McComb (John D.) Scrapbook, 1881-1891

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Summary

Title:
McComb (John D.) Scrapbook,
Dates:
1881-1891
Creators:
A. Lamont Smith
Language:
English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], McComb (John D.) Scrapbook, Mss278, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

Background

Scope and content:

The John McComb Scrapbook contains 145 pages of clippings on McComb's career, Folsom and San Quentin prisons and general criminology in California (1881-1891). There is a subject index. Topics include: "prison reform," "prison investigations," "prison finance," "prison farms," graft, laws, and crimes.

Biographical / historical:

John D. McComb (1830-1896) came to California on the steamer Oregon (1849). He worked as a printer in San Francisco, being associated with the Alta California for eighteen years, the last five of which he was managing editor. He subsequently became manager of the State Printing Office. From 1861 McComb was also associated with the California National Guard and was ultimately appointed a Brigadier General (1875). Governor Perkins selected him as Warden for Folsom Prison in 1881. He served there until transferred to San Quentin (1887) by Governor Waterman. McComb retired in 1891.

Folsom Prison, east of Sacramento, was erected between 1878 and 1880. McComb was the prison's second Warden. When he assumed the office, Folsom held 275 prisoners. The convicts perfomed daily labor on a 489 acre prison farm, area roads, sewers and forests. McComb also oversaw the erection of a dam and power house that furnished electricity for the prison (1882). San Quentin Prison, on San Francisco Bay, was founded in 1852. When McComb became Warden there the prison population was over one thousand and the principal employment of that population was the manufacture of jute grain sacks.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Physical description:
0.25 linear ft.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Daryl Morrison; rev. by Don Walker; machine-readable finding aid created by Don Walker
Date Prepared:
© 1998
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid derived from paper by means of scanning and OCR; OCR file edited for typographical errors before encoding. Date of source: October 1998.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], McComb (John D.) Scrapbook, Mss278, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

Location of this collection:
University of the Pacific, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University Library
Stockton, CA 95211, US
Contact:
(209) 946-2404
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