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Contributing Institution:
Museum of Ventura County
Title: Bard family papers
Creator:
Bard Family
Identifier/Call Number: MVC028
Physical Description:
82.45 Cubic Feet
(52 boxes, 118 ledgers)
Date (inclusive): circa 1850-1964
Abstract: The Bard family is one of the most influential families in Ventura County history. The family moved to the area from Pennsylvania
by Thomas R. Bard in the 1860s. He was soon followed by his brother, Cephas "Little" Bard, who was a trained medical doctor.
Thomas R. Bard was involved in local politics and went on to serve as a senator in the U.S. Senate. Dr. Bard practiced medicine
in Ventura County and his collection of curios served as the basis for what would eventually become the Museum of Ventura
County's holdings. Thomas R. Bard's family home, Berylwood Mansion, now on the naval base at Hueneme, was designated a historic
site in 1977. The brothers established Elizabeth Bard Memorial Hospital in memory of their mother.
The collection consists of correspondence, financial records, ledgers, account books, photographs, notes, and daybooks. The
correspondence includes both family and business letters. Topics covered are wide-ranging and largely related to the family's
business ventures throughout Ventura County and Southern California.
Physical Location: Stored off-site and advance notice required for timely retrieval. Please contact the Research Library reference desk prior
to your visit at library@venturamuseum.org.
Language of Material:
English
.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. All requests to access materials must be made in advance by contacting the
Research Library staff via email: library@venturamuseum.org.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue
the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where the museum does not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Bard family papers, (Collection MVC028), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura, California.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Bard family; gift; 1983. Archie Bard; gift; 1979, 1996. Mrs. Richard Bard; gift; 1978. Joanna B. Newton; gift; 1993. Pat Sales;
gift; 1981.
Processed by former museum staff. Processing of unprocessed and accruals by Krystell Jimenez, 2021, with assistance from Nicholas
Lawrence and Isabel Cline, 2021-2022.
The Bard family traced their ancestry back to Ireland, from where an ancestor emigrated in 1741 and settled in Pennsylvania.
Thomas Bard was born on December 8, 1841, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. A trained lawyer, he worked for the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company under Thomas Scott, who had invested in land in what would later become Ventura County. Following the Civil
War, Bard travelled to Ventura County in 1865 to oversee Scott's property. Bard was a member of the Board of Supervisors of
Santa Barbara County between 1868 and 1872.
He married Mary "Mollie" Beatrice Gerberding in San Francisco on April 23, 1876. They had eight children. Thomas Bard also
served as California Senator (Republican) from Feb 7, 1900, to March 3, 1905. He was also one of the founders of the Union
Oil company. Thomas Bard and the Bard family also played a central role in the expansion of Port Hueneme. Thomas Bard died
on March 5, 1915, at the family home in Berylwood, Hueneme.
Cephas "Little" Bard, Thomas's brother, was born on April 7, 1843. He was a doctor and practiced medicine in Pennsylvania
until 1865, at which time he moved west to join his brother Thomas Bard. He was the first American physician to take up practice
in what is now Ventura County. When the county was established in the early 1870s, Dr. Bard was elected coroner. Dr. Bard
served 20 years as county physician and surgeon. He was also president of the Ventura County Pioneer Society, and his collection
of curios formed the basis for what would eventually become the Museum of Ventura County.
On January 1, 1902, the Elizabeth Bard Memorial Hospital was opened to the public. The Bard brothers established it as a memorial
to their mother. The building is now known as the Elizabeth Bard Memorial Building and is located at 121 N. Fir Street, on
the corner of Fir and Poli Streets. Dr. Bard passed away on Sunday April 20, 1902.
Bard Mansion, located at Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme, was constructed in 1912 and was known as Berylwood. The
mansion was built as a family home for Thomas Bard. It was turned into a historic site in 1977. The family established the
Berylwood Investment Company as a holding for the family's wealth.
The collection consists of correspondence, financial records, ledgers, account books, photographs, notes, and daybooks. The
correspondence includes both family and business letters. Topics covered are wide-ranging and largely related to the family's
business ventures throughout Ventura County and Southern California. The Bard family's wealth was accumulated through land
ownership and development, stock farms, and investments in oil and water utilities. The papers shed light on the relationships
and business dealings of one of the most influential families in Ventura County history. Most of the boxes have detailed inventories
of their contents.
The collection is organized into the following series. In some cases, additional notes on arrangement have been added at the
series level. Original order has been maintained where possible. See Other Finding Aids for a PDF inventory of Series 1-12.
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Bard family correspondence, 1883-1964
- Series 2: Berylwood Investment Company records, 1907-1952
- Series 3: Berylwood Stock Farm records, 1912-1964
- Series 4: Business records, 1880-1935
- Series 5: Graham-Loftus Oil Company records, 1897-1943
- Series 6: Land and oil, 1864-1960
- Series 7: Notes and mortgages, 1872-1931
- Series 8: Papers and ledgers, 1850-1915
- Series 9: Simi Land and Water Company records, circa 1800s-1900s
- Series 10: Southside Improvement Company, 1883-1910
- Series 11: Thomas Robert Bard papers, 1890-1917
- Series 12: Richard Bard papers, 1880-1917
- Series 13: Ledgers, 1883-1954
Inventories for Series 1-12 are available in this legacy finding aid
Series 1-12 Inventory . Boxes 1-17 were processed by former staff to the item or folder level and there are more descriptive inventories for those
boxes. The Beryl B. Bard correspondence (1895-1951) and Beryl B. Bard and Richard Bard (1896-1939) sets of correspondence
in Series 1 are in Box 1 and Box 2. Consult with the library before requesting boxes as some of the box numbers in the legacy
finding aid may be outdated.
All books in Boxes 46-52 are listed this
Bard Family Books Inventory document.
Dr. Cephas "Little" Bard was a well-known member of the Bard family. His papers are a separate collection (MVC026) and are
at the MVC Research Library. The finding aid for the collection is available on
the MVC's OAC page .
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Regional planning -- California -- Ventura County
Petroleum industry and trade -- California -- Ventura County
Port Hueneme (Calif.) -- History
Business enterprises -- California -- Ventura County
Scrapbooks
Account books
Business records
Legislators -- United States
Bard Family -- Archives
Bard, Beryl Beatrice, 1878-1957
Berylwood Investment Company -- Records and correspondence
Graham-Loftus Oil Company -- Records and correspondence
Rancho Las Posas and Simi
Simi Land and Water Company -- Records and correspondence