Thompson Webb Papers: Finding Aid mssWebb
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
November 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Thompson Webb papers
Creator:
Webb, Thompson,
1887-1975
Identifier/Call Number: mssWebb
Physical Description:
27.1 Linear Feet
(65 boxes, 1 volume)
Date (inclusive): 1798-1995
Date (bulk): 1905-1974
Abstract: A collection of personal, professional,
and business papers of Thompson Webb, California educator and founder of the Webb School in
Claremont, California.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
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]. Thompson Webb papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts of Thompson Webb, Jr., 1975-1996.
Biographical / Historical
Richard Thompson Webb (1887-1975) was a California educator and founder of the Webb School
in Claremont, California; he was the son of educator and U.S. Senator William Robert
("Sawney") Webb (1842-1926). In June 1915 he married Vivian Louise Howell; the couple had
four sons: Richard Thompson Webb, Robert Howell Webb, William Robert Webb, and Joseph
Lambuth Webb. Thompson Webb taught at the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee founded by
his father before he moved with his family to California in 1922. He served as headmaster of
the Webb School in Claremont, California, until his retirement in 1962; he was active in
community and educational affairs and retained an interest in ranching, agricultural
projects, rural planning, and irrigation projects until his death in 1975. The name "Richard
Thompson Webb" was legally changed to "Thompson Webb" by both father and son.
Scope and Contents
A collection of approximately 30,000 items from 1798 to 1995, it contains the personal,
professional and business papers of educator Thompson Webb (1887-1975) and his wife, Vivian
Louise Howell Webb. The letters, manuscripts and documents in the collection concern
education, especially the Webb School in Claremont, California; agriculture in the Coachella
Valley and Riverside; the town of Claremont, California; and religious organizations. There
is also material about the other Webb Schools in Bell Buckle and Knoxville, Tennessee;
Scripps College; The Claremont Colleges; and Pilgrim Place, Claremont, California. The
collection also includes copies of 56 letters from 1859 to 1862 of Daniel L. Clary, a
student who joined the Confederate Army not long after the beginning of the United States
Civil War and who died from battle wounds. There is also a significant amount of Webb family
correspondence in the collection, in addition to the papers of Thompson Webb's
father-in-law, a Los Angeles area minister named Robert Paine Howell. Persons represented in
the collection include: Marshall Stimson, Jerry Voorhis, William Robert "Swaney" Webb,
Thompson Webb, Thompson Webb (1917-1998), Vivian Louise Howell Webb, William Robert Webb
(1874-1960), William Robert Webb (active 1947-1962), and William Robert Webb (1921-).
Included in the collection are 10 boxes of minimally processed addenda.
Processing Information
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1980-1998. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created
the finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically and by subject.
General
Former call number: mssWebb papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Agriculture -- California -- Coachella Valley
Agriculture -- California -- Riverside
Education -- California -- Claremont
Educators -- California -- Claremont
Private schools -- California -- Claremont
Claremont (Calif.) -- History
United States -- History -- Civil War,
1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
Business records -- California -- Claremont
Family papers -- United States
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Professional papers -- California -- Claremont
Clary, Daniel L., active 1859-1862
Howell, R. P.
Stimson, Marshall, 1876-1951
Voorhis, Jerry,
1901-1984
Webb, Sawney,
1842-1926
Webb, Thompson,
1917-1998
Webb, Vivian Louise Howell
Webb, William R., Jr.
(William Robert), 1874-1960
Webb, William Robert, 1921-
Claremont
Colleges
Pilgrim Place (Claremont,
Calif.)
Scripps College
Webb Schools (Claremont,
Calif.)
Webb School (Bell Buckle,
Tenn.)
Box 5, Folder 1-69
Eckford-Girls Collegiate School, Inc.
Box 8, Folder 1-6
Loulie Howell-Robert P. Howell
Box 10, Folder 1-22
Robert P. Howell-Hutchinson
Box 12, Folder 1-43
Elizabeth Lusby-Middleton
Box 19, Folder 1-16
John L. Webb-Richard Webb
Box 28, Folder 1-7
California, Los Angeles County-San Clemente: Richard T. Webb tax
statements
Box 30, Folder 1-16
Richard T. Webb-Vivian Webb
Box 35, Folder 1-7
William E. Webb-William Robert Webb
Box 37, Folder 1-17
William Robert Webb-Whitaker
Box 38, Folder 1-44
Whitaker-Zollecoffer; Unidentified
Box 42, Folder 1-5
Webb School (Calif.)-California, Los Angeles County
Box 43, Folder 1-5
Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tenn.)-Webb School (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Box 44, Folder 1-4
Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities
Box 47, Folder 1-5
Pilgrim Place (Claremont)
Box 48, Folder 1-6
Pilgrim Place (Claremont)
Box 53, Folder 1-5
Scripps College, Board of Trustees
Box 54, Folder 1-5
Scripps College, Board of Trustees
Box 56-65
Addenda
Scope and Contents
Material includes: correspondence, Webb School related material, tax reports, business,
political and real estate papers, sermons, articles, and printed material.
Volume 1
Stories from the Files of Thompson Webb / assembled by Thompson Webb Jr. and
Thompson Webb III
1995 December
