Farr (Fred S.) Correspondence and Photographs, 1942-1945

Summary

Title:

Fred S. Farr papers and photographs

Dates:

1942-1945

Abstract:

Fred S. Farr was a Democratic California State Senator from 1955 to 1966, and worked with the Farm Security Administration during World War II. The collection contains seven letters to Farr from Japanese American friends from California incarcerated at assembly centers and incarceration camps during World War II, as well as six photographic prints and 25 black and white negatives showing forced relocation of Japanese Americans by train to an unidentified incarceration camp, agricultural work performed at a camp, and recreational activities (swimming).

Extent:

0.4 Linear Feet (half manuscript box)

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item, date] Fred S. Farr correspondence and photographs (MS 685). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains seven letters to Farr from Japanese American friends from California incarcerated during World War II. Most of the letters are from Eiko Fujii, beginning shortly after her arrival at Santa Anita Assembly Center in 1942, continuing through her transfer to Denson, Arkansas, at Jerome incarceration camp, and ending after she left the camps and held a teaching position the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The letters discuss daily life in the camps and her family's physical, psychological, and emotional adjustment to life there; as well as references to Farr's personal and professional life. Includes an undated piece of ephemera containing a printed message to Japanese Americans from the Reedley Committee on National Security and Fair Play, and a copy of the Japanese American Citizens League Reporter newspaper, of Salt Lake City, Utah, v. 1 no. 11, Nov. 1945. Collection also contains six photographic prints, one photographic postcard, and 25 black and white negatives from unknown photographers. The photographs document the forced relocation of Japanese Americans by train to an unidentified incarceration camp, agricultural work performed at a camp, and recreational activities (swimming). Also includes six photographic prints, 1 photographic postcard, and 25 negatives, collected by Fred S. Farr, depicting the deportation of Japanese Americans by train to an unidentified assembly or relocation center; and Japanese Americans at an unidentified assembly or relocation center, possibly in British Columbia, Canada. Also includes a photographic postcard of Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine, California, 3 envelopes, and 1 note card.

Biographical / historical:

Fred S. Farr was a Democratic California State Senator from 1955 to 1966, and served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1960. Farr worked in private law practice in San Francisco from 1937 to 1942. During World War II, he worked with the Farm Security Administration and later at the United States War Shipping Administration. He served as commissioner for the California State Coastal Commission from 1972-1979, and as president of the California Historical Society from 1974-1976.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Fred S. Farr, 1970. Transferred to Stanford University Libraries, 2025.

Processing information:

MS 685 and MSP 685 were removed from their original boxes and re-integrated as one collection in its own box under a single call number, MS 685, on October 31, 2025. Call number MSP 685 is no longer in use.

Physical location:

Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Other descriptive data:

Previously titled: Fred S. Farr papers, 1942-1945. Correspondence and photographs were then separated into two collections: MS 685 previously titled Fred S. Farr correspondence and miscellany relating to Japanese-American evacuation, and MSP 685 previously titled Photographs from the Fred S. Farr correspondence and miscellany relating to Japanese American evacuation. In January 2022 the record for MSP 685 was merged with this one, retitled Fred S. Farr correspondence and photographs. In October 2025, the manuscript and photographs were removed from shared containers and rehoused together in a single manuscript box un der the call nubmer MS 685.

Material from this collection was digitized as part of the CSU Japanese American Digitization project. https://csujad.com/

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Japanese Americans -- California -- Correspondence
Japanese Americans -- California -- Photographs
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
World War II -- Mass removal ('Evacuation')
World War II -- Incarceration camps
World War II -- Temporary Assembly Centers
World War, 1939-1945 -- Evacuation of civilians
Correspondence
Photographic prints
Photographic postcards
Gelatin silver prints
Negatives

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Finding aid encoded by Al Bersch in 2021, using description from existing catalog records.

Date Encoded:

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-01-20 11:07:20 -0800 .

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Note that materials must be requested 36 hours in advance of intended use.

Terms of access:

While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item, date] Fred S. Farr correspondence and photographs (MS 685). California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.

Location of this collection:

Stanford University, California Historical Society Collection at Stanford

Department of Special Collections, Green Library

557 Escondido Mall

Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US

Contact:

(650) 725-1022

chscollection@stanford.edu

Website