The California State Geological Survey was begun, in effect, on February 2, 1860, when Senator Logan introduced a bill for "an Act to create the Office of State Geologist and define the duties thereof." (Senate Journal, 1860, page 243.) This bill was passed on April 13 of the same year, and was later amended slightly. Professor J. D. Whitney was appointed State Geologist, and on February 27, 1862, addressed the Legislature concerning the study of geology, and stressed the need for a Geological Survey of California. (Appendix to the Journals of the Senate and Assembly, 1862.) The Survey itself was apparently begun early in 1863, and a "Letter of, the State Geologist relative to the progress of the State Geological Survey during the years 1863-1864" was issued by Whitney in 1866. Annual reports stating further progress were issued annually through 1872-1873. In 1874, a Joint Committee on the Geological Survey, in its report to the Governor, recommended the continuation of the Survey, and appended a statement by Whitney which also asked that the Survey be allowed to complete its work. (Appendix to the Journals of the Senate and Assembly, vol. 5, 1874.)
In spite of these recommendations, however, work on the Survey was apparently stopped in 1874, and its records and property were turned over to the University of California. According to John P. Ryan, who made an inventory of the remaining Papers at the time that they were given to Bancroft Library in October of 1952, "in the Annual Report of the University Secretary... for the year ending June 30, 1890, there is given a complete list of the books, maps and plates that were stored in the Library 12/23/89. In 1925 the Legislature authorized the University to dispose of this material in any way they saw fit. At a later date a trunk containing some of the maps was turned over to the Geology Department. In October 1952 this latter material was given to the Bancroft Library. The balance of the material has not been discovered. Inquiries have been made at the Geology, Palaeontology, Botany, Geography and Mining Departments of the University. The material in the basement of the Women's Building and on the 7 floors of the Bell Tower has been examined without results."
A list of the papers and property of the Survey is also given at the end of the Report of the Joint Committee mentioned above. In addition to the materials published in the Journals of the Senate and Assembly and their appendices, an article concerning the progress of the Survey was published in the American Journal of Science and Arts, vol. XXXVIII, no. 113, September 1964 (cataloged in Bancroft Library as F 870 S2 W5.)