Lummis, Charles Fletcher, 1859-1928

Charles F. Lummis (1859-1928) was born in Lynn, Massachusettts. He became an editor for the Los Angeles Times on February 1, 1884, working for Harrison Gray Otis. He promoted interest in the American Southwest with his photography and articles. Lummis helped found the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles and the School of American Research in Santa Fe. The items from librarian Mary Sarber concern her research of Mr. Lummis' writings.

From the guide to the Charles F. Lummis Collection, S27. 1., 1889-1994 and undated, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Lummis was born in MA in 1859; he travelled by foot from Chillicote, OH, to Los Angeles, CA, in 1885; city editor, Los Angeles times; librarian, Los Angeles Public Library, 1905-11; co-founded the Southwest Museum in 1907; founder, the Sequoia League; founder, the Landmarks Club; wrote 17 books on California and the Southwest; editor, Land of sunshine magazine; died in 1928.

From the description of Papers, 1889-1928. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 38514524

Charles Fletcher Lummis was born in Lynn, Massachusetts and attended Harvard College. He began his career as a newspaper editor in Chillicothe, Ohio. Lummis travelled to California by foot in 1884, recording his journey for Colonel Harrison Gray Otis, editor of the Los Angeles Times. During his journey, he developed an appreciation for the physical beauty of the Southwest and its native cultures. When Lummis arrived in Los Angeles, Otis hired him as the newspaper's first City Editor. He went on to edit regional publications, authored numerous books, and founded the Southwest Museum, largely with his own collection of Native American artifacts. Lummis also later served as City Librarian, but he is best known as a prolific author, editor, and activist on behalf of historic preservation. He founded the Landmarks Club, an organization credited with beginning the preservation of California's missions. His home, which he built himself and called El Alisal, is now the headquarters for the Historical Society of Southern California.

From the description of Historical Society of Southern California Collection - El Alisal Museo Windows Photographs [graphic], 1888-1899. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122638891

Lummis was a journalist noted for his promotion of the American Southwest as a travel destination. He also founded the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles and served as director of the Los Angeles Public Library.

From the description of Charles F. Lummis collection, 1878-1920. (Museum of New Mexico Library). WorldCat record id: 37434886

From the guide to the Charles F. Lummis Collection, 1878-1920, (Museum of New Mexico. Fray Angélico Chávez History Library.)

In 1884 Charles Fletcher Lummis was offered a job at a Los Angeles newspaper. He took the job and hiked from Ohio to California writing an account of the trip that became quite popular. Lummis was one of the first advocates for Indian and Hispanic rights, and the preservation of the natural wilderness.

From the description of Charles Fletcher Lummis letter : Los Angeles, Calif., to Mr. Sellers, 1923 Aug. 24. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 758701886

Lummis was an author and photographer of the New Mexican scene. He was a member of the board of the School of American Research and a regent of the Museum of New Mexico.

From the description of Charles Fletcher Lummis album, 1889-1891. (Museum of New Mexico Library). WorldCat record id: 37992646

Charles F. Lummis was a journalist, author, and ethnologist. He was editor of the magazine The land of sunshine (later titled, Out west), founded the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles in 1903, and served as librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library from 1905-10.

From the description of Letters of Charles Fletcher Lummis, 1900-1925. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 86129649

Lummis was editor of The Land of Sunshine.

From the description of Charles Fletcher Lummis letter to unstated person : Los Angeles : ALS, 1901 May 14. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 26760396

Charles Fletcher Lummis explored and documented the cultures and histories of Spanish California and the Southwest through his writings and photography from 1884 until his death in 1928. He resided in Los Angeles for most of his life and influenced Southern California as city editor of the Los Angeles Daily Times, city librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, and an advocate of Native American rights. He gained fame in 1884 during his "tramp across America," when he walked from Ohio to California, dispatching newspaper articles about his adventures and gaining respect for the Southwest and its people as he went. He wrote numerous books, reported on the injustices committed against Native Americans, battled to have Native American children released from government schools and returned to their families, advised President Theodore Roosevelt on "Indian affairs," and established the Sequoya League to defend Native American rights. Lummis also photographed and explored the Southwest, Mexico, Central America, and South America, collecting artifacts along the way. He also collected Native American and Spanish folktales and recorded many traditional songs on wax cylinders. He founded the Southwest Museum in Los Angles to share his collections with the public and established the Landmarks Club to restore the old Spanish missions. Lummis' campaigns and editorials in favor of preserving Native American and Spanish culture were unusual for the time and often generated great debate.

From the description of Charles F. Lummis papers, 1877-1928, bulk 1904-1914 (University of California, Irvine). WorldCat record id: 190863484

C.F. Lummis was an anthropologist, writer, photographer, an editor of the Los Angeles Times, and of "Land of Sunshine" and "Out West" magazines. He was the City Librarian for Los Angeles Public Library, and founder of the Southwest Museum. During his career he established the Landmarks Club "to preserve California Missions"; the Sequoya League "to preserve the rights of the Native Americans"; and the Southwest Society "to preserve our archaeological heritage", a chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America, the predecessor of the Southwest Museum.

From the description of Charles Fletcher Lummis Manuscript Collection 1879-1928 [manuscript materials] : at the Autry National Center / Charles Fletcher Lummis. 1879-1928. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79461238

American author, editor, librarian, promoter of the Southwest.

From the description of Papers, 1860-1956 (bulk 1890-1920) (University of Arizona). WorldCat record id: 28084720

American author, editor, librarian, and promoter of the Southwest.

From the description of Charles F. Lummis collection, 1559-1973 (bulk 1879-1928). (University of Arizona). WorldCat record id: 29452084

Lummis was a noted historian and librarian.

From the description of Letters, 1908-1911 : to Adolph Bandelier. (Copley Press, J S Copley Library). WorldCat record id: 17021768

Biography

Lummis was born in Massachusetts in 1859; he travelled by foot from Chillicote, Ohio, to Los Angeles, California, in 1885; city editor, Los Angeles Times ; librarian, Los Angeles Public Library, 1905-11; co-founded the Southwest Museum in 1907; founder, the Sequoia League; founder, the Landmarks Club; wrote 17 books on California and the Southwest; editor, Land of Sunshine magazine; died in 1928.

From the guide to the Charles Fletcher Lummis Papers, 1889-1928, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)

Biography / Administrative History

The Gamut Club was founded in 1904 by L.E. Behymer and a group of Los Angeles musicians. The membership of this musical society was exclusively male and its objective, as described by their librarian Ben F. Field in 1918, was "brotherhood, assistance to the musical fraternity, and the uplifting of the art." Shortly afterwards, the Club broadened the scope of its activities by including other types of artists such as writers, painters, sculptors, filmmakers, and actors. According to the 1912 Gamut Club yearbook, the Club continued to expand its society by adding "business and professional men of artistic tastes and talents." The Gamet Club building was located on 1044 South Hope Street in Los Angeles and built to meet the needs of their artistic clientele. Their building included a 668 seat theatre, music and banquet room, and artists studios. Charles Fletcher Lummis was a member of the Gamut Club and in 1924 they held a fiesta in his honor. The Club described Lummis as "our most distinguished member."

From the guide to the Gamut Club Collection, 1906-1947, 1906-1932, (Autry National Center. Institute for the Study of the American West)

Biographical/Historical note

Dr. Joseph Amasa Munk was born on November 9, 1847 in North Georgetown, Ohio. He joined up with the Union Army from 1864-1865 and fought in the Civil War. When the war was over, he attended Mt. Union College in Ohio from 1865-1866 and then the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, graduating in 1869. While attending Mt. Union College, he met Emma S. Beazell, and they married in 1873. While in school, Munk also enjoyed learning to read and sing music, a hobby he continued on into the 1870s. By the time he published a book of his own compositions, he was the organist and choir leader of his church.

Munk was living in Topeka, Kansas in 1884 when he made his first trip to Arizona to visit his brothers Edward and William on their cattle ranch. He came away from the trip so fascinated by Arizona that he set out to collect every publication he could find on the subject. He wrote articles about Arizona and the Southwest which were published in the same medical journals as his writings on medical topics. In 1892, Munk and his family moved to Los Angeles, where Munk was dean of the California Eclectic Medical College from 1907-1915 and president of the National Eclectic Medical Association in 1910.

About ten years after reaching Los Angeles, Munk decided to open his collection of books to the public and began to seek out a fitting repository. While Arizona was the obvious choice, it was still just finding its footing as a state. Munk’s concerns of access, custodianship, and the lack of a fireproof building led him to decide not to donate the collection to the state of Arizona. Munk kept searching for the proper home for his collection and discussed this with his friend Charles Fletcher Lummis. They shared a concern for the fragility of the Southwestern lifestyle and the desire to preserve its culture.

In 1903, Munk joined Lummis’s newly established local branch of the Archaeological Institute of America, whose ultimate goal was to create the Southwest Museum. In 1907, the Southwest Museum was incorporated into being, and Munk was elected to the Board of Trustees. In 1910, Munk donated his collection, which Lummis named the Munk Library of Arizoniana, to the Southwest Museum. After the University of Arizona built its own fireproof library in 1923, a bid was made to obtain the Munk Library of Arizoniana from the Southwest Museum. The request was denied, so Munk sent all of his collection's duplicates to the university instead. Munk continued to visit his library housed at the Southwest Museum up until his death on December 3, 1927.

From the guide to the J. A. (Joseph Amasa) Munk Papers, Bulk, 1851-1928, 1834-1928, undated, (Autry National Center, Braun Research Library)

Biography / Administrative History

Paul De Longpre was born in 1855 in Lyons, France and died in 1911. He was a self taught painter who moved to New York in 1880 and then to California in 1899. The home he built in Hollywood, California became to be celebrated for its magnificent flower gardens. Among his most famous paintings are "Double Peach Blossoms" and "White Fringed Poppies" (1902).

From the guide to the Paul De Longpre Collection, 1890-1905, (Autry National Center. Institute for the Study of the American West)

Historical Background

Biography

Charles Fletcher Lummis explored and documented the cultures and histories of Spanish California and the Southwest through his writings and photography from 1884 until his death in 1928. He resided in Los Angeles for most of his life and influenced Southern California as city editor of the Los Angeles Daily Times, city librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, and an advocate of Native American rights. He gained fame in 1884 during his "tramp across America," when he walked from Ohio to California, dispatching newspaper articles about his adventures and gaining respect for the Southwest and its people as he went. He wrote numerous books, reported on the injustices committed against Native Americans, battled to have Native American children released from government schools and returned to their families, advised President Theodore Roosevelt on "Indian affairs," and established the Sequoya League to defend Native American rights. Lummis also photographed and explored the Southwest, Mexico, Central America, and South America, collecting artifacts along the way. He also collected Native American and Spanish folktales and recorded many traditional songs on wax cylinders. He founded the Southwest Museum in Los Angles to share his collections with the public and established the Landmarks Club to restore the old Spanish missions. Lummis' campaigns and editorials in favor of preserving Native American and Spanish culture were unusual for the time and often generated great debate.

Lummis also positively affected the community of Los Angeles during his controversial tenure as city librarian. In 1905 veteran librarian Mary L. Jones was fired (without apparent justification) from her job as city librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and replaced by Lummis, who was a popular figure, but had no library experience. In 1910, during a very public scandal surrounding his second divorce, Lummis was accused of neglecting his duties and was forced to resign his position. In spite of his stormy career as librarian, Lummis' contributions to the community were significant. He insisted on equal access to library materials for all people regardless of their social or economic standing, instituted entrance exams for library employees in an effort to establish fair hiring practices, and lobbied to increase salaries for library employees. Lummis also boosted the popularity of the library, built a collection of contemporary biographies and autographs, instituted the branding of books to prevent theft, improved children's services, and moved the main library to a better facility.

Lummis' personal life was as turbulent as his professional life. His mother died when he was young and his father remarried. He grew up with one sister, three half sisters, and one half-brother. He was married and divorced three times. He fathered one child before he was married and later had four children with his second wife, Eve. He received his early education from his father, Reverend Henry Lummis, and later attended Harvard. While at Harvard, he worked summers in the print shop of a resort in New Hampshire, where he printed and sold his first work, Birch Bark Poems . In spite of his demonstrated intelligence, Lummis was unenthusiastic about his studies. Ultimately, he failed two final exams in mathematics and, rather than retake the exams, he left Harvard without a degree. Years later, after Lummis had gained national renown, Harvard bestowed an honorary bachelor's degree upon him. He received other honors during his lifetime, including an honorary degree from Santa Clara College and knighthood from the King of Spain. Aside from his service as LAPL librarian and his time as editor of the Los Angeles Daily Times and Out West Magazine, he depended upon the sale of his books, articles, and essays for income. Charles F. Lummis died of cancer at his home, El Alisal, in 1928. The home, which Lummis built with his own hands, is now a historic landmark in Los Angeles.

• 1859 March 01: Born Charles Fletcher Lummis in Lynn, Massachusetts to Harriet Fowler Lummis and Reverend Henry Lummis.
• 1877: Entered Harvard University as a freshman.
• 1878 Summer: Worked at Profile House resort hotel in New Hampshire as a printer.
• 1878 Summer: Printed and sold his Birch Bark Poems.
• 1879: Unbeknownst to Lummis, daughter, Bertha Belle was born to Emma L. Nourse and soon adopted by the Page family.
• 1880 April 16: Married Mary Dorothea Rhodes (Roads) in Boston Massachusetts. Rhodes went by her middle name, Dorothea, and is sometimes called "Dolly" or "Thea."
• 1881: Left Harvard after completing all the coursework, but without passing two of the final exams. Moved to the Rhodes' family farm in Chillicothe, Ohio.
• 1882: Became editor of Scioto Gazettein Chillicothe.
• 1884: Began walk from Cincinnati, Ohio to Los Angeles, California. Dispatched reports of his progress to Los Angeles Daily Times and Chillicothe Leader along the way.
• 1885 February 01: Arrived in Los Angeles and was appointed city editor for the Los Angeles Daily Times.
• 1886: Traveled to the Arizona territory to report on the campaign of General George H. Cook against Geronimo and the Chiricahua Apaches.
• 1886: Published The Home of Ramona (Los Angeles: Charles F. Lummis & Co.).
• 1887: Suffered a stroke which paralyzed the left side of his body.
• 1888 February 05: Traveled to New Mexico for convalescence from his stroke. Stayed first in San Mateo with Amado Chavez and family and then moved to the pueblo of Isleta.
• 1888: Explored the Southwest with archaeologist Adolph Bandelier.
• 1891 February: Dissolution of marriage to Dorothea Rhodes.
• 1891 March 27: Married Eva "Eve" Francis Douglas in San Bernardino, California.
• 1891: Published A New Mexico David and Other Stories and Sketches of the Southwest (New York: C. Scribner's Sons).
• 1892 June 09: Daughter, Dorothea "Turbesé" Lummis born to Eve Lummis in Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico.
• 1892: Secured release of Native American children (from the pueblo of Isleta) that had been kept against their families' wishes at the government school in Albuquerque, Mew Mexico.
• 1892: Relocated Eve and Turbesé from Isleta to Los Angeles and joined Bandelier on an archaeological expedition to Peru and Bolivia.
• 1892: Published A Tramp Across the Continent (New York: C. Scribner's Sons).
• 1892: Published Some Strange Corners of Our Country (New York: The Century Co.).
• 1893 December: Returned to Los Angeles.
• 1893: Published The Land of Poco Tiempo (New York: C. Scribner's Sons).
• 1893: Published The Spanish Pioneers (Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co.).
• 1894 November 15: Son, Amado Bandelier Lummis born.
• 1894: Published The Man Who Married the Moon, and Other Pueblo Indian Folk-Stories (New York: The Century Co.).
• 1895 January: Became editor of magazine, Land of Sunshine.
• 1896: Published The Gold Fish of Gran Chimú (Boston and New York: Lamson, Wolffe & Co.).
• 1897: Founded Landmarks Club with the intention of restoring and preserving the old Spanish missions of California.
• 1897: Published The Enchanted Burro: Stories of New Mexico and South America (Chicago: Way and Williams).
• 1897: Published The King of the Broncos, and Other Stories of New Mexico (New York: C. Scribner's Sons).
• 1898: Began to build his home, El Alisal, on three acres along the Arroyo Seco, just north of downtown Los Angeles.
• 1898: Published The Awakening of a Nation: Mexico Today (New York and London: Harper & Bros.).
• 1900 January 19: Son, Jordon "Quimu" Lummis born.
• 1900 December 25: Son, Amado Bandelier Lummis died of pneumonia.
• 1901: Summoned to Washington, D.C. to advise President Roosevelt on Native American issues.
• 1902: Founded the Sequoya League as an instrument to defend Native American rights.
• 1902: Became chairman of the Warner's Ranch Indian Advisory Commission.
• 1902: Changed title of magazine Land of Sunshine to Out West.
• 1903: Founded the Southwest Society, a branch of the Archaeological Institute of America.
• 1903: Received honorary degree from Santa Clara College in recognition of his service to the history of the American West.
• 1904 August 20: Son, Keith Lummis born.
• 1905 June: Appointed Los Angeles City Librarian.
• 1906: Granted honorary bachelor of arts degree from Harvard at 25th class reunion.
• 1906: Bestowed Lummis name upon newly discovered daughter, Bertha Belle Page, and invited her to live with him at El Alisal.
• 1907: Founded and acted as secretary of Southwest Museum in California.
• 1908: Became founding board member of the School of American Archaeology at Santa Fe, New Mexico.
• 1909: Separated from wife, Eve.
• 1909 December: Ceased to edit Out West.
• 1910: Deeded El Alisal and his collections to the Southwest Museum.
• 1910 March: Was forced to resign from the Los Angeles Public Library.
• 1910: Published Pueblo Indian Folk-Stories (New York: The Century Co.).
• 1911 March: Led expedition to Mayan Ruins of Guatemala, where he contracted "Jungle Fever." Fever reportedly left him temporarily blind.
• 1911: Published My Friend Will (Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co.).
• 1912: Wrote column, "In the Lion's Den," for West Coast Magazine.
• 1912 June 13: Dissolution of marriage to Eve.
• 1912 November 16: Participated in the groundbreaking of the Southwest Museum.
• 1913: Published In Memory of Juan Rodrígues Cabrillo, Who Gave the World California(Chula Vista, California: Denrich Press).
• 1914 August 01: Opened Southwest Museum to public.
• 1914: Acted as founding member and vice-president of the Arroyo Seco Association.
• 1915 March 11: Resigned as secretary of the Southwest Museum.
• 1915 March 15: Knighted by Alfonso XIII of Spain for his sympathetic portrayal of the actions of Spain in the Americas.
• 1915 May 09: Married Gertrude Redit in Los Angeles, California.
• 1923: Published Spanish Songs of Old California (San Francisco: Scholz, Erickson & Co.)
• 1923: Separated from wife, Gertrude.
• 1925: Published Mesa, Cañon and Pueblo: Our Wonderland of the Southwest (New York and London: The Century Co.).
• 1927 Autumn: Diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
• 1928: Published A Bronco Pegasus (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.).
• 1928 November 12: Suffered a massive hemorrhage and fell into a coma.
• 1928 November 25: Died El Alisal.
• 1929: Posthumous publication of The Spanish Pioneers and the California Missions (Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co.).
• 1929: Posthumous publication of Flowers of Our Last Romance (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.).
• 1970: Cultural Heritage Board of the city of Los Angeles declared El Alisal a historic monument.

From the guide to the Charles F. Lummis papers, 1877-1928, bulk 1904-1914, (University of California, Irvine. Library. Special Collections and Archives.)

Biography

Lummis, Charles Fletcher (1 Mar. 1859-25 Nov. 1928), author, editor, and explorer was a lifetime supporter of Native American culture and worked to preserve national landmarks such as the California missions. Lummis is known for numerous undertakings, including city editor of the Daily Times, chief librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, editor of Land of Sunshine (later retitled Out West), and founder of the Southwest Museum. Charles Lummis was also an avid and prolific photographer, documenting his travels across the Southwest and trips south of the American border. His most commonly printed cyanotypes, a process that was relatively portable and easy to do. Many of his photographs regularly appeared in Land of Sunshine and Out West.

From the guide to the Charles Lummis photographs, circa 1888-1905, (Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library.)

Charles Fletcher Lummis was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on March 1, 1859, and died in Los Angeles on November 25, 1928. He was educated at home, and later attended Harvard University until 1881. He soon moved to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he briefly managed his father-in-law's farm before taking a job as reporter, and later as editor, with the local newspaper Scioto Gazette .

He introduced himself to the West on foot during his famous 143 day walk from Cincinnati to Los Angeles. He began work there as editor of Harrison G. Otis' newspaper, The Los Angeles Times .

From 1885 on, Los Angeles was his base from which he explored, defended, and promoted the Southwest. His energy and enthusiasm were as broad as the land he loved. He investigated the Apache Wars in Arizona in 1886, recovered from a stroke and shooting in New Mexico, traveled with Adolph Bandelier to Peru, edited one of the most progressive periodicals of the region Land of Sunshine and Out West, built a monumental hilltop home El Alisal, and served as librarian to the Los Angeles Public Library. His aggressive drive to establish permanent cultural institutions and civic traditions culminated in his work for the Landmark Club, Sequoya League, and, closest to his heart, the Southwest Society and its Southwest Museum

A prolific promoter of the Southwest and California history, Lummis wrote many books on the area including A New Mexico David, Some Strange Corners of Our Country, A Tramp Across the Continent, and The Land of Poco Tiempo . His poetry, articles and reviews were also widely distributed in the leading magazines of his day. His friends ranged from Presidents to fisherman. His favored causes, such as pristine lands, native peoples, or historical monuments, were empowered by his forceful advocacy in print and in person of their collective needs.

Lummis was married and divorced from Dorothea Rhodes (1880-1891), Eva Frances Douglas (1891-1910), and Gertrude Redit (1915-192?). His children were Bertha Belle Page, b. 1879, Dorothea Turbese, 1892-1968, Amado Bandelier, 1894-1900, Jordan (Quimu), b. 1900, and Keith, 1904-1991.

From the guide to the Charles F. Lummis collection, 1559-1973, (University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections)