Society of California Pioneers

Collections/library - the alice phelan sullivan library services include responding to reference inquiries which come via phone, email or letter, as well as meeting with researchers in the library. The audience is wide historians, students, filmmakers, genealogists and the inquiries and visitors are not only from California, but all over the country and the world. The library maintains several online databases: our books are cataloged on the international database worldcat, our manuscripts are in the online archive of California out of uc berkeley, our newspapers are on the California newspaper project, our ephemera is on the California ephemera project online and our sheet music is cataloged on the 19th century California sheet music database. The library regularly acquires new items, works with donors, hosts interns from local universities and writes grants for conservation work with specific parts of our collections. In addition to the library, the Society's historical collection encompasses an outstanding array of paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, silverware, and artifacts dating from the gold rush era to 1945. The painting collection is particularly notable for its nineteenth-century holdings and includes works by thomas hill, william keith, jules tavernier, and william hahn among many others. The collection is equally rich in works on paper ranging from etchings, lithographs, and posters, to playbills, theater announcements, and music sheets that chronicle the leisure activities and entertainments of cosmopolitan san francisco. The Society's collection of old California silver is among the finest in existence and there are also costumes and personal effects, medical devices, musical instruments, and tools and implements related to gold and silver mining, all of which provide a compelling account of early California and its inhabitants.costs related to the library and historic collections include the storage, conservation, and care of this important collection as well as the personnel costs to manage them.we re-opened our library to in-person research in 2022 and we continued to assist researchers from all over the world both in person as well as via email. Additionally, requests for the use of our collection in books and other publications continue to be fulfilled regularly.

Events and services - includes events produced for the community that supports us, including social events and historic tours; includes facilitating applications, family research, and any other support to our community. Also included in member & community events and services is the publication of the pioneer, an annual publication of the Society. In 2023 we held five in-person events for our community, two historic tours to local historic locations, and five pioneer book club meetings.

Exhibition/programs - the Society of California Pioneers strives to convey valuable, compelling and empowering information in all our museum exhibitions, which feature artifacts from our archives and illuminate aspects of life in California over time. Our target audiences include school children, in particular those studying California history, senior citizens with a focus on those residing locally, and out-of-town visitors, in addition to members, friends, scholars, and the general public. We also attract a significant number of tourists from outside the country. We have produced several exhibitions both in our gallery and online, allowing us to provide access to our collections for a much greater audience. The Society of California Pioneers has been presenting successful exhibitions and programs in California history to fourth and fifth grade students in the san francisco unified school district (sfusd) since 2000. All programs are interactive and intended to function as a complement to work in the classroom. Unlike the schools, the staff of the Society of California Pioneers can make use of exhibition materials and artifacts from our own collections as teaching tools. Programs are designed to create a sense of place, foster an awareness of the variety of traditions that have shaped contemporary California, introduce students to major social, environmental, and cultural issues, and instill pride in a shared heritage. The programs are offered free of charge and meet California state curriculum standards. In 2021, we launched a special new online offering, a website titled the eureka! Project, designed for younger students of history to allow them access to our unique collection of primary sources related to California history. In 2023 we produced one new exhibition: yosemite through three lenses: muybridge. Fiske. Watkins. Ran from february 4 to september 29, 2023.