UA&SC | Collections and Research Guide: California and Local History

Link to 17 collections on the citrus industry in California which includes association records, magazines, books, pamphlets, and crate labels.

Calisphere is a gateway to digital collections from California's great libraries, archives, and museums. Discover over 1,750,000 images, texts, and recordings—and counting.

Link to finding aids of collections throughout the State on the Online Archive of California.

With over 5,000 items, our map collection is an invaluable resource for anyone researching California. It includes rarities such as a map of California as an island, James Marshall's gold-discovery map, and a map of John Bidwell's land grant. We have highlighted a small selection of our maps in our catalog. If you have any questions about these resources or if you cannot find what you need (many of our map records are not yet online), please feel free to contact us.

The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Online Checklist provides a searchable database of the fire insurance maps published by the Sanborn Map Company housed in the collections of the Geography and Map Division. The online checklist is based upon the Library's 1981 publication Fire Insurance Maps in the Library of Congress and will be continually updated to reflect new acquisitions

The Historical California Topographical Maps collection contains over 700 maps of California quadrangle maps issued by the United States Geological Survey. The maps cover the entire state of California in three sizes -- 15-minute, 30-minute, and 60-minute. Included are multiple editions of the same maps from as early as 1886 and as recent as 1977. The maps were digitized primarily from three physical collections -- the University of Southern California (USC), the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL). Many of these maps are not in the USGS National Center in Reston, Virginia, as of the time of their digitization (ca.2002).

These unique local history resources have been organized for easy browsing by Anaheim residents, scholars, and history buffs throughout California and the world. The categories on this web page are based on the Anaheim city School District's local history curriculum for third grade classes.

Search within the results for places, people, and events.

The collections presented here are a representation of the Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives that have been digitized by the Leatherby Libraries and made available for searching and browsing

Phil Brigandi has been researching and writing local history since 1975, and is the author of more than two dozen books and hundreds of articles on the history of Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties. A native of Orange, California, he joined the board of directors of the Orange Community Historical Society at age 19, and became a member of the Orange County Historical Commission at age 23. He has served as Orange County Archivist (2003-08), historian for the Ramona Pageant Association (1990-2003), and curator of the San Jacinto Museum (2001-03).

Discover the rich heritage of Orange County by visiting historical sites that have attracted pioneers of art, agriculture, aviation and other remarkable achievements throughout the years.

As one of Orange County's indigenous people, the Acjachemen community possesses a unique cultural continuity and communal memory of Orange County which spans its entire history.

List of sites on the California Historical Landmarks and National Register of Historic Places.

Links to Orange County Historical Societies, Local History Rooms, and Cultural Heritage Institutions.

The Orange County Archives serves as the main repository for historic property documents, vital records, and other materials from county government. The OC Archives' digital collection at California Revealed consists of texts, moving images, oral histories, home movies, film footage of Knott's Berry Farm, and audio recordings from the 1910s to 2010s.

These links offer a growing collection of articles and information about the rich history of Orange County, California. This collection includes previously published articles from a variety of sources (including the early publications of the Orange County Historical Society), original articles written for our Website, and reproductions of early promotional brochures and other historic publications.

CSUF has microfilm of the Orange County Register (previously the Santa Ana Register and The Register), located in Pollak Library North, in the basement.

The History Room is open to the public during regular library hours and features books, photographs, videos, oral histories, maps, and other materials documenting the city’s rich and colorful history. Boasting a collection of more than 5,000 photographs, books by local authors, historic orange crate labels and other memorabilia, the Placentia History Room is an invaluable custodian of Placentia’s past.

Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths.
Reel 1. Bautismos #1-2: Nov. 1, 1776-Dec. 25, 1847. | Reel 2. Bautismos #2 cont'd: June 29, 1847-Dec. 15, 1853. Casamientos: Oct. 21, 1813-Nov. 8, 1915. | Obitos #1: July, 1777-Oct. 16, 1850. | Reel 3. Obitos #2: Dec. 18, 1850-Nov. 29, 1915. Land grant patent: 1876.

Sherman Library holds archival collections covering a wide range of subjects, but generally relate to the 19th and 20th century history of the Pacific Southwest, including California, Arizona and northern Mexico. The collections include significant materials about the development of Los Angeles, including the papers of M. H. Sherman, the O. F. Brant family and records of the Title Insurance & Trust Company of Los Angeles. The library also has extensive collections relating to Newport Beach and surrounding communities.

The collections consists primarily of realia, a portrait of Paul Harris, books and periodicals published by Rotary International, VHS videotapes meetings and performances, banners, and photographs. Many of these items were given to Dr. Young (CSUF Emereti) as he traveled the world performing his one-man show as Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary International.

The collection includes business and personal correspondence, stock seed books, crop books, planting memoranda, vitality test books, receiving books, address books, and notebooks used on sales trips.

The Local History Collection includes materials about Orange County, California and other California cities and counties from 1776-to date. It includes 3860 cataloged books and pamphlets, correspondence, ephemera, manuscripts, maps, memorabilia, papers, periodicals, posters and photographs.

Orange County District Attorney’s Obscenity and the Law Collection was founded in 1971 through the efforts of then English Department professor Donald Sears (now deceased) and his late wife Orange County A.D.A. and later Judge Oretta Sears. The materials are published pornographic works that were evidence/exhibits in at least one Orange County obscenity legal action.

Hosted by Preserve Orange County, the map includes all sites that are designated historic (up to February 2021) at county, state and national levels, under these programs:
National Register of Historic Places
National Historic Landmarks
California Register of Historical Resources
California Historical Landmarks
California Points of Historical Interest
Orange County Historic Sites (sites owned by the County)
Orange County Historical Site Plaques
The map also includes undesignated sites— places that have historic significance but are not yet officially recognized.

The collection includes papers, documents, photographs, scrapbooks, periodicals and memorabilia pertaining to the activities of this Orange County chapter of the national organization whose members are direct descendants of Confederate soldiers.

The California Water and Related Energy in Orange County Collection contains papers, periodicals, government documents and ephemera pertaining to Orange County and Southern California water districts and their activities and projects in the 20th century.

A document collection which contains newspaper articles, event programs, case studies, court case documents, and speeches from 1996 - 2016. Awards and certificates of appreciation from various individuals and community organizations range from 1976 – 2016, from such organizations as the Orange County Probation Dept., Hispanic Council of Realtors, Orange County Board of Education, League of United Latin American Citizens, the Anaheim Police Dept., and the Anti-Defamation League.

The Elisha Palmer Papers Collection largely consists of legal documents (deeds, mortgages, a land patent signed by President Woodrow Wilson, lease agreements and tax records), correspondence (oil and land related). The collection also contains a great deal of his records regarding his citrus crops going back to the mid-1920s (harvest receipts and growers association bulletins) and his oil interests maps and revenues from his property.

Fae Lenaire Sutton is an individual who resided in Orange County whose family were original property owners in the area of Orange and Santa Ana reaching back to the 1880s. The Fae Lenaire Sutton papers are composed of documents regarding the ownership, transfer, and sale of property in Southern California.

The Local History Collection includes materials about Orange County, California and other California cities and counties from 1776-to date. It includes 3860 cataloged books and pamphlets, correspondence, ephemera, manuscripts, maps, memorabilia, papers, periodicals, posters and photographs.

Contains office records, correspondence, events, awards documentation, Add One and OC Reporter magazines, Disney designed logo artwork, and photographic portraits of past presidents.

Small collection of assorted postcards, the bulk of which are of cities and sites in California. It also includes other states, Canada, and Europe.

This yearbook collection focuses on Southern California with an emphasis on Orange County. The collection covers 1915 to the present.

Consists of 110 photographs from an exhibit titled "The Vietnamese: Self-Portrait of a People" circa 1999. The exhibition traveled and was accessioned into the archives in 2011. It is the work of Jeffrey Brody and Dave DeVries of the CSUF Communications Department, the Vietnamese Student Association, and Art Hansen of the Center for Oral and Public History. Contributors documented the Vietnamese-American community in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the arrival of Vietnamese in Orange County.

Assorted city, criss-cross, white and yellow pages telephone directories.

First American offers access to its collection of more than 12,500 historical photographs to the public as a free community service. The collection of Orange County photos dates back to the late 1800s and is organized primarily by city. Visitors are able to order photographic prints in a variety of sizes. Production time is usually 1-2 weeks and customers only pay for the cost of the prints.
Access to the historical photo archive is available by appointment only. To schedule an appointment with First American's historian, or for additional information, please call 714.250.3298.

Before a postwar population boom triggered an almost wholesale conversation of farmland to suburbia, much of Orange County appeared decidedly rural. In 1948, a vast forest of five million Valencia orange trees grew on 67,000 acres2 -- but the county's sprawling ranches supported more than just citriculture. Dairy farms dominated the Orange County's northern reaches, while in the south cattle grazed on the rolling hills of vast estates like the Irvine Ranch and Rancho Mission Viejo. Elsewhere, farmers cultivated celery, walnuts, lima beans, and sugar beets. Berries were common, too; the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park began as a roadside fruit stand on an actual berry farm.

The Local History Collection includes materials about Orange County, California and other California cities and counties from 1776-to date. It includes 3860 cataloged books and pamphlets, correspondence, ephemera, manuscripts, maps, memorabilia, papers, periodicals, posters and photographs.

OC Survey has created a GIS application that allows users to view historic aerial imagery throughout Orange County. This easy to use application contains imagery from hundreds of aerial surveys throughout the past 50+ years as well as Countywide imagery from various years including 1938, 1947, and 1952. This is an ongoing project and more imagery will be added in the future. Click on the image below to view:

This is the official Flickr photostream of the Orange County Archives. The mission of the Orange County Archives is to collect and preserve materials documenting the history of Orange County, California, and to make this material available to researchers, academics, students and the general public. The Archives serves as a center for the research of Orange County history through the promotion and understanding of the origins of the county, as well as some of the more fascinating people who had an indelible impact on the county's identity and growth. Our goal is to create a 21st Century Archives; a place where people can come to learn about Orange County and its rich history. The Orange County Archives is located in the Old Orange County Courthouse, at 211 W. Santa Ana Blvd., #101, Santa Ana, California, 92701. For more information visit www.ocarchives.com.

The images shown below represent samples of some of the photographs in our collection. Click the thumbnail image to view a larger image.To request a photograph for a particular subject matter, specific person, building, scene or site, please contact: hotographs@orangecountyhistory.org.

Photos pertaining to the history of Orange County, California. Includes historical images, contemporary photos of historical locations, and snapshots of events in the local historical community.This Flickr group was launched by members of the O.C. Heritage Coordinating Council but is intended for anyone with an interest. For a list of links to the area's many historical organizations and resources, visit the O.C. History Roundup.

Approximately three hundred black and white photographs of Orange County created by the Smart Studio and its predecessors between 1882 and 1953. The collection includes photographic prints, glass plate negatives and film negatives. **Use the Online items available link to see the collection on Calisphere.**

The Archival Center, located at the San Fernando Mission, serves as a repository for documents, books and related materials pertaining to the history of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and its predecessor jurisdictions in California since 1840. The mission serves as a mirror into the life of early California during the Provincial era.

The Library's materials are strong in documenting the intertwined subjects of agriculture, ranchos and their families, and California's urban, water and power, and transportation infrastructures. Collections such as the 19th-century Abel Stearns papers and the 20th-century Southern California Edison records are among the Library's premier holdings on California land use and development. Also noteworthy is the Solano-Reeve collection, which contains over 2,100 maps and sketch maps of Los Angeles, Southern California ranchos, and subdivisions of the city of Los Angeles and neighboring towns. It provides invaluable material for studying the impact of development on successive populations.

The Local History Collection includes materials about Orange County, California and other California cities and counties from 1776-to date. It includes 3860 cataloged books and pamphlets, correspondence, ephemera, manuscripts, maps, memorabilia, papers, periodicals, posters and photographs.

SCL is a community library and archive located in South Los Angeles. Founded over 50 years ago, the Library holds extensive collections of histories of community resistance in Los Angeles and beyond. Everyone is welcome to use the Library's resources to research and put to practice the histories of everyday people working to create change.

Research guide on collections available through the California State Library.

Photographs, documents, and other primary sources on the experience of Chinese immigrants in California.

Link to finding aids on the experiences of the Chinese in California. Some online materials are available.

The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California Collection documents artifacts systematically excavated from two sites in Southern California. The first site is represented by about 1,040 color images of artifacts from the original Los Angeles Chinatown; an additional 150 images document artifacts from the site of a Chinese laundry in Santa Barbara. These two outstanding Chinese Historical Society of Los Angeles artifact collections are among the largest and best documented assemblage of cultural materials on Chinese settlement in the United States. Excavated from unmixed dated sites with developed historical context, the collections represent tremendous research potential.

Created at the California Department of Parks & Recreation with generous financial support from the DRAM Antitrust Settlement, this web application (web app) displays a collection of map layers related to the history and cultural heritage of Native Americans in California.

Created at the California Department of Parks & Recreation with generous financial support from the DRAM Antitrust Settlement, this web application (web app) displays a collection of map layers related to the history and cultural heritage of Native Americans in California.

Official website with history and current news of the Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe.

This guide is for archival resources relating to Indigenous communities of present-day California.

Official website. The Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation are the original inhabitants of the lands that ultimately became the County of Orange, as well as parts of San Diego, Los Angeles, and Riverside Counties.

Native Land is an app to help map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages.

The California Historical Society Collection is incomparable for the documentary picture it provides of the growth of Southern California, particularly the development of the Los Angeles region, between 1860 and 1960. The collection contains more than 25,000 photographs. The full archive was placed on long-term deposit at USC in 1990 and includes the Title Insurance and Trust Company Collection, also known as TICOR, and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection.

With over 5,000 items, our map collection is an invaluable resource for anyone researching California. It includes rarities such as a map of California as an island, James Marshall's gold-discovery map, and a map of John Bidwell's land grant. We have highlighted a small selection of our maps in our catalog. If you have any questions about these resources or if you cannot find what you need (many of our map records are not yet online), please feel free to contact us.

The exhibit features many examples drawn for the California History Section's extensive manuscript collections. Scores of Gold Rush manuscript collections holding thousands of letters were examined. Included are such treasures as Marshall's own map showing where he discovered gold, pioneer preacher Joseph A. Benton's journals of his voyage to California and his first years in Sacramento looking for souls instead of gold, and letters to his mother by Sacramento's first historian, Dr. John F. Morse. Letters by those less well known, however, vividly tell us of the travel to California by land and sea and then the cold reality of the diggings and its hardships, loneliness, lawlessness, and disappointments. Printed books, pamphlets, periodicals, and newspapers, of course, form a major component of any Gold Rush exhibition. These printed sources, more than any single medium, spread the news and influenced would-be gold seekers.

Welcome to Calisphere: your gateway to California’s remarkable digital collections. Calisphere provides free access to unique and historically important artifacts for research, teaching, and curious exploration. Discover over 400,000 photographs, documents, letters, artwork, diaries, oral histories, films, advertisements, musical recordings, and more.

The collection covers the dramatic decades between the Gold Rush and the turn of the twentieth century. It captures the pioneer experience; encounters between Anglo-Americans and the diverse peoples who had preceded them; the transformation of the land by mining, ranching, agriculture, and urban development; the often-turbulent growth of communities and cities; and California's emergence as both a state and a place of uniquely American dreams. The production of this collection was supported by a generous grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

The Japanese-American Internment in California Collection is composed primarily of documents related to the relocation program during World War II. Items include the official government report of Manzanar Relocation Center, oral histories, a photo album, post-war activism related to preserving and remembering the camps, and various clippings and documents. The strength of this collection is found in its many perspectives on the controversial relocation program, and how it has been presented since WWII.

This digital collection, generated by a consortium of California State University Archives, and an expanding group of partners from other institutional archives, libraries, museums, and cultural heritage organizations, features documents, oral histories, photographs, and other archival materials relating to the history of Japanese Americans. There is a special focus on their experiences in California and the incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Touching on a wide range of topics, the CSUJAD brings disparate local archival collections together in this searchable online collection of national importance.

The Bancroft Library's documentation of the Japanese American experience during World War II includes over 250,000 pages from an extensive collection of manuscripts and photographs. The materials in the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Digital Archive are pulled from our voluminous holdings and reveal the multifaceted experience from this complex time in US history. We invite you to explore these personal materials and recount the daily lives of Japanese Americans while in the confinement sites during World War II. Access to this material is provided through the Online Archive of California and Calisphere websites

History and stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II in camps in the US. Access to Densho's digital archive of internment camp newspapers and other primary sources is available with free registration.

This guide is intended to give you an idea of the Chicana and Chicano Studies research resources available to you at the Cal State Fullerton's Pollak Library. The tabs and subtabs contained in this guide will lead you through the research process including help with compiling and citing those resources.

This collection contains 545,188 issues comprising 5,785,360 pages and 40,445,543 articles from newspapers all over California.

The California Newspaper Microfilm Archive (CNMA) is one of the largest collections of newspaper microfilm for the Golden State. It comprises approximately 100,000 reels for titles published between 1846 and the present. The acquisition has been made possible in part through generous support from the Haynes Foundation, the Ahmanson Foundation, Rivera Library at the University of California, Riverside, and the California State Library.

Historical newspaper databases available through the Pollak Library to CSUF faculty and students.