Background
The San Francisco Bay Chapter, founded in 1924, is second in membership size and longevity only to the Angeles Chapter, in
Southern California. The chapter office is located in Oakland and serves members in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San
Francisco Counties. The Bay Chapter has served as a training ground for many prominent national Sierra Club leaders, including
former executive director David R. Brower, and past presidents Richard M. Leonard, Francis P. Farquhar, Edgar Wayburn, and
Lewis Clark (all of whose papers are found in the Sierra Club Members Papers, BANC MSS 71/295 c). Rock climbers, skiers, and
hikers trained on local trips went on to spearhead the club's nationally-famous Outing Program.