports are organized into two subseries: Excavation Reports
and Artifacts and Native Americans.
1. History of Orange County, California
1935-1936
Series Scope and Contents Summary
Series 1 is comprised of 27 reports on a variety of local history topics researched and written from 1935 to 1936. The reports
focus on the period 1769 to 1889, prior to Orange County's formal establishment, and each report documents its subject in
three named periods within that date range: the Indian Period (pre-1769), the Spanish-Mexican Period (ca. 1769-1848), and
the American Period (ca. 1848-1889). The reports are typescripts with sketches, photographs and maps inserted within the text.
The series also contains a chronological list of significant events in Orange County history. Reports are arranged in a loose
alphabetical order by title based on the order in the cataloged index mentioned in the Scope and Content above.
folder XOS 1
Blueprints and maps
circa 1920s
box 2, folder 6
Don Juan Forster v. Pío Pico (court transcripts)
box 4, folder 1-4
Historical and Unusual Trees
box 5, folder 10-12
Partition of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana
box 6, folder 12
Santa Ana Public Library History, to
1936
box 6, folder 12
Historic Flags of California,
1769-1847
box 6, folder 12
Rise and Fall of the Grape Industry
box 7, folder 1
County Division and Organization
box 7, folder 1
Commission to Organize Orange County
box 7, folder 2
Formation of Early Oranges
box 7, folder 2
Great Real Estate Boom of the Eighties
box 7, folder 2
Squatters in Orange County
box 7, folder 5-7
Transcript on Appeal,
Anaheim Water Company v. Semi-Tropic Water Company
box 7, folder 10-11
Chronological Index of Important Events in Southern California with Special Reference to Orange County
2. Anthropological Project
1935-1939
Series Scope and Contents Summary
Series 2 is comprised of typescript reports dating from 1935 to 1939. They document anthropological and archeological work
conducted in Orange County by the WPA and contain photographs and sketches of artifacts and excavation sites. Each report
includes field notes, lists of artifacts gathered, and summary information based on the field research. The series is organized
in two subseries, each arranged chronologically.
2.1. Excavation Reports
Scope and Contents Note
Arranged chronologically by excavation date, the reports include daily field notes and photographs of each Orange County excavation
site.
box 9, folder 4
Rancherías: Bonita Mesa, San Joaquín Gun Club, and Corona del Mar
(1938)
box 9, folder 8
San Joaquín Home Ranch
(1938)
2.2. Artifacts and Native Americans
Scope and Contents Note
Arranged chronologically by the date of the report, these reports list and index artifacts recovered from the sites, provide
sketches of those artifacts, survey Native American campsites, and summarize the project's research in A Study of Primitive
Man in Orange County and Its Coastal Areas.
box 10, folder 1
Material [artifacts] turned over from State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA)
(1935)
box 10, folder 2
List of artifacts found in Moro Canyon
(1937)
box 10, folder 3
Drawings of Indian Artifacts: Bone, Ceremonial, Decorative, Household, Hunting, and Indian Art
(1937)
box 10, folder 4
Index to Artifacts
(1937-1938)
box 10, folder 6
Asphalted (Tarred) Artifacts
box 10, folder 7
Life, Customs and Peculiar Artifacts of the Southwest Coast Indians and Orange County Indians
(1935)
box 10, folder 8
Preliminary Survey of Indian Camp Sites on Irvine Property
(1935)
box 10, folder 9
Birds, Fish, Plants, Fruit and Shells
(1936)
box 10, folder 11
A Study of Primitive Man in Orange County and Its Coastal Areas
(1939)
3. Duplicate Originals and Photocopies
Series Scope and Contents Summary
Duplicate originals and photocopies of some of the reports in Series 1 and 2 were also placed on deposit; there is no new
information in the series. Duplicates and copies are housed separately, following the same arrangement as the original reports.
Several of the duplicate originals are incomplete, primarily lacking the illustrated materials, and the quality of the photocopies
is often poor, particularly in the illustrations. The reports in Series 1 and 2 are complete and have been prepared for researcher
use, and there should be no need to use the duplicates in most cases.
box 10, folder 11
History of Orange County, California
box 12, folder 22-23
Partition of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana
box 12, folder 26-30
Pioneer Tales, Volumes I-II
box 13, folder 4-5
San Joaquin Home Ranch (2 copies)
box 14, folder 1-2
Drawings of Indian Artifacts
box 14, folder 3
Asphalted (Tarred) Artifacts
box 14, folder 4
List of artifacts found in Moro Canyon
box 14, folder 6
Birds, Fish, Plants, Fruit and Shells
box 14, folder 7-8
A Study of Primitive Man and Its Coastal Areas (2 copies)
box 11, folder 1-8
Photographs from Anthropological Project (unidentified)
box 11, folder 1-8
History of Orange County, California
box 15, folder 7-9
Don Juan Forster v. Pio Pico (court transcripts), Volumes I-III
box 15, folder 15
Historical and Unusual Trees
box 16, folder 5-6
Partition of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana
box 16, folder 9-15
Pioneer Tales, Volumes I-II
box 16, folder 22
Chronological Index of Important Events in Southern California with Special Reference to Orange County
box 17, folder 1-3
Three Coastal Rancherías (3 copies)
box 17, folder 5-8
San Joaquin Home Ranch (2 copies)
box 18, folder 1
Material [artifacts] turned over from SERA
box 18, folder 2-3
List of artifacts found in Moro Canyon (2 copies)
box 18, folder 4
Drawings of Indian Artifacts: Bone, Ceremonial, Decorative, Household, Hunting, and Indian Art
box 18, folder 6
Asphalted (Tarred) Artifacts
box 18, folder 7
Life, Customs and Peculiar Artifacts of the S.W. Coast Indians and Orange County Indians
box 18, folder 8
Preliminary Survey of Indian Camp Sites on Irvine Property
box 18, folder 9
Birds, Fish, Plants, Fruit and Shells
box 18, folder 11
A Study of Primitive Man and Its Coastal Areas