Enid Griffith Collection

Title: Enid Griffith Collection

Dates: 1862-1924

Collection Number: 1976.24, A2015.78

Creator/Collector: Enid Griffith

Extent: Four boxes

Repository: Placer County Archives

Abstract: The Placer County Archives maintains a collection of ledgers, maps, documents, and images pertaining to the Griffith family and the Griffith Quarry/Penryn Granite Works.

Language of Material: English

The Collection is open for research by appointment. Appointment times are available on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 9-3

Enid Griffith Collection. Placer County Archives

Enid Griffith was the only child of David and Sydney Griffith. She was born in the family home in Penryn in 1895. She attended local schools growing up. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, she lived the rest of her life in the family home. Enid was known as the “First Lady of Penryn.” She traveled extensively but was always actively involved in the small-town activities. When she died in 1976, she granted to the County of Placer a parcel of twenty-three acres and the Penryn Granite Works quarry office building on the grounds. The Griffth Quarry Park and Museum opened to the public in May 1981. Enid Griffith’s father, David managed the Penryn Granite Works from 1899 until he died in 1918. David had purchased the Granite Works from his uncle, Griffith Griffith. G. Griffith had come from Wales in 1847. He worked in granite quarries on the east coast for some years before entering the California Gold Rush in 1853. He first mined in Coloma and Mormon Island. He had worked in quarries in Wales and recognized superior granite in California. His first quarry was near Mormon Island in 1854. He opened another quarry near the Sacramento, Placer and Nevada Railroad but abandoned it when the railroad line was disbanded. In 1864, he located a superior strain of granite in what is now the town of Penryn. Granite coming from the quarries at the Penryn Granite Works were known to be of great beauty and strength and valued for the unique color. Penryn granite graces many buildings and structures including: Fort Point, Alcatraz, San Francisco Mint, San Francisco City Hall, Mare Island Docks, San Joaquin County Court House among many others.

1976.24: One folder containing property deeds, Griffith Griffith and David Griffith citizenship papers, David Griffith certificate of citizenship, map of Griffith estate. Also contains loose pages of Penryn Granite Workers Names from 1862-1892, business letterhead describing types of monuments and tombstones provided by the company, and the Griffith Family Scrapbook, Trip to Wales 1914-1915. A2015.78: Miscellaneous ephemera including Welsh and British newspapers with family references, collection of crochet instruction books, University of California/Berkeley Periodicals 1923-24, and a business card of David Griffith from Penryn Granite Works.