Neasham, Vernon Aubrey, 1908-1982

Biography / Administrative History

Aubrey Neasham made a career as an experienced historian, writer, educator, and a champion of the historic preservation cause. He researched and promoted numerous historic sites spanning across the western United States throughout his life leaving an indelible mark upon such prominent sites as Old Sacramento, Columbia, Monterey, and Coloma.

Vernon Aubrey Neasham was born August 28, 1908 in Reno, Nevada. His family moved frequently prior to settling in Berkeley, California in 1923. After graduating from Berkeley High School, Aubrey enrolled at UC Berkeley in 1926. He married Ruth Esther Jackson in 1928 before receiving his bachelor's degree in political science in 1930. Deciding to continue his education, Neasham began graduate courses at Berkeley and obtained both his M.A. (1932) and Ph.D. (1936) in history.

Neasham was appointed supervisor of a Works Progress Administration research project on California's historical landmarks by the California State Division of Parks in 1936. During this time he edited 100 monographs known as the California Historical Landmark Series. In 1938, he accepted a job as Regional Historian for the National Park Service in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His projects included tracing the Coronado Trail as part of its 400th anniversary, and the San Jose Mission in Texas.

Neasham transferred to San Francisco in 1942, where he continued work as a Regional Historian for the National Park Service. Between 1944 and 1946 he served in the U.S. Navy and traveled to Europe, Africa, and South America. Following his stint in with the Navy, he assumed his duties in San Francisco and researched Monterey and the gold discovery site at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. He participated in a survey of Hawaii, and Alaska. Additionally, he performed a historical study on the mining town of Columbia as an independent consultant for the California State Parks Commission (1947-48), and planned exhibits for the California Centennial Historical Caravan.

In 1953, Neasham was appointed State Historian for the California State Park System's Division of Beaches & Parks. His projects included research on Old Sacramento, the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Hearst Castle, Bodie, Coloma, Donner Memorial State Park, Fort Ross, Sonoma Mission, and Sutter's Fort.

Neasham opted to leave State Beaches & Parks in 1960 and founded Western Heritage, Inc., a historic consulting firm. It was at this time that Neasham became heavily involved in the historic preservation of Old Sacramento, and continued research to find the site of Drake's Landing which he believed to be at Bolinas Bay. He also worked on the John Marsh Home in Contra Costa County, the Wells Fargo History Room, the Jerome Museum in Arizona, and produced a filmstrip on California history for use in schools.

In 1964, Neasham began the Park Management program at Sacramento State College. This soon evolved into the department of Environmental Resources and Neasham was appointed full professor. Along with his responsibilities for Western Heritage and Sacramento State College, Neasham became a consultant for the Sacramento Historic Landmarks Commission and established Sacramento's first city and county museum.

Neasham's wife Ruth passed away in 1969, and a short time later he married Irene Simpson, a noted historian at the Wells Fargo History Room in San Francisco. The two vigorously promoted historic preservation and as a result, the California Historical Society established the Neasham Annual Award for Historic Preservation in 1973. That same year Neasham retired from Sacramento State College and spent his later years on numerous excavations, attempting to find evidence for Drake landing at Bolinas Bay. He died at home in Hillsborough, California on March 11, 1982 at the age of 73.

Books authored by Neasham:

From the guide to the Aubrey Neasham collection, 1794-1982 inclusive, 1945-1964, (Center for Sacramento History)