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Banning Library District Local History Collection
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Title: Banning Library District local history collection
Dates: 1890-2010
Collection number: Consult library
Collector:
Banning Library District
Creator:
Barker family
Collection Size:
Approximately 2,000 items, including photographs, letters, scrapbooks, legal documents, newspapers and newspaper clippings,
and business related ephemera pertaining to the Barker Family.
Online items available
Repository:
Banning Library District
Banning, California, 92220
Abstract: The Banning Library District Local History Collection consists of materials documenting the history of the San Gorgonio Pass
from the 1880s to the Present. Included in these materials are photographs, newspapers and newspaper clippings, telephone
books, Banning High School annuals, scrapbooks, brochures, maps, pamphlets, the Boud Collection and the Barker Collection.
The Local History Collection documents the history of Banning, Beaumont, Cabazon, Cherry Valley, and other portions of Riverside
County, California, depicting people, places and events of the San Gorgonio Pass and its communities.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Some material from the Local History Vertical File, local history books, and newspaper microfilm are open for research. Photographs
and scrapbooks are available for research by appointment only.
Property rights reside within the Banning Library District. For permission to publish or reproduce please contact the Banning
Library District.
Banning Library District local history collection. Banning Library District, Banning, California, 92220.
Collected by the Banning Public Library and Banning Library District staff and others, 1955 - Present. The Boud Collection,
donated by the Boud Estate in 1962. The Barker Collection, donated by Omar Barker, 1979.
Ernest and Nelle Boud lived in San Diego, California from 1926 to 1955, where Ernest served as a San Diego City Councilman
from 1941 to 1947. Mr. Boud was a Captain in World War I and worked as a representative for a Pittsburgh steel company before
retiring. He was a member of the American Legion for 41 years and Nelle was affiliated with the Red Cross for 25 years.
After retirement the Bouds moved to Banning in 1955, where they were well known in the communities of the San Gorgonio Pass
and appreciated for their volunteer work. While living in Banning the Bouds continued adding to their extensive collection
of Western history books.
Charles Omar (C. O.) Barker settled in Banning, California in 1884 after relocating from Iowa. He is best remembered as a
politician and a cattle and farming entrepreneur. While serving as a California State Assemblyman he introduced a bill creating
the County of Riverside in 1893. Mr. Barker was instrumental in the establishment of water rights for Banning and the Morongo
Indian Reservation and developed large portions of Banning for agricultural use.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Banning Library District Local History Collection consists of materials documenting the history of the San Gorgonio Pass
from the 1880s to the Present. Included in these materials are photographs, newspapers and newspaper clippings, telephone
books, Banning High School annuals, scrapbooks, brochures, maps, pamphlets, the Boud Collection and the Barker Collection.
The Local History Collection documents the history of Banning, Beaumont, Cabazon, Cherry Valley, and other portions of Riverside
County, California, depicting people, places and events of the San Gorgonio Pass and its communities.
The format of the photograph collection is primarily black and white photographs. Images document commercial and public buildings
and landmarks, the Banning Public Library, schools, churches, parades, parks, street scenes (especially Ramsey Street and
San Gorgonio Avenue), significant individuals including the Barker Family, Barker Ranch operations, and annual events such
as; Armistice Day, the 1931 Aqueduct Celebration, and Stagecoach Days.
The majority of the photograph collection was taken by commercial photographers, including Leonard McCulloh, who worked and
resided in Banning. The photographs from the Barker Collection consist of family-produced photographs and photographic postcards.
Much of the Banning Library District Local History Collection was donated by the Barker Family. The Barker Collection consists
of photographs, letters, legal documents, local business related ephemera, and scrapbooks assembled by Beulah Roth Barker,
wife of Charles Omar Barker Sr.
The Boud Collection consists of approximately 300 books donated to the library by the Estate of Ernest J. and Nelle R. Boud
in 1962. This collection pertains to the history of the West, principally the early histories of California and the Southwest
desert regions.
The Banning Library District Local History Collection also includes microfilm of the Banning Record Gazette newspaper from
1909 to the Present and hard copies of the Banning Live Wire newspaper from 1941-1952.
These materials were assembled and digitized as part of the California Local History Digital Resources Project, supported
by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA),
administered in California by the State Librarian.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection.
Banning (Calif.)
Beaumont (Calif.)
Cabazon (Calif.)
Cherry Valley (Calif.)
Banning Public Library
Barker Family
Highway 60
Highway 70
Highway 99
Lockheed Propulsion Company
Morongo Reservation
Pass Pioneers
San Bernardino Mountains
St. Boniface Indian/Industrial School
Aerospace Industry
Agriculture
Almonds
Armistice Day
Business and Industry
California Aqueduct
Churches
Clubs/Organizations
Events
Historic Hotels
Hospitals
Libraries
Mexican Labor Camps
Migrant Agricultural
Migrant Laborers
Morongo Reservation
Panoramas
Parades
Railroads
Ranches
Recreation
Resorts
Riverside County
Schools, Streets
Stagecoach Days
Theaters
Water Systems
Weather
Photographs
Slides
Postcards
Books
Scrapbooks
Binders
Clippings
Brochures
Letters
Legal documents
Maps
Deeds
Microfilm