Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Hearst Ranch and Cayucos Photograph Collection, c.1890 - c.1930 (bulk 1920s)
MS 158  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Provenance
  • Access
  • Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
  • Preferred Citation
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content Note
  • Indexing Terms
  • Related Material

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Hearst Ranch and Cayucos Photograph Collection,
    Date (inclusive): c.1890 -
    Date (inclusive): c.1930
    Date (bulk): (bulk 1920s)
    Collection number: MS 158
    Creator: Morss, Clayton Leonard, 1891-1967
    Extent: 1 box
    Language: English
    Repository: Special Collections, Robert E. Kennedy Library
    California Polytechnic State University
    San Luis Obispo, California 93407
    Abstract: The Hearst Ranch and Cayucos Photograph Collection contains nine vintage snapshots and 1 mounted print believed to have been taken by longtime Central Coast resident Clayton Leonard Morss (1891-1967). Includes black-and-white snapshots of construction of the Hearst Ranch in San Simeon, California, in the 1920s, and albumen prints of the town of Cayucos, California in the 1890s, both in San Luis Obispo County. Most of the photos have been removed from an album.

    Provenance

    Anonymous gift.

    Access

    Collection is open to qualified researchers by appointment only. For more information on access policies and to obtain a copy of the Researcher Registration form, please visit the Special Collections Access page.

    Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

    In order to reproduce, publish, broadcast, exhibit, and/or quote from this material, researchers must submit a written request and obtain formal permission from Special Collections, Cal Poly, as the owner of the physical collection.
    Photocopying of material is permitted at staff discretion and provided on a fee basis. Photocopies are not to be used for any purpose other than for private study, scholarship, or research. Special Collections staff reserves the right to limit photocopying and deny access or reproduction in cases when, in the opinion of staff, the original materials would be harmed.

    Preferred Citation

    Hearst Ranch and Cayucos Photograph Collection, Special Collections, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
    Abbreviations Used:
    c.: circa
    Calif.: California

    Biography

    These photographs were probably taken by Clayton Leonard Morss (1891-1967), a longtime resident of San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties. Morss was born in Cayucos and was a member of the extended Leffingwell family, who owned the private wharf known as Leffingwell Landing north of Cambria. Morss lived in various places up and down the North Coast including Cayucos, San Simeon, and Gorda. He eventually moved inland to the county seat of San Luis Obispo by the 1930s. His occupation is listed in various city directories and telephone directories from the 1930s-1960s as a grader operator, WPA supervisor, and a landscape gardener.
    Morss was married to Myrtle Rose Woodworth Morss (1899-1946). He died in San Luis Obispo Nov. 3, 1967.
    Sources
    Arnold, Allyn, Lou Kluver and Al Musso. Cayucos by the sea: a pictorial history. Cayucos, Ca: Friends of the Cayucos Library, 2000.
    Hamilton, Geneva. Where the Highway Ends. Cambria, CA: Williams Printing Co., 1974.
    1900, 1920, United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com
    San Luis Obispo County City and Telephone Directory. Los Angeles, CA.: General Directories, Local Chamber of Commerce, 1938.
    San Luis Obispo County City and Telephone Directory. Los Angeles, CA.: General Directories, Local Chamber of Commerce, 1939.
    Social Security Death Index, Ancestry.com
    World War I Draft Registration Cards, Ancestry.com

    Scope and Content Note

    The Hearst Ranch and Cayucos Photograph Collection contains nine vintage snapshots and 1 mounted print believed to have been taken by longtime Central Coast resident Clayton Leonard Morss (1891-1967). Includes black-and-white snapshots of construction of the Hearst Ranch in San Simeon, California, in the 1920s, and albumen prints of the town of Cayucos, California in the 1890s, both in San Luis Obispo County. Most of the photos have been removed from an album.
    The Hearst Ranch and Cayucos Photograph Collection is housed in one box with one series and two subseries:
    Series 1. Photographs, c.1890 - c.1930
    A. Photographs of Cayucos
    B. Photographs of Hearst Ranch at San Simeon

    The National Endowment for the Humanities has generously funded the arrangement and description of this collection, along with matching funds from California Polytechnic State University.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

    Subjects

    San Simeon Ranch (California) -- History.
    San Simeon (California) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
    Cayucos (California) -- History.

    Genre and Forms of Materials

    Photographs

    Related Material

    Related Collections
    Special Collections, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo:
    Julia Morgan Papers, 1835-1958 (MS 10)
    Local History Ephemera Collection (MS 016)