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Register of the Burns (Robert E.) California State Parks
Commission Papers,
1951-1958
Mss179
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Title: Burns (Robert E.) California State Parks
Commission Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1951-1958
Collection number: Mss179
Creator:
Robert E. Burns
Extent: 2.5 linear ft.
Repository:
University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of
Special Collections
Stockton, CA 95211
Shelf location: For current information on the location of
these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language: English.
Collection is open for research.
[Identification of item], Burns (Robert E.) California State Parks
Commission Papers, Mss179, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections,
University of the Pacific Library
The California State Parks Commission was established in 1927. It was a
body of five persons appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Governor.
The Commissioners were laymen who were paid their expenses while on duty. They
oversaw the Division of Beaches and Parks, appointed the Chief of the Division,
approved budgets and policies, and reviewed land acquisitions and park
improvements.
Early in its existence the Commission established a set of criteria for
the creation of state parks which include the following principles: areas
selected for parklands should be of statewide and not local significance; they
should possess features of special significance that make their preservation
and public recreational use a matter of statewide concern; they should be
equitably distributed so as to assure proper balance in their use by all
citizens of the state.
Gov. Earl Warren appointed Robert Burns, President of the College of the
Pacific, to the California State Parks Commission in 1951. Burns served through
1958. He represented central California at a time crucial to the preservation
of the southern grove of the Calaveras Big Trees. Other parks created during
his tenure include the Hearst/San Simeon State Historical Monument and the Jack
London Home State Historical Monument. In 1958 Burns participated in the
Commission's major reorganization of the Division of Beaches and Parks.
The Robert Burns State Parks Commission Papers consists of:
correspondence and memos from the Director of the Division of Beaches &
Parks, the public and various legislators; the agendas and minutes of Park
Commission meetings (1953-1958); reports or proposals regarding various lands
being considered for state park status or for expansion; summaries and texts of
enabling legislation creating the diverse parks (1953-58); and a miscellany of
related printed materials, maps, and photographs.