Inventory of the California State Historical Association Records

Processed by The California State Archives staff; supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Xiuzhi Zhou.

California State Archives

1020 "O" Street

Sacramento, California 95814

Phone: (916) 653-2246

Fax: (916) 653-7363

Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov

URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/

Inventory of the California State Historical Association Records

Inventory: F3197, R333

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California

Contact Information:

California State Archives
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
Fax: (916) 653-7363
Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/

Processed by:: The California State Archives staff

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

F3197:1

Series 1 California War History Committee File 1918-1922

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by meeting date.

Scope and Content Note

Under the jurisdiction of the Commission, the Committee papers include a statement of purpose, lists of Advisory War Cabinet sub-committees' members and State Council of Defense Personnel (1919) in addition to correspondence relating to the committee.

F3197:2

Series 2 Organization Papers 1923-1925 1927 1930 1936

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date of creation.

Scope and Content Note

Organization papers of the Commission and Association include a copy of a Biennium Report; copies of correspondence to the Superintendent of Public Instruction; a proposed constitution; a copy of Senate Bill 764 (Statutes of 1927, chapter 753) establishing the Association; plus budget and property documents. In addition, files contain excerpts from State Board of Education minutes relating to the organization, staffing and program purpose.

F3197:3-37

Series 3 Owen C. Coy Correspondence 1916-1948

Physical Description: 35 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

Scope and Content Note

Files included original correspondence and a copy Coy's response. Subjects include requests for information regarding state and local history, Association membership and publications; Nugget subscriptions; Nugget drafts including proposed articles and illustrations; speeches; history courses; and pending legislation.

F3197:38

Series 4 Quarterly Reports 1930-1936

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by report date.

Scope and Content Note

Typescript quarterly reports that included minutes of annual Association meetings; membership data; proposed exhibits; distribution of publications; offered California history courses; pending legislation relating to landmarks; and Association budgets, including summaries of income and expenditures.

F3197:39-43

Series 5 Membership Records 1923-1941

Physical Description: 5 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged by subjects noted in the description below.

Scope and Content Note

For a number of years the Association relied on membership fees and donations to cover program expenses. Association membership records include lists of prospective members; letters received and copies sent relating to membership and sponsorship; list of state organizations interested in California history; blank school faculty membership forms; copies of form letters sent to secondary school principals.

F3197:44-79

Series 6 Fiscal Records 1915-1943

Physical Description: 2 cubic feet and 2 volumes

Arrangement

Arranged by the type of fiscal record noted in the description below.

Scope and Content Note

Financial records of the Commission and Association. Record of debits, credits, and expenses; biennial budget statements and related correspondence; membership and donation receipts; express receipts; bank statements; register of expenditures, supply orders and related correspondence; claims and schedule of bills filed; records of orders and shipments; and invoices and fiscal correspondence relating to the Nugget.

F3197:80-86

Series 7 Publicity Files 1924-1939

Physical Description: 7 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by year and then by date.

Scope and Content Note

Files contain correspondence regarding speaking engagements and radio programs, as well as Association publicity flyers.

F3197:87

Series 8 California Pacific International Exposition Exhibit File 1936

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

No file arrangement.

Scope and Content Note

The Association's list of artifacts and records displayed at the California Pacific International Exposition in San Diego. The file also includes a photograph of the exhibit and a register of visitors' daily counter sheets.

F3197:88

Series 9 California History Lectures and Study Courses 1925-1927

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date.

Scope and Content Note

Lecture notes and course materials used by Owen C. Coy to instruct California history and government extension classes through the University of California. The file also includes course catalogues and correspondence.

F3197:89

Series 10 Junior Historian Movement File 1947

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

No file arrangement.

Scope and Content Note

The Junior Historian Movement was the Association's program to develop local high school history clubs. The club members encouraged students to better "understand the background and heritage of himself and his community." Files include background text and American Association for State and Local History Bulletin used to reference the Junior Historian Movement in public schools.

F3197:90-129

Series 11 California History Nugget 1924-1935

Physical Description: 37 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically by subject.

Scope and Content Note

Copies of the newsletters, California History Nugget, created and published by the Association. The California Dept. of Education distributed the publication to Association members and subscribers. The newsletter was also distributed as instructional material for seventh and eighth grade California history classes.

Other materials include subscription and related correspondence; correspondence related to printing orders; manuscripts for reference and publication; publication lists; lists of bibliographic subjects; proposed topics and prospective writers; revisions; legends; and correspondence related to content and publicity.

F3197:130-132

Series 12 Other Publication Correspondence 1924-1929 1934 1936

Physical Description: 3 file folders

Scope and Content Note

Arranged chronologically by year and then by date.

Association correspondence of a proposed quarterly magazine; publication lists of available periodicals, books, and monographs for sale; in addition to original and copies, of correspondence relating to a Pictorial History of California.

F3197:133

Series 13 Works Progress Administration Projects Monthly Narrative Reports 1936

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by report date.

Scope and Content Note

A Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) projects created to classify, index, and collate Association records. Each narrative report includes the purpose of the project, plus an overview of work completed, work in progress, and work to be completed. Work projects included news clipping classification, filing, creation of a directory, index of landmarks and place names, and well as miscellaneous office activities.

F3197:134-170

Series 14 List of Place Names 1940-1941

Physical Description: 38 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by county and then by place name.

Scope and Content Note

Sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), the Association gathered and compiled information to create an index of landmarks and place names for most California counties. Files include typescript lists of geographical and historical place names.

F3197:171-173

Series 15 Los Angeles County Cemetery Survey Project 1936

Physical Description: 3 file folders

Arrangement

Project survey records are arranged chronologically, and the cemetery and field workers payrolls are arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content Note

Project co-sponsored by the National Youth Administration and the Association to survey Los Angeles County cemeteries. Files include information regarding the purpose of the project, a field worker's manual, work sheets, field reports, monitor reports, correspondence, and memoranda. Also included are two groups of 3x5 index cards. The first group of index cards contains cemetery data, including the name of the cemetery, address, superintendent's name, date established, size, and remarks. The second group contains field workers' payroll data, including the worker's name, address, identification number, occupation, pay rate, date paid, dates employment, and hours worked.