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Cabrillo
College Library
Cabrillo
College Archaeological Technology Program
What's On This Page
City/County
Information Resources
Libraries
Museums
Cemeteries
Special
Collections and Archives
Historical
Narratives
Historical
Maps
Newspapers
Photographs
Watsonville
City Redevelopment Agency
Additional
Web Resources
How
to Get to This Page on the Internet
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Preface This is written
focusing on resources located in Santa Cruz County, California. However,
nearly every local area has similar resources that can be explored for
pertinent information.
City
and County Records -- To
track down copies of deeds, probate records, wills, court documents,
etc., contact
Libraries
Libraries offer not only books and other materials, but also expertise.
For responses to specific questions, ask to talk with a reference librarian.
Inquire about special local files, collections (e.g., clipping files),
photographs, local history, and specialized indexes (sometimes, a local
library will index historical files of the local newspaper, for example).
If there's a question that cannot be answered by the local library,
due to limited information resources, the local library can refer the
question to a regional library reference service. Once you are on a
library's homepage, look for how you can submit questions or inquiries
via email.
- Santa
Cruz City/County Public Libraries 224 Church Street, Santa Cruz.
Reference/Information Services Phone: 831.420.5730
The Central Library has a Genealogy Collection which is very
useful for doing research about historical individuals from this area.
The Santa Cruz City/County
Public Library system also has some specialized materials that may
be of special interest, e.g., the Great Registers of Voters
for 1882, 1890, 1892, and 1900-1944 Consult the Santa Cruz Public
Library's online catalog for information about these files. Search
their online catalog.
- Watsonville
Public Library Phone: 831.728.6040
The library has Watsonville City Directories (which list householders,
occupations, businesses, etc.) for 1873, and for most years from 1925
on.
Try out their Genealogy & Local History Online (you have
to be in the Watsonville Public Library to use this online service)
- MOBAC
(Monterey Bay Area Cooperative) has a union online catalog for all
the libraries in this area
- LibWeb
provides Web connections to libraries all over the world
- Newspaper files Back
newspapers are important sources of information. Libraries in this
area -- public, college, and university -- offer backfiles of various
newspapers. At Cabrillo College Library, the local newspaper files
include: Santa Cruz Sentinel (June 1855+ ) and Register
Pajaronian (1868-May 1946; last 3 months). Check other libraries
for their holdings. The Cabrillo College Library has these specialized
indexes to historical issues of local newspapers:
- Index to the Daily
Surf from the Beginning in 1883 through 1889 ref AI21.F74S9
1985
- Santa Cruz Daily
Surf Local News Index from the Beginning in 1883 through 1900
ref AI21.F74S98 1986
- Clipping files Most
libraries have clipping files that hold valuable information about
local historical people and events. Read Santa Cruz Public Library's
description of its local
history resources, including the library's clipping files.
Museums
The mission of
local museums is to preserve artifacts and records originating from
and representing the local area. Usually, museums have clipping files
-- files of specialized materials clipped from local newspapers and
filed under specific subjects. The Museum director, Museum volunteers,
as well as Board members, have special knowledge about local artifacts.
To identify museums, their local phone numbers and directors --
Santa Cruz history:
Museum of Art and History
offers historical records, photographs, old annual city and county
directories (which list householders, occupations, businesses, etc.)
Pajaro Valley history
-- The Pajaro Valley Historical Association is located in the Historic
Bockus-Orr House, 332 East Beach Street, Watsonville CA 95076; telephone
831.722.0305. Historical Records, photographs, and artifacts are available
for review in the Snyder Archive and Volck Museum. Hours are Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday, 11 am to 3 pm; appointments are suggested
for research.
To identify other museums:
- Use the Community
Information Database
(CID) at Santa Cruz Public Library. There is both a Web version
(graphical) and a Telnet
version (nongraphical). In accessing the Telnet version, the
username is infocruz. Select one of the community information
database options from the menu (numbers 3 and 4). The CID lists
over 15 museums in the Santa Cruz area.
- Other approaches: Use
the local phone book || Use
Museums in the USA
- History
San Jose! is a guide to historical materials in the Silicon
Valley
Cemeteries
The
Cemeteries of Santa Cruz County Web site explains the records
available for Santa Cruz County.
Special
Collections and
Archives Larger
libraries typically have Special Collections that include local historical
records.
Historical
Narratives and
Place Names These and other books can be found at Cabrillo College
Library and in the local public libraries:
- History of Santa Cruz
County, California, by E. S. Harrison. San Francisco: Pacific
Press Pub. Co., 1892.
- Santa Cruz County:
Parade of the Past, by Margaret Koch. Fresno: Valley Publishers,
1973.
- Watsonville Yesterday,
by Betty Lewis. Watsonville: Litho Watsonville Press, 1978.
- Santa Cruz County Place
Names: A Geographical Dictionary,
by Donald Thomas Clark. Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz Historical Society,
1986.
Historical Maps
- Sanborn Fire Insurance
Maps -- Digital
Sanborn Maps available
from San Jose Public Library -- user name is sjplremote; password
is welcome || Sanborn
and Other Fire Insurance Maps from UC Berkeley explains the maps
and describes access || Sanborn
Fire Insurance Maps at CSU Northridge || Maps on Microfiche/Microfilm
at UC Berkeley || Sanborn
Fire Insurance Maps at Stanford
- U.S. Geological Survey
-- Maps of
the United States || Historical
Mapping || Information on US
Geological Survey Programs in California || Aerial
Photographs || Satellite
Imagery || Historic
Topographic Maps of California ||
- Library of Congress
-- Map
Collections 1500-2002 Collections include aerial photos
- UCSC's Map
Room -- Read about their collection, which includes 32,000 aerial
photographs (concentrating on Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa
Clara, and Santa Cruz counties)
- UC Berkeley's Catalog
of Aerial Photography --
California
Air Photo Database
- Landsat images
-- Geo-Data for the San Francisco
Bay Area
- Topographical maps
-- Topozone.com
- Landownership maps
-- Library
of Congress has an 1889 map for Santa Cruz County ||
- Additional sources
of aerial photographs: TerraServer
|| TerraFly || MapQuest
-- at MapQuest, type in an address or zip code, then click on "aerial
photo"
To research where historical
maps may be physically located, refer to Map Collections in the
United States and Canada: A Directory, ed. by David K. Carrington
and Richard W. Stephenson. 4th ed. New York: Special Libraries Association,
1985. Location: Cabrillo College Library ref GA 193.U5M36 1985
Newspapers
See also information
about newspaper files in the Libraries section above
Newspapers
by title and date held by the Santa Cruz City/County Public Library.
There have been newspapers in this county since 1856!
Photographs
The public libraries also
have collections of historical photographs from this local area.
Watsonville City Redevelopment
Agency 231 Union St Watsonville, CA 95076-5009 831.728.6014
- Website
for the Department (includes email)
- Schedule
of meetings for 2002 (they are usually early in the month)
Additional Web
Resources
ArchNet and
its SubjectAreas
CHRIS
-- California Historical Resources Information System
NativeCaliforniaLinks
and ArchaeologyGuide
from Anthro.net
Society for California Archaeology
UCSC's Archaeology
Archives and UCSC's Physical
Anthropology and Archaeology Laboratories
How to Get
to This Page on the Internet
- Go to
the Cabrillo College Library homepage http://libwww.cabrillo.edu
- Click
on Internet Resources
- Click
on Archaeology
- Under
Course-Related Materials, click on Doing Local Research
R. Edwards; C. Simpson-Smith; T. N. Smalley
12/01; last rev. 3/08 |