Florence Cunningham was a local Saratoga historian, whose collection includes notebooks documenting her travels in the Sierras, Yellowstone and western United States with notes on wildlife and plants. Much of her correspondence is to various people regarding historical research. Also included are a large variety of California catalogues and her extensive notes on a wide range of topics pertaining to the natural and political history of northern California. Two boxes contain Cunningham's correspondence and notes on the Moreland School District in San Jose, and the dedication of a school in the name of one of its earliest teachers, Samuel C. Rogers.

Florence R. Cunningham was born in 1880 and settled in Saratoga, California in 1881 with her parents Ebenezer and Amanda. Cunningham was educated as a teacher with an interest in historical research on the Santa Clara Valley. She served as chair of the history and landmarks committee of the Saratoga Foothill Club and was instrumental in forming the Saratoga Historical Foundation in 1960. Cunningham died in 1965. She is the author of "Saratoga's First Hundred Years," a history of the Western Santa Clara Valley and Saratoga.

4.0 Linear feet (4 boxes)

Property rights reside with History San Jose. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact History San Jose Research Library.

The collection is open to the public for research by appointment.