Society of California Pioneers membership certificate – Issued to Joshua S. Henshaw, December 15, 1866

The Society of California Pioneers, established in 1850, is dedicated to the study and enjoyment of California art, history, and culture. Founded by individuals arriving in California before 1850 and thriving under the leadership of several generations of their direct descendants, the Society has continuously served its members, the academic community, and the public. As the self-proclaimed "oldest historical organization West of the Mississippi", the Society opened the first research library in California, as well as a grand hall for meetings, lectures, and social events.

Today the Society operates a public museum and noncirculating research library, both housed in one of the iconic Montgomery Barracks Buildings on The Presidio of San Francisco's historic Main Post.[1]

Notice of Officer Election & Organization – November 14th, 1850

Mission & Membership

According to its constitution, the Society's mission is "to collect and preserve information connected with the early settlement and formation of"[1] the state of California. The Society's service to the community is designed to support scholarship and encourage new interpretations that illuminate and honor the diverse experiences of California's past.

The Society continues to be a membership organization "open to direct descendants of those who arrived in California prior to January 1, 1850."[1]

Museum

Main Post of the Presidio of San Francisco, as seen in 2018

The Society is currently headquartered in the Presidio of San Francisco. Pioneer Hall, which houses the museum and research library (open to the public on Fridays, the first Saturday of each month, or otherwise by appointment) is located in the historic Presidio Main Post at 101 Montgomery, Suite 150.[1]

The Society Museum features rotating exhibitions of art and artifacts amassed since 1850. Free education programs for school-aged children as well as public tours and events are offered there. The Alice Phelan Sullivan Research Library, which houses a large portion of the Society's collections, also allows limited public access (or research visitations by appointment) to the Society's privately held repository of rare primary source materials.

Documents from the Society's archives record defining events dating back to the founding and early history of California, including The Gold Rush, The Earthquake and Fire of 1906, and many others. Their collection includes manuscripts and letters, paintings, prints and drawings, photographs, books, maps, newspapers and journals, and the business ledgers of mining and transportation companies, as well as historic artifacts and decorative objects.

Yosemite landscape by Thomas Hill (1871)

An extensive collection of overland and pioneer diaries held here includes those of John A. Sutter and a letter by Henry William Bigler, both primary sources announcing the discovery of gold in California. Works by Carleton Watkins, Eadweard Muybridge, Lawrence & Houseworth, and Turrill & Miller are held in the Society's archive of photographs, panoramas, and daguerreotypes.

Particularly notable for its nineteenth-century holdings, the museum's painting collection includes works by noted landscape artists Thomas Hill and Jules Tavernier, mural artist William Coulter, and Fresno-born artist/illustrator Maynard Dixon. Together with the Society's collection of ephemera and prints, these form a vivid, visual record of life in California and the American West over time.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "History of The Society of California Pioneers". californiapioneers.org. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

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