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Inventory of the California State Historical Association Records
F3197, R333  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • 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
    Sacramento, California
    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