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Stanford Eating Clubs Records
SC1054
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Stanford Eating Clubs records
creator:
Stanford Eating Clubs
Identifier/Call Number: SC1054
Physical Description:
1.99 megabyte(s)
Physical Description:
8.25 Linear Feet
(11 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1920-2000
Abstract: The materials consist of meeting minutes, reports, financial ledgers, photographs, ephemera, and newsletters documenting the
activities of the Stanford Eating Clubs.
Open for research use.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
The materials were a gift of Nick Peters, 2011 and 2012 & Helen Holmes Peak, 2016.
[identification of item], Stanford Eating Clubs Records (SC1054). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
The materials consist of meeting minutes, reports, financial ledgers, photographs, ephemera, and newsletters documenting the
activities of the Stanford Eating Clubs.
The Stanford Eating Clubs, also known as the Toyon Eating Clubs, were founded in 1892, making them the oldest student managed
group on the Stanford University campus. They were originally formed by congenial bands of like-minded men who were unhappy
with the food and service offered by the University-sponsored Stanford Inn. Even before the first Club was formed, some students
were eating at the mess hall of "The Camp," a crude barrack community built on the site of the student union. It was here,
in 1894, that the first Club — Brookfarm Eating Club — was founded. Brookfarm lasted only one year, but it was a beginning,
and the "eating club" concept continued to grow. Other co-operative eating groups were formed at "The Camp" and in nearby
Palo Alto and Mayfield (now the California Avenue area of Palo Alto). "The Camp" was closed in 1902, but it didn't dampen
the Club spirit, and the leading students of those days continued to trek off campus three times a day for their meals. In
1907 several of the Clubs with houses in College Terrace — Snell, Welakahao, Marchmount, and Entre Nous — banded together
to form the Terrace Club. With one exception, these Clubs all subsequently disbanded. Entre Nous, however, founded in 1901,
became the first of the seven present Clubs. The name was changed to Los Arcos in 1922. In 1909, Breakers Club was organized
in a small cottage on Stanford Avenue near its intersection with Escondido Road. Breakers remained there for one year before
moving to the Frenchman's House, located on Escondido Road. El Campo and El Toro were also founded in these early years of
the century. In the fall of 1912, the "Little Quad" was completed and Breakers, El Campo, and El Toro moved into this small
U-shaped building next to Encina Hall near the present Club building.
By the 1950s, the all-male Eating Clubs had become an alternative to the fraternity system. The eating clubs were abolished
in 2009-2010. A new dining hall, "Linx," was established in favor of the eating clubs, and Toyon students are part of the
campus meal plan system.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Stanford University -- Eating clubs.
College students.
Students -- Societies, etc.
Student activities.
Education -- Societies, etc.
Stanford Eating Clubs