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Gaydon Moore Brundridge Papers
MS0192
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Title: Gaydon Moore Brundridge Papers
Dates: 1913-1924
Collection Number: MS0192
Creator/Collector:
Gaydon Moore Brundridge
Daniel Gardner
Extent: 2.25 LF, 2 boxes
Online items available
Repository:
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. Special Collections and Archives
San Luis Obispo, California 93407
Abstract: Photographs, diaries, diary transcripts, and correspondence related to Ms. Gaydon Moore Brundridge and her experience as a
teacher at Carrizo Plain (Carrisa Plains) in 1918.
Language of Material: English
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Special Collections and Archives reserves the right to review all reproduction requests and to withhold permission if scanning
would endanger the material, would violate copyright law, or would violate institutional restrictions.
Digital copies are provided to researchers for the purpose of study, research, and personal use only, unless otherwise specified
in writing. Materials that are the property of Cal Poly Special Collections and Archives require written permission prior
to publication. No complete collection may be reproduced. For print and online publication, please visit our Reproduction
Services page online at http://lib.calpoly.edu/support/sca-policies/reproduction/. Special Collections and Archives reserves
the right to review all reproduction requests and to withhold permission if scanning would endanger the material, would violate
copyright law, or would violate institutional restrictions.
Gaydon Moore Brundridge Papers. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. Special Collections and Archives
Gift
Biography/Administrative History
Gaydon Moore Brundridge (b. 12 October 1897 d. 23 April 1974) was born in Texas and raised in the Los Angeles, California
area. She attended the Los Angeles State Normal School (now University of California Los Angeles) where she studied teaching.
She was a member of the Rooter’s Club and the Push and Pull Club, and was Senior Class Treasurer.
Moore arrived at the Garcia family cattle ranch on the Carrizo Plain (Carrisa Plains) near Pozo in February 1918. She lived
with the Garcia family and taught children ages 4 to 16 until June 1918. School classes were held in various ranch buildings
adapted for school use. Her students included 9 children from the Garcia family and several children from the Van Meter (Van
Matre) and other neighboring families. The diaries reflect her experiences as a teacher living on the plain and include descriptions
of social activities with local mining and ranching families in the sparsely populated rural area. In June of 1918 Gaydon
Moore returned to Los Angeles. She married Field Richard Brundidge in 1924.
Carrizo Plain is located within the territory of the Chumash people who have occupied the lands for generations. Painted Rock
and other cultural sites attest to the presence of indigenous people from approximately 11,000 BCE to the present. The Salinian
from the north and the Yokuts from eastern inland areas also visited and traded in the area. Evidence of European expeditions
date to the late 1700s and settlement ranchers claimed homesteads on the Carrizo Plain beginning in the mid-19th century with
the influx of mining and railroad construction.
Historically the plain has been referred to as Carrisa Plains by local ranchers and settlers. The original name, carrizo,
was given by Spanish explorers who named the area for a wild grass that may have been prominent on the plain at the time.
The name was Anglicised over time in written records and via verbal transmission, gradually becoming known as Carrisa Plains.
In 2001 the plain was recognized a national preserve and received the title of Carrizo Plain National Monument.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains photographs, diaries, and letters relating to the Gaydon Moore Brundridge and her family, the Garcia
familes, the Van Meter (Van Matre) families, local ranches, and the Carrizo Plain (Carrisa Plains) region including LaPanza,
Pozo, and Simmler. The collection also contains newspaper clippings about the area and a transcription of her diaries created
by her grandson Daniel K. Gardner. Several photographs of Gaydon Moore Brundridge are undated, but include a portrait by Albert
W. Witzel, a studio photographer in Los Angeles and Hollywood circa 1910s – 1920s.
Carrizo Plain
rural education
Van Matre
Jesus Garcia
San Luis Obispo County
Carrizo Plain National Monument
Pozo
Simmler
Documents
Photographs