California Centennials Commission. Southern California Division

Biographical/Historical Note

The California Centennials Commission was established in 1946 to direct the state’s participation in the centennial observances of the discovery of gold, the Gold Rush, and the admission of California to the Union. The Southern California Division was organized in 1947, with the assistance of the Historical Society of Southern California, to cooperate with the state-wide Commission; it organized local programs. The state Commission was chaired by Joseph R. Knowland; the Southern California Division was managed by Lloyd D. Mitchell.

The California Centennials Commission, Southern California Division, Collection comprises one portion of the Historical Society of Southern California (HSSC) Collection, which was donated to the Huntington Library in 1992. The HSSC Collection as a whole contains approximately 15,000 photographs and negatives covering the period circa 1870 to circa 1980, and almost exclusively depicts Southern California. As such, it is an important visual record of the growth and history of the region.

From the guide to the Historical Society of Southern California Collection—California Centennials Commission, Southern California Division, Collection of Photographs, 1948-1950, (The Huntington Library)