Finding aid to the Fred S. Farr correspondence and photographs, 1942-1945, MS 685
Finding aid encoded by Al Bersch in 2021, using description from existing catalog
records.
California Historical Society
January 2022
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
reference@calhist.org
Contributing Institution:
California Historical Society
Title: Fred S. Farr correspondence and photographs
Creator:
Farr, Fred S.
Creator:
Fujii, Eiko
Identifier/Call Number: MS 685
Physical Description:
2 folders
Date (inclusive): 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).
Language of Material:
English .
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Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Fred S. Farr, 1970.
Existence and Location of Copies
Entire collection has been digitized and is available online through the California
Historical Society Digital Library, as well as through the CSU Japanese American
Digitization Project at https://csujad.com.
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.
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).
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.
Material from this collection was digitized as part of the CSU Japanese American
Digitization project. https://csujad.com/
[Identification of item], date; Fred S. Farr correspondence and photographs, MS 685;
California Historical Society.
Photographs have been separated from the collection and shelved as MSP 685.
Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the
collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in
the collection. Unpublished works are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years
after their creation; works published before 1923 have entered the public domain. The
California Historical Society (CHS) is not authorized to grant permission to publish or
reproduce materials from this collection. For more information, please contact
rights@calhist.org.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Japanese Americans -- California -- Correspondence
Japanese Americans -- California -- Photographs
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
World War, 1939-1945--Evacuation of civilians
World War II -- Mass removal ('Evacuation')
World War II -- Incarceration camps
World War II -- Temporary Assembly Centers
Correspondence
Photographic prints
Photographic postcards
Gelatin silver prints
Negatives
Farr, Fred S.
Fujii, Eiko
Box M0001
Correspondence 1942-1945
Physical Description:
1 folder
Correspondence consists of seven letters to Farr from Japanese American friends from
California incarcerated at assembly centers and incarceration camps 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 at the university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 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.
Box P016
Photographs 1942-1945
Physical Description:
1 folder
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 center or incarceration camp; and Japanese Americans at an unidentified
assembly center or incarceration camp, possibly in British Columbia, Canada. Also
includes a photographic postcard of Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine, California, 3 envelopes,
and 1 note card.
The photographs were separated from collection MS 685 and shelved as MSP 685.