Hearst Ranch and Cayucos Photograph Collection, c.1890 - c.1930 (bulk 1920s)
Special Collections Department
Robert E. Kennedy Library
1 Grand Avenue
California Polytechnic State University
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Phone: (805) 756-2305
Fax: (805) 756-5770
Email: archives@calpoly.edu
URL: http://www.lib.calpoly.edu/specialcollections/
© 2008
Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Hearst Ranch and Cayucos Photograph Collection
Special Collections Department
Robert E. Kennedy Library
1 Grand Avenue
California Polytechnic State University
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Contact Information
- Special Collections Department
- Robert E. Kennedy Library
- 1 Grand Avenue
- California Polytechnic State University
- San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
- Phone: 805/756—2305
- Fax: 805/756—5770
- Email: archives@calpoly.edu
- URL: http://www.lib.calpoly.edu/specialcollections/
- Processed by:
- Denise Fourie
- Date Completed:
- 2008
- Encoded by:
- Byte Managers, 2008 and Marisa Ramirez, 2009
© 2008 Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
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)
1. Photographs,
c.1890 - c.1930
Scope and Content Note
Contains two subseries: A. Photographs of Cayucos, and B. Photographs of Hearst Ranch at San Simeon.
A. Photographs of Cayucos
Scope and Content Note
Contains five black-and-white prints arranged chronologically. 5 folders.
Box 1, Folder 1
Coast along Cayucos, albumen print,
c.1890
Box 1, Folder 2
Cayucos Creek ranch, albumen print,
c.1890
Box 1, Folder 3
Cayucos, with pier, albumen print,
c.1894
Box 1, Folder 4
Group of 26 men posed in field with threshing machine; location unknown,
c.1895
Box 1, Folder 5
Old Creek Bridge construction, Cayucos,
c.1913
B. Photographs of Hearst Ranch at San Simeon
Scope and Content Note
Contains five black and white prints, arranged chronologically. Folder headers are from inscriptions on prints. Bracketted
information has been added as clarification for the researcher. 5 folders.
Box 1, Folder 6
Robinson, Hearst Camp,
c.1920s
Box 1, Folder 7
G. Tomilson (?) and coyote,
c.1920s
Box 1, Folder 8
Hearst Ranch [truck at warehouse with crated animals],
c.1927
Box 1, Folder 9
Hearst Ranch [truck with palm trees],
c.1927
Box 1, Folder 10
Hearst Camp, 1920 [view from Esplanade, entrance to C House, San Simeon, c.1930]
