Guide to the Carmichael Improvement Club records

Amanda Graham
Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library
828 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 264-2976
Fax: (916) 264-2884
Email: sacroom@saclibrary.org
URL: http://www.saclibrary.org
Copyright 2012
Sacramento Public Library. All rights reserved.

Guide to the Carmichael Improvement Club records

Collection number: MC 23

Sacramento Public Library

Sacramento Room

Sacramento, California
Processed by:
Amanda Graham
Date Completed:
2012
Encoded by:
Amanda Graham
Copyright 2012 Sacramento Public Library. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Carmichael Improvement Club records
Dates: 1913-1963
Collection number: MC 23
Creator: Carmichael Improvement Club
Collection Size: 1 linear ft. (2 archival boxes)
Repository: Sacramento Public Library. Sacramento Room
Sacramento, California 95814
Abstract: The Carmichael Improvement Club formed in 1913 to "improve the general welfare and promote harmony and social unity" in the newly established Carmichael Colonies, an area bounded by Walnut Avenue and Lincoln Avenue north of the American River northeast of Sacramento. Over many decades, the club worked to improve roads, expand utilities and services, beautify public land and host social events in the Carmichael community. This collection of administrative records, meeting minutes, correspondence and newspaper clippings documents the administration and activities of the club from 1913-1963.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please contact the Sacramento Room.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Use of the described materials may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Sacramento Public Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Carmichael Improvement Club records, MC 23, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.

Historical Note

The Carmichael Colony Improvement Club convened its first meeting on January 25, 1913. The club's purpose was to "improve the general welfare and promote harmony and social unity" in the Carmichael community. The newly settled Carmichael Colonies 1 and 2, which were approximately bounded by Walnut Avenue and Lincoln Avenue north of the American River northeast of Sacramento, had fewer than 50 households at the time. The members of the Improvement Club dedicated themselves to improving roads, expanding utilities and services, beautifying public land and hosting social events.
After ratifying its constitution and by-laws, the Carmichael Improvement Club quickly established committees on roads and began to address issues like electrification, telegraph communications and rodent control. In June 1913, Mary Deterding was elected president. She and her husband Charles were the first modern settlers to Carmichael. They had purchased land in the Carmichael area in 1907 and operated the 425-acre Deterding Ranch.
Carmichael Improvement Club meetings regularly drew over 100 attendees by the early 1920s, a decade that saw significant transitions for the club and community. In 1920, club committees were concerned with township consolidation, a new community clubhouse, a co-operative cannery, roads and beautification. The club shortened its name from Carmichael Colony Improvement Club to Carmichael Improvement Club and incorporated in 1923 as Carmichael Community, Inc. In the decades to follow, the club continued to work with utility companies, government agencies and other civic organizations on various community projects. Among their many undertakings, they requested that phone service be expanded in Carmichael (1930); lobbied PG&E for natural gas lines to be extended to the community (1938); pushed for the formation of Sanitation District #9 covering the Carmichael area (1959); provided input into the construction of freeway Routes 249 and 288 (1963); and supported the construction of a new public library building (1960-1963). The club also sponsored social events and groups like its annual pancake brunch, a community band and a local Boy Scout troop.

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of administrative records, meeting minutes, correspondence and newspaper clippings documenting the administration and activities of the Carmichael Improvement Club, 1913-1963. Administrative records include a draft of the club's application for incorporation (ca. 1923), by-laws (1941), and a brief historical list of club projects (ca. 1960). The club's initial constitution and by-laws are included in the first volume of meeting minutes. Correspondence (1962-1963) includes letters to the California State Division of Highways and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors concerning plans for the construction of Route 249 and Route 288 (1963) as well as meeting invitations and membership notices. Newspaper clippings files contain articles by and about the Carmichael Improvement Club: "Carmichael's Yesteryears" columns from The Carmichael Courier, which sample old meeting minutes from the Improvement Club; articles about the formation of a Carmichael sanitation district (1959); and announcements of club speakers and meetings.
This collection is organized into four series:
  • Series 1. Administration
  • Series 2. Minutes
  • Series 3. Correspondence
  • Series 4. Newspaper Clippings

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Clubs -- California -- Carmichael -- History
Carmichael Improvement Club (Calif.)
Carmichael (Calif.) -- History -- Sources


Box/Folder: 1/1

Series 1. Administration 1923-1962

Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1: 1

Articles of Incorporation (draft, 1923); By-laws (May 7, 1941); Officer nominations (1962); List of historical club projects (ca. 1960); List of Carmichael clubs and organizations (1962) 1913-1919

Box/Folder: 1/2-6; 2/1-3

Series 2. Minutes 1913-1963

Physical Description: 8 folders
Box 1: 2

Meeting minutes 1913-1919

Box 1: 3

Meeting minutes 1920-1927

Box 1: 4

Meeting minutes 1929-1935

Box 1: 5

Meeting minutes 1935-1941

Box 1: 6

Meeting minutes 1941-1949

Box 2: 1

Board of Directors meeting minutes 1955-1956

Box 2: 2

Board of Directors meeting minutes 1958

Box 2: 3

Board of Directors meeting minutes 1959-1963 (bulk 1959)

Box/Folder: 2/4-5, Box: 2

Series 3. Correspondence 1962-1963

Physical Description: 2 folders
Box 2: 4

Correspondence - membership and press 1962-1963

Box 2: 5

Correspondence - local government 1962-1963

Box/Folder: 2/6-7

Series 4. Newspaper Clippings 1959-1963

Physical Description: 2 folders
Box 2: 6

Newspaper clippings 1959

Box 2: 7

Newspaper clippings 1962-1963