The Stuart Gibbons Collection consists of Gibbons' Sonora (Calif.) childhood papers and photographs , as well as later papers delineating Gibbons' involvement with business, politics and historic preservation in Stockton (Calif.).

Stuart Gibbons was born at Sonora, California on April 19,1896. He was educated in the Sonora Public Schools, graduating from Tuolumne County Union High School (1915). After graduation, Gibbons worked at various commercial jobs before enlisting in the Navy (1917). Following his discharge (1919), Gibbons returned to work at a Sonora bank, later becoming a life insurance salesman (1921). The following year, he married Frances Bromley and went into partnership with a navy friend at a small Lake Tahoe resort. In 1922, Gibbons moved to Stockton where he became manager of the California-Western State Life Insurance Co. By 1929, he was president of the Stockton Underwriters Association. Gibbons continued to work for California-Western State Life until 1943. In that year, he became a private insurance carrier and operated his own business until 1951, when he joined the firm of Frank Williams and Company as a real estate and insurance salesman. Gibbons was for many years an active member of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of their "Welcoming Squad," and, in 1976, the Chamber dubbed him "Mr. Stockton" for this and other community activities.

Collection is open for research.