The Board of Supervisors Records consist of financial records, Board of Supervisor meeting minutes, County ordinances, record of boundaries of school districts, records of franchises, road registers, adminstration files, and ephemera.

The Board of Supervisors was first authorized as the chief governing body of California counties by the State Constitution of 1849. In Santa Clara County, the first board took office in 1852. The size and powers of the board have varied over the years. Among board powers are general policy and administrative control over county affairs, management of elections, and the assessing and collecting of taxes. In 1951 Santa Clara County adopted a charter which authorized appointment of a county executive to oversee administration and which changed the role of the board to setting policy only.

194 bound volumes and two boxes

The Archives can claim physical ownership only for some collections. Users are responsible for securing permission of the copyright holder for publication or quotation.

Collection is open for research.