Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Agency History
Scope and Content
Accruals
Related Material
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: California State Historical Association Records
Inventory: F3197, R333
Creator:
California State Historical Association
Collection Size:
173 file folders
Repository:
California State Archives
Abstract: The records of the California State Historical Association consist of five cubic feet of textual records reflecting the Association's
survey work, publications, correspondence, and outreach efforts to disseminate information regarding the history of California.
The records date from 1915-1948.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.
Publication Rights
For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication
is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility
for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives
collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], California State Historical Association Records, F3197:[folder number], California State Archives,
Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.
Acquisition and Custodial History
The California State Archives acquired the California State Historical Association Records according to state law.
Agency History
The California Historical Survey Commission (Commission) was established by Statutes of 1915, chapter 763, to survey, compile,
and keep a record of county historical materials within the state. Commission members included John F. Davis, the Commission
Chairman, Herbert E. Bolton, Edward A. Dickson, in addition to staff member Owen C. Coy. Coy initially hired in 1916 as secretary
and archivist for the Commission, became the Commission's Director in 1919.
Commission staff completed the bulk of a survey of county records, between 1916 and 1917. From the survey results the Commission
published, Guide to the County Archives of California authored by Coy in 1919. The publication remains a significant milestone
record of the responsibilities of county officials, and the records created and filed with each county from statehood in 1849
to the survey date.
The Commission functioned independently until 1921, when the duties and powers of the Commission were transferred to the Regents
of the University of California (Statutes of 1921, chapter 398). Under the Regents, the Commission continued to operate,
but without state funding. Two years later, in October 1923, the Regents authorized the reformation of the Commission under
the new name of the California State Historical Association (Association). The Regents also stipulated that the new Association
would continue to be self-supporting. That stipulation did not change until 1927, when legislation passed that provided a
statutory base and funding for the organization (Statutes of 1927, chapter 753).
The 1927 statute not only provided funding, but also revised the purpose of the Association "to promote interest in and disseminate
knowledge of the history of California." The law also mandated that the physical property, records, and archives formerly
held by the Commission be administered through the State Board of Education as Trustees of the Association and gave the Treasurer's
office jurisdiction over the Association's appropriations. In 1931, fiscal jurisdiction shifted to the Dept. of Finance (Statutes
of 1931, chapter 430) while the administration function continued under the State Board of Education until it was formally
abolished in 1949 (Statutes of 1949, chapter 1289).
Scope and Content
The records of the California State Historical Association consist of five cubic feet of textual records reflecting the Association's
survey work, publications, correspondence, and outreach efforts to disseminate information regarding the history of California.
The records date from 1915-1948. The records are organized into fifteen record series: California War History Committee
Files; Organization Papers; General Correspondence; Quarterly Reports; Membership Records; Fiscal Records; Publicity Files;
California Pacific International Exposition Exhibit Files; History Lectures and Study Courses; Junior Historian Movement Files;
California History Nugget Files; Other Publication Correspondence; Works Progress Administration Monthly Reports; List of
Place Names; and Los Angeles County Cemetery Survey Project Files. Association records document the organization, administrative,
and fundraising efforts of the Association, as well as the outreach activities to California schools, and participation in
California projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.).
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Related Material
Related Collections at the California State Archives
Correspondence, 1922-1930, Inventory of the California State Library Records, F3252:85.
Correspondence Related to the Abolishment of the Association, 1947-1948, Inventory of the Department of Education, F3752.
Related Collections at Other Repositories
California War History Committee, California Section, California State Library
Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
Early Commission Publications
Coy, Owen C., Ph.D., Guide to the County Archives of California, California Historical Survey Commission, California State
Printing Office, Sacramento, 1919.
California in the War: Suggested Outline for a State or County War History, California Historical Survey Commission, California
State Printing Office, Sacramento, 1920.
California in the War: War Addresses, Proclamations and Patriotic Messages of Governor William D. Stephens (1917-1928), California
Historical Survey Commission, California State Printing Office, Sacramento, 1921.
Coy, Owen, C., Ph.D., California County Boundaries: A Study of the Division of the State into Counties and the Subsequent
Changes in their Boundaries, California Historical Survey Commission, California State Printing Office, Sacramento 1923.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
County Government - Records and correspondence
California State Historical Association