Robert Symington Baker papers, 1866-1890

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Summary

Creators:
Baker, Robert Symington, 1825-1894
Abstract:
Letters and documents of California businessman Robert Symington Baker.
Extent:
5.83 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Robert Symington Baker papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains letters and documents related to Robert Symington Baker's involvement with petroleum and sheep and wool industries in California (1866-1888), mining interests in California and Utah (1877-1879), the city of Santa Monica (1877-1879), and the Ranchos Jurupa, Santa Monica, San Vicente, and Temescal. Significant persons represented in the collection include: Arturo Bandini, Robert Symington Baker, Edward Fitzgerald Beale, Simeon Porter Christy, Charles Henry Forbes, Sanford Lyon, Alfred Robinson, John Henry Wise, and Arcadia Bandini Stearns de Baker. There are also some materials related to the firm of Christy & Wise and to the Baker Block, which was built upon the site of El Palacio, Arcadia Bandini Stearns de Baker's home with Able Stearns.

Biographical / historical:

Robert Symington Baker (1825-1894) came to California in 1849 from his birthplace in Rhode Island. Arriving in San Diego, he went next to San Francisco, then settled in Los Angeles. He was prominently associated with Edward F. Beale in the local petroleum and wool industries and also engaged in mining, banking, and real estate. Baker married Arcadia Bandini de Stearns (widow of Abel Stearns) in 1874 and later built the Baker Block in downtown Los Angeles. He owned Ranchos San Vicente and Santa Monica and, with John Percival Jones, founded the city of Santa Monica.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Bernal F. Alfe, December 1937.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library Staff. In 2020, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Robert Symington Baker papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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