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Guide to the Virginia DeMarais Anza Borrego Region Collection
MS 228
MS 228
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Table of contents
Title: Virginia DeMarais Anza Borrego Region Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS 228
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
7.75 Linear feet
(13 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1879-1994
Abstract: This collection consists of material collected by Virginia DeMarais pertaining to the history, development, and population
of Borrego Springs and the Anza-Borrego region, as well as a small collection of her personal papers.
creator:
DeMarais, Virginia
Biographical / Historical Notes
Virginia DeMarais was born in Los Angeles on November 13, 1915, to Robert Harold Hart and Virginia C. Christie. She married
Bill DeMarais in 1937, and in 1943 they had a son, Dennis DeMarais. The family moved to Borrego Springs after World War II
and built a motel called Hacienda Borrego. They operated the motel for eight years, then sold it. Before and after their retirement,
Virginia and Bill were heavily involved in local activities and organizations, helping the small town establish a post office,
schools, and the Community Church.
Virginia was Borrego Springs’ first librarian in 1949, housing the library’s books in the lobby of Hacienda Borrego. She was
the Borrego Elementary School secretary from 1952-1976. She was also involved in numerous clubs, including the Anza-Borrego
Desert Natural History Association, Beta Sigma Phi sorority, Community Concert Association, Borrego Women’s Club, Soroptimist
International Association, and the Parent-Teacher Club . She documented local history for over 40 years and authored the “Do
You Recall?” history column for the Borrego Sun newspaper. In 1993 she was recognized by the Board of Supervisors of the County
of San Diego as the official historian of Borrego Springs, California. Bill DeMarais died in 1982, and Virginia died in September
of 1994.
The Anza-Borrego region was originally the homeland of the Cupeno, Luiseno, Cahuilla, Diegueno, and Chumash tribes. Their
descendants were eventually moved to the Pala Indian Reservation. The area is named in part after Juan Bautista de Anza who
in the 1770s led a party of 240 settlers from Tubac, Arizona to the San Gabriel Mission, opening a 2,000 mile trail to California
via Yuma.
American settlers appeared in the Anza-Borrego desert as early as 1910. The first ranches were established in the 1920s, with
land cheaply available through the terms of the 1862 Homestead Act. Farming in the region flourished when it was discovered
that local grapes were the first of the season, and alfalfa growers could cut eight to ten crops per year.
During the Depression, rich residents bought up the surrounding land to help construct the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park,
now the largest state park in California. This effectively encapsulated the town of Borrego Springs at its center. In the
1940s the desert was used for Marine and Army training grounds. In the 1950s the construction of the Feather River Dam near
Oroville brought a dependable water source to the Borrego region, supplementing discoveries of deep water reserves underground.
Borrego Springs began to develop as a desert resort, with numerous hotels and country clubs built to lure visitors into the
desert. By the 1990s Borrego Springs was a well-established winter retreat for thousands of “snowbirds” from Oregon, Washington,
and Canada.
The collection is arranged by series:
Series I: Virginia DeMarais Personal Papers
Series II: Anza-Borrego Region: History
Series III: Anza-Borrego Region: Environment
Series IV: Anza-Borrego Region: People
Series V: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Series VI: Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association
Series VII: Borrego Springs: Development, Real Estate, Publicity
Series VIII: Borrego Springs: Institutions and Public Services
Series IX: Borrego Springs: Businesses
Series X: Borrego Springs: Organizations and Recreation
Series XI: Borrego Springs: Festivals and Events
Series XII: Southern California Miscellanea
Items in each series are arranged by subject or alphabetically.
Virginia DeMarais Anza Borrego Region Collection, MS 228, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
San Diego Union Tribune map of downtown San Diego, August 8, 1985 separated to the SDHC Map Collection.
Photographs, negatives, and slides previously separated to the SDHC Photograph Collection.
Collection processed by Samantha Mills on July 26, 2012.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
This collection consists of material pertaining to the history, development, and population of Borrego Spring and the Anza-Borrego
region, as well as a small collection of Virginia DeMarais’s personal papers.
Virginia’s personal papers consist of a personal diary, correspondence, club memberships, drafts for her “Do You Recall?”
history column, and newspaper articles related to her hobbies. The majority of the collection is secondary source material;
book excerpts, magazine and newspaper clippings, in addition to brochures and maps. Correspondence and business records are
also included.
The history and environment of the Anza-Borrego region includes a selection of maps, published and unpublished histories,
and a large collection of brochures and clippings about local wildlife, plant life, and weather conditions. The development
of the Anza-Borrego region contains an assortment of administrative documents, meeting minutes, promotional material, correspondence,
newsletters, and numerous newspaper articles on local organizations, including the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Natural
History Association; public institutions such as the post office, schools, police, and medical services; local businesses;
and an assortment of local and international clubs. Additionally, this collection includes files on prominent local citizens,
with varied amounts of correspondence, newspaper clippings, or personal items such as poetry books or art prints. Finally,
there are subject folders for local festivals (consisting mainly of programs, flyers, and newspaper articles), and for places
outside of Borrego Springs (primarily brochures, histories, and newspaper articles).
This collection is open for research.
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number 950719.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American Legion.
Anza, Juan Bautista de, 1735-1788
Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association.
Beaty, Alfred
Beta Sigma Phi.
Burnand, Alphonse A., Jr.
DeGrazia, 1909-1982
DeMarais, Bill
DeMarais, Virginia
DiGiorgio Fruit Corporation.
DuVall, Ed
Ensign Date Ranch.
Gordon, Gale, 1906-1995
Hood, Amorita
Hubbell, James
IVC Museum Society.
Kiwanis Club (San Diego, Calif.).
Lynn, James L.
Mathes, Albert L.
Montezuma Valley Historical Society.
Oliver, Harry, 1888-1973
Orrell, Lewis
Proctor, Phimster B.
Roberts, Eugene
Soroptimist International Association.
Warner family
Wharton, William M., Jr.
Agriculture
Anza-Borrego Desert (Calif.)
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (Calif.)
Borrego Springs (Calif.)
Brochures
Business
Business records
Camping
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Clubs
Correspondence
Country clubs
Desert animals
Desert plants
Diaries
Festivals
Hiking
Homestead law -- California
Julian (Calif.)
Maps
Methodist Church
Mines and mineral resources
Newsletters
Pala Indian Reservation (Calif.)
Programs
Ranchita (Calif.)
Real estate business
Small business