https://library.stanford.edu/california-historical-society-collection-stanford

California Historical Society, 557 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA (2026)

08/04/2025

The twentieth-century records of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, starting in 1900 with the bulk dating from the 1934 waterfront and general strike, can now be discovered in both the Stanford University Libraries’ SearchWorks catalog and the Archival Collections at Stanford webpage created for the CHS Collection.

Integrating the vast CHS Collection is expected to take at least three years. Archivists are working closely with the Libraries’ curators and subject matter specialists. Every cataloged item will retain its original CHS identifiers to keep intact the links from its prior citations in academic publications and in the media. We’ll be sharing updates as they come in!

Image: Women have full suffrage, ca. 1911. California Broadside collection. California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Stanford University Libraries.

01/28/2025

We have some exciting news to share! After a thorough two-year strategic planning and vetting process, we are pleased to announce that the CHS Board of Trustees has reached an agreement with Stanford University Libraries (SUL) to assume permanent stewardship CHS Collection. This is a significant development as it ensures the long term preservation of our valuable collection.

The agreement guarantees that the CHS Collection will continue to be publicly accessible for future generations to appreciate, and that it will be expertly cared for by SUL’s extensive preservation and archives staff. Through SUL’s partnership with the Bill Lane Center for the American West, the CHS Collection will provide valuable insights into the historical, cultural, and social aspects of California and the Western region.

The collection will be known as the California Historical Society Collection at Stanford. To learn more, please read the full announcement: https://library.stanford.edu/news/stanford-university-assume-stewardship-california-historical-society-collection

Image: Highlights from the collection, including the Records of the ACLU of Northern California, the California Flower Market Collection, The Kemble Collections on Western Printing & Publishing, and the Peoples Temple Collection.

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09/08/2024

OPENS TODAY! On view September 8, 2024 – November 3, 2024 at the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, Petaluma, CA. This traveling exhibition broadly outlines California’s history leading up to statehood as a backdrop to the factual and fictional stories that emerged after the US takeover. It considers individuals and families of Spanish Mexican descent who told their stories, and looks at some of the early narratives that helped create an enduring California mythos.

More info: https://calhist.me/3IYHiEW

See the tour schedule: https://calhist.me/3IZiaOu

08/29/2024

OPENS NEXT WEEK! On view September 8, 2024 – November 3, 2024 at the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, Petaluma, CA. This traveling exhibition broadly outlines California’s history leading up to statehood as a backdrop to the factual and fictional stories that emerged after the US takeover. It considers individuals and families of Spanish Mexican descent who told their stories, and looks at some of the early narratives that helped create an enduring California mythos.

More info: https://calhist.me/3IYHsw2

See the tour schedule: https://calhist.me/3TFVbwL

08/19/2024

OPENING SOON! September 8, 2024 – November 3, 2024 at the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, Petaluma, CA. This traveling exhibition broadly outlines California’s history leading up to statehood as a backdrop to the factual and fictional stories that emerged after the US takeover. It considers individuals and families of Spanish Mexican descent who told their stories, and looks at some of the early narratives that helped create an enduring California mythos.

More info: https://calhist.me/3xdt6W7

See the tour schedule: https://calhist.me/3IVbgtx

06/23/2024

OPENS TODAY! June 23, 2024 – August 18, 2024 at the Santa Monica History Museum, Santa Monica, CA. This traveling exhibition broadly outlines California’s history leading up to statehood as a backdrop to the factual and fictional stories that emerged after the US takeover. It considers individuals and families of Spanish Mexican descent who told their stories, and looks at some of the early narratives that helped create an enduring California mythos.

More info: https://calhist.me/4aytNrb

See the tour schedule: https://calhist.me/4ayZVLu

06/11/2024

OPENS NEXT WEEK! June 23, 2024 – August 18, 2024 at the Santa Monica History Museum, Santa Monica, CA. This traveling exhibition broadly outlines California’s history leading up to statehood as a backdrop to the factual and fictional stories that emerged after the US takeover. It considers individuals and families of Spanish Mexican descent who told their stories, and looks at some of the early narratives that helped create an enduring California mythos.

More info: https://calhist.me/4ayEGJO

See the tour schedule: https://calhist.me/4cy5POF

06/01/2024

OPENING SOON! June 23, 2024 – August 18, 2024 at the Santa Monica History Museum, Santa Monica, CA. This traveling exhibition broadly outlines California’s history leading up to statehood as a backdrop to the factual and fictional stories that emerged after the US takeover. It considers individuals and families of Spanish Mexican descent who told their stories, and looks at some of the early narratives that helped create an enduring California mythos.

More info: https://calhist.me/3TCVmsL

See the tour schedule: https://calhist.me/3vy7KlI

05/30/2024

VISITING SAN FRANCISCO? Check out our free storefront exhibition, “Rare, Historical, Curious,” which considers how objects and artifacts provide a window to history. Taking advantage of CHS’s prime location in the heart of the Yerba Buena cultural district, the show appears in our street-level windows along Mission and Annie Streets and is offered directly to the public, for free. Available for viewing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Come check it out! Plan your visit: https://calhist.me/498cv33

05/27/2024

CLOSING SOON! “Telling the Stories of Mexican California: Real Life & Myth Making” on view through June 2, 2024 at the Tuolumne County Historical Society, Sonora, CA. This traveling exhibition broadly outlines California’s history leading up to statehood as a backdrop to the factual and fictional stories that emerged after the US takeover. It considers individuals and families of Spanish Mexican descent who told their stories, and looks at some of the early narratives that helped create an enduring California mythos.

More info: https://calhist.me/3IXrsdC

See the tour schedule: https://calhist.me/3TW5qhF

05/23/2024

VISITING SAN FRANCISCO? Check out our free storefront exhibition, “Rare, Historical, Curious,” which considers how objects and artifacts provide a window to history. Taking advantage of CHS’s prime location in the heart of the Yerba Buena cultural district, the show appears in our street-level windows along Mission and Annie Streets and is offered directly to the public, for free. Available for viewing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Come check it out! Plan your visit: https://calhist.me/3VxUnML

05/20/2024

Check out some of our exhibitions currently on view at a location near you:

“Chinese Pioneers” traveling banner exhibition on view through June 9, 2024 at the Museums of Lake County, Lakeport, CA. Info: https://calhist.me/3x80Yn8

“Rare, Historical, Curious” storefront exhibition is on display in the street-level windows at CHS, in the heart of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena cultural district. Available for viewing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Info: https://calhist.me/499uZQL

“Telling the Stories of Mexican California: Real Life & Myth Making” on view through June 2, 2024 at the Tuolumne County Historical Society, Sonora, CA. Info: https://calhist.me/4cK52dN

California Historical Society

08/04/2025

01/28/2025

09/08/2024

08/29/2024

08/19/2024

06/23/2024

06/11/2024

06/01/2024

05/30/2024

05/27/2024

05/23/2024

05/20/2024

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