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Guide to the Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers, 1860-1986
01.05  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Acquisition Information
  • Biographical Note
  • Indexing Terms
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement of the Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers,
    Date (inclusive): 1860-1986
    Collection Number: 01.05
    Creator: Hill, Andrew Putnam, Jr., 1886-1973
    Extent: Containers: 7 boxes

    Volume: 2.14 cubic feet Selected online items available
    Repository: Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History, San José State University
    San José, California
    Abstract: The bulk of the Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers chronicles the training and career of a professional educator and architect over the course of sixty years, from approximately 1910-1975. The collection includes professional and personal correspondence, photographs, academic documents, architectural renderings, newspaper clippings, biographical and family memoirs, and an oral interview of Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. in 1972. The extent of the collection spans nearly 130 years, including materials and photographs created by Andrew Putnam Hill, Sr., as well as family memoirs written in the 1970s by Birdella Hill Laughlin, Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr.’s daughter.
    Language: English

    Administrative Information

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has not been assigned to the Sourisseau Academy. Neither the original photographs nor the digital images held by the Sourisseau Academy may be reproduced, published, or used on the Internet without the expressed, written permission of the Executive Secretary. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Sourisseau Academy as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher. The credit line, "Courtesy of the Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History" must accompany any such use.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers, 01.05, [Box number]: [Folder number], Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History, San José State University, San José, California

    Related Collections

    Register of the Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers , 1885-1955. This collection is located at the University of the Pacific. The finding aid for this collection can be found on the Online Archive of California website. 

    Acquisition Information

    The Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers were donated to the Sourisseau Academy by Birdella (Hill) Laughlin in 1986.

    Biographical Note

    Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. was born June 4, 1886 in San José, California, the son of Andrew Putnam Hill and Florence Watkins Hill. Raised at 1350 Sherman Street in San Jose, California, he graduated from San José High School in 1906, received his teaching certificate from the San José State Normal School in 1920, and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in June 1922. He married Ruth Mary McKenney on August 24, 1910. The couple had two children; however, only one child, Birdella, survived to adulthood.
    Dedicating much of his adult life to the educational school system, Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr.’s professional career spanned over fifty years. During this time, he served as Department Head of Manual Arts at San José High School (located on the grounds of the San José State Normal School) from 1911 to 1913; worked as the Director of Schoolhouse Planning for the California State School Department from 1927 to 1933; and was the District Superintendent of Santa Maria High School and Junior College from 1935 to 1942. His last major appointment was in 1943, when he accepted the position of Superintendent of Schools for the Stockton Unified School District, a job he held until his retirement from the profession in 1947.
    In addition to his adept leadership in the California educational system, Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. was also a skilled architect, recognized for his ability to design residential and commercial structures particularly attuned to the needs of their future inhabitants. For example, residential homes were designed to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional – such as a home offering an abundance of windows and attractive outdoor landscaping, complemented by such features as spacious living quarters, bedroom areas which doubled as sleeping porches for hot summer evenings, an efficient and utilitarian kitchen layout, and detached garage areas.
    Throughout his life, Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. was active in conservationist movements. His commitment to conserving the earth’s natural resources and open space could actually be considered a family trait. His father, Andrew Putnam Hill, Sr. – a noted photographer and artist – was also the co-founder and president of the Sempervirens Club of California, a conservationist organization noted for preserving the Ancient Coast Redwood trees located in what is now known as Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
    Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. died August 2, 1973, in Stockton, California.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms may be used to index this collection.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Architecture
    Conservationists
    Education – United States
    Environmentalism
    Hill, Andrew Putnam, 1853-1922
    Hill, Andrew Putnam, Jr., 1886-1973
    Hill, Frank Ernest, 1888-1969
    Hill, Florence Watkins, 1858-1936
    Laughlin, Birdella Hill, 1911-2003
    San José (Calif.)

    Scope and Content

    The bulk of the Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers chronicle the training and career of a professional educator and architect over the course of sixty years, from approximately 1910-1975. Included in the collection are professional and personal correspondence, photographs, academic documents, architectural renderings, newspaper clippings, biographical and family memoirs, and an oral interview of Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. in 1972. The extent of the collection spans nearly 130 years, including notebooks created by his father, Andrew Putnam Hill, Sr., during the years 1909-1922, as well as family memoirs written in the 1970s by Birdella Hill Laughlin, Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr.’s daughter.
    The photographs in the collection cover approximately 110 years of California history, from 1860 to 1970. Architectural photographs include interior and exterior shots of houses designed by Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr., offering an excellent overview of residential architecture and interior design techniques of the early twentieth century. Additional photographs in the collection include images of Hill family members throughout the generations; Hill family gatherings in Big Basin Redwoods State Park; and carte de visite images of the San José Normal School’s graduating class of 1875, of which Andrew Putnam Hill Jr.’s mother, Florence Watkins Hill, was a member.

    Arrangement of the Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers

    The papers are arranged into four series:
    • I. Personal Papers
    • II. Professional Papers
    • III. Project Records
    • III. Photographs