CREATING ORDER: THE RECORDS OF THE CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY COMMISSION
AND CALIFORNIA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
Lisa Christine DeHope
B.A., University of California, Davis, 2009
PROJECT
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
HISTORY
(Public History)
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SUMMER
2011
CREATING ORDER: THE RECORDS OF THE CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY COMMISSION
AND CALIFORNIA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
A Project
by
Lisa Christine DeHope
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Dr. Lee Simpson
__________________________________, Second Reader
Jeffrey Crawford
____________________________
Date
ii
Student: Lisa Christine DeHope
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format
manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for
the Project.
__________________________, Department Chair
Dr. Aaron Cohen
Department of History
iii
________________
Date
Abstract
of
CREATING ORDER: THE RECORDS OF THE CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY COMMISSION
AND CALIFORNIA TREANSPORTATION COMMISSION
by
Lisa Christine DeHope
Statement of Problem
The California State Archives houses the historical records of the California Highway
Commission and the California Transportation Commission. While available to the
public, multiple accessions, partially processed records and improper provenance made
accessing them for specific research purposes extremely difficult. To facilitate greater
public access to the records, the Graduate Intern arranged and described the records
according to archival principles.
Sources of Data
A multitude of sources were used to complete this thesis project including archival
collections located at the California State Archives, manuals, publications, and web
pages.
Conclusions Reached
By arranging and describing the records of the California Highway Commission and
California Transportation Commission, the intern improved the physical and intellectual
control of the records and provided a means for the public to access these archival
collections in person and online.
_______________________, Committee Chair
Dr. Lee Simpson
_______________________
Date
iv
PREFACE
My introduction to the archival profession began in 2008 when I spent the
summer interning at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in San
Bruno, CA. I was an undergraduate at the University of California, Davis finishing a
Bachelor’s degree in History. My experiences in record identification and risk
assessment while working at NARA piqued my interests and inspired me to explore
archival education as I applied for graduate programs.
In the fall of 2009, I entered the Graduate Standard History Program at California
State University, Sacramento. A few months before the semester began, Sara Kuzak, an
archivist at the California State Archives (CSA), contacted me regarding a resume I
submitted several months prior. She informed me the Archives was seeking to hire a new
student assistant to help process the backlog of accessioned records and invited me to
interview for the position. I was thrilled when they offered me the job and I began in
August of 2009.
I eagerly started my graduate coursework including Introduction to Public History
and Archives and Manuscripts classes. Although originally enrolled in the Standard
Program, I enjoyed my work and my classes so much that I quickly transferred into the
Public History Master’s Program with the intent of pursuing a career as an archivist.
During my first several months at CSA, I processed two legislative collections:
the records of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and Assembly Member Bruce
Bronzan’s Papers. While working as a processing student, I knew there was much more
to being an archivist that I needed to learn. I decided early on that I would apply for the
v
CSA’s Graduate Internship, which would afford me many more opportunities for
professional growth and development. When the application period for the internship
opened in April 2010, I applied for the position and the interview committee selected me
as the new Graduate Intern that summer.
Around the time I applied for the internship, the Processing Coordinator, Jeff
Crawford, and I discussed what collection to choose for my next project. I was interested
in finding a collection I could use for my thesis and he suggested the records of the
California Highway Commission and the California Transportation Commission. Jeff
knew my research background in automotive history and suggested that processing these
records would be both interesting for me and beneficial to the Archives.
I wanted a collection that would challenge me to utilize complicated archival
principles and techniques. When I surveyed the collection, I recognized that the
challenges of addressing multiple identification systems and partially processed records
would make this a valuable thesis project. I began the project in March 2010 and it took
me approximately five months to arrange and describe the records. I completed and
encoded the final draft of the finding aid in August while working as the Graduate
Intern. I worked earnestly on this project and sincerely enjoyed the process.
The help and guidance of several individuals made this project possible and aided
through its completion. The staff of the California State Archives is a wonderful source
of knowledge and an enthusiastic bunch that made everyday at work enjoyable and
 Though I primarily processed the records during my time as a processing student, in the chapters that
follow I will refer to myself as the intern for consistency and ease of writing.
vi
educational. I am especially indebted to the Processing Coordinator Jeff Crawford who
assisted me throughout the processing stages and generously agreed to serve as my
second reader for this thesis. The Intern Supervisors, Sara Kuzak and Jessica Knox, were
both essential to my success throughout the past two years and especially during my
internship. Their professional experience provided me excellent training and their kind
natures provided much needed advice and encouragement. Dr. Lee Simpson was an
excellent professor who encouraged me in my academic and professional goals and
guided me through the thesis process. I am forever grateful to her time, talents, and
patience. I am also fortunate to have the love and support of my family and friends who
motivated me to do my best.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Preface........................................................................................................................... v
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1
Getting Off Track .............................................................................................. 2
Entering Automobility ...................................................................................... 7
Prime Time and Problems for Automobiles ................................................... 14
Transportation for Today and Tomorrow ....................................................... 19
Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 23
2. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 25
Accessioning .............................................................................................................. 26
Processing – Arrangement and Description ............................................................... 30
3. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................. 59
Appendix A. Inventory of the California Highway Commission Records ............................. 64
Appendix B. Inventory of the California Transportation Commission Records .................... 92
Appendix C. Sample Box Labels ......................................................................................... 102
Appendix D. Sample Catalog Card ....................................................................................... 104
Appendix E. Sample Encoded Archival Description ............................................................ 106
Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 108
viii
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
California’s immense territory has made providing reliable transportation
solutions a constant challenge for the state at all levels of government and a high
priority for the citizens themselves. Transportation has taken many forms in the state
including trotting in horse-drawn carriages, riding the rails, or speeding along the
automotive superhighways. The development of specialized state agencies such as
the California Highway Commission and the California Transportation Commission
emphasize the importance of transportation development and speak to the sizable task
of improving transportation in efficient and effective ways. The historic records of
these commissions, housed at the California State Archives, are valuable primary
sources exploring California’s transportation history.
Californians have prioritized the building of good roads for ease of travel regardless
of what mode of transportation flourished at the time, powered by animals, electricity,
steam, or gasoline. Yet few things have shaped the direction and development of
California’s transportation goals and policies as much as the early and massive adoption
of the automobile. Scholars debate the automobile’s effects on California’s public
transportation system as well as who directed or influenced the changes that led
California down the asphalt path. For better or worse, California has favored individual
motor vehicles as the preferred form of transportation by faithfully dedicating its efforts
and resources into building and maintaining good roads, highways, freeways, and
2
interstates for the automobile. California’s culture, land use, and economy are tied to the
transportation decisions made at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Getting off Track
Before automobiles lined the streets and modern streets existed, improving
transportation and creating good roads were important priorities and concerns for rural
and urban residents of California. Citizens faced unlimited transportation challenges with
few options. Poor roads and insufficient public transit services led to public complaints.
Weather, politics, corporate errors and mismanagement all worked to prime Californians
for a more user-friendly system of transportation. A lack of governmental subsidies, and
restrictions on corporate investment in railways, meant that inflation following World
War One, combined with persistent corporate financial problems, and the concurrent rise
of the automobile together made public transportation and streetcars obsolete.1
Horse-drawn carriages and trains served the primary function of transporting
goods and people throughout the state before the automobile. Rural areas often had only
one main road, and that one road most often led to the train depot. With road conditions
dependent on the weather, carriages could not navigate most roads for large parts of the
year due to muddy conditions a horse and buggy could not maneuver.2 Communities
depended on the rails to bring goods in and transport goods to more distant markets and
businesses developed around transportation options. Those people living outside the city
1 Scott L. Bottles, Los Angeles and the Automobile: The Making of the Modern City (Berkeley: University
of California), 1987, 238.
2 Stephen Goddard, Preface to Getting There: The Epic Struggle between Road and Rail in the American
Century (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), ix.
3
like farmers had little alternative but live near the one good road and use the railroad
services, whatever the rate or conditions.
In 1895, the California State Legislature established the state’s first two agencies
formed for the purpose of road development: the Bureau of Highways and the Tahoe
Wagon Road Commission. The Bureau studied the laws, physical features, and
economic and legal status of highways in the state and contracted with vendors for
construction, and the Commission investigated the possibilities of building a road to Lake
Tahoe.3 The Bureau of Highways conducted the first survey of California’s roads.4
Without automobiles in mind, the report concluded that California’s poor road conditions
were largely the fault of the railroads. Leading railroad corporations sought to influence
the location of both rail and road development on corporate-owned property in order to
increase property values. Historian Kevin Nelson notes that with the State’s elected
officials “in the pockets of the Southern Pacific,” the railroads felt secure laying down
tracks wherever they saw fit to promote their own interests and limit competition with
little consideration of actual need or efficiency. Engineers from the Bureau of Highways
complained that, “the road franchise is frequently obtained more to control the highway
interests or to protect existing franchises from competition than to serve public
interests…the rights of the public are ruthlessly overridden.”5 Knowledge of the poor
road conditions did not result in rapid improvements or construction. It would take the
3 Statutes, 1895, Ch. 203, Ch. 119
4 Statutes, 1895, Ch. 203
5 Kevin Nelson, Wheels of Change: The Amazing Story of California and the Automobile (Berkeley:
Heyday Books, 2009), 68-69.
4
revolution of the automobile and the steady source of income it provided to bolster road
building and maintenance.
Rail transportation in the city and suburbs also sought to control real estate and
rail development in order to promote their own financial interests. Workers in the city,
unable to afford housing in the downtown area, settled within walking distance of rail and
street car lines in order to get to work. They depended on accessibility to the public
transportation of the railroads and street cars to make a living. Los Angeles for example,
though a large city in southern California, did not have the population boom of other
eastern cities during the industrial revolution and therefore had not developed the
infrastructure for a highly centralized downtown. The population depended on public
transportation for getting to work and shopping in the cities and therefore had no choice
but to live close to the tracks.6
Southern California, and in particular Los Angeles, developed according to this
principle of suburban development creating a decentralized city different from the major
cities on the East Coast. The owners and operators of rail and streetcar companies
speculated in land surveying and suburban real estate. By purchasing land and marketing
it as prime real estate along the transit lines, the streetcar companies not only cornered the
real estate market in growing areas but also controlled where people settled.7
Historian Scott Bottles, in his 1987 ground-breaking work on Southern
California’s development as a modern, automotive city, suggests that the railways’
6 Bottles, 34
7 Bottles, 19-21; Mark Foster, From Streetcar to Superhighway: American City Planners and Urban
Transportation (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1981), 323.
5
problems stemmed from their real-estate speculation which limited their ability to
develop and improve rational and efficient rail lines. With tracks laid out in a star
pattern, all trains led to downtown where there was a reliable income. This meant people
could not travel between suburbs without going through downtown, which added to the
traffic congestion and inefficient travel times for passengers. Bottles argues that by the
1920s the rails were not cost effective, product costs were up after the war, massive debt,
aided by fallen real estate values, and inflation meant that the companies could no longer
afford to offer improvements. People had little sympathy.8
Many scholars including transportation historians Mark Foster and Kevin Nelson
credit the sub-standard services of the street cars as contributing to the population’s
enthusiasm to adopt a new transportation venue such as the automobile. Crowded street
cars, fares people considered too high (though in line with the national average),
unreliable schedules, and poor service conditions fostered a complex relationship
between the traveler and corporate transportation entities. There were not enough
streetcars and not enough lines to satisfy the growing population. Conditions worsened
because people fought against rate increases supposed to fund improvements to the lines
because they were dissatisfied with the service they currently received. People were
happy to embrace the benefits of the automobile, towards whom they felt no ill will,
rather than pay more to the trolley and streetcar corporations they felt abused their power
and situation.9
8 Bottles, 39-40, 45
9 Bottles, 31, 33
6
Another major urban transportation problem was that the inter-urban trains (PE)
and streetcars (LARY) refused to issue transfers between their lines. Sharing the same
streets meant that the city was crowded and difficult to maneuver. Accidents were to be
expected, but there was not an unusually high number in comparison to other cities of
similar size. The media portrayed these accidents as a major problem, dedicating much
attention to the problem in the papers. Since the companies refused to install safety
equipment on their cars and trains to reduce injury to pedestrians, the media easily
vilified the corporations in public opinion. With no city government control of pedestrian
movement, the streets were a dangerous place for people, horses, and streetcars.10
The urban landscape of California, and Southern California in particular, would
be much different had not the automobile developed as an alternative mode of
transportation. State efforts like that of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road Commission
created to investigate road construction options and gradual improvements suggest that
the government was taking a more pro-active role in establishing mainstream
transportation than it had in the past. However, the automobile and its revolutionary
convenience and independence gained rapid popularity in California and forever altered
California and the movement and culture of its residents. Onto this scene emerged the
California Highway Commission and the beginnings of vast and coordinated road
construction in the state.
10 Bottles, 47
7
Entering Automobility
The automobile offered something for everyone. Flexibility and individual
movement were intrinsically appealing to motorists, however the automobile also
satisfied the basic need for transportation that historian Joseph Interrante argues is as
basic as food and clothing. Interrante suggests that this need changes as the social and
spatial patterns of culture change.11 Its mass appeal and increasing affordability made the
automobile not only convenient, but an attainable luxury, an aid to exploration, and an
impetus for a major economic and population boom for California. The early adoption of
the automobile as a toy for the rich and mechanically curious soon realized its greater
potential in very public arenas.12
Cars pulled people all over the state together in a way never done before. Those
of the wealthy and leisure class who owned early automobiles as toys to tinker with
and/or race helped to bring attention and popularity to early automobiles. The races
became popular social events responsible for highlighting the automobile’s possibilities
and potential for speed and control. However, these fast and powerful toys could wreak
great devastation as drivers and spectators often got caught in dangerous accidents during
races. After the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, the public saw the automobile in a
new light. Nelson describes this scene as a transition for the automobile from a “chariot
of fire” to a “chariot of mercy” with automobiles successfully aiding in the rescue of
11 Jospeh Interrante, “The Road to Autopia: The Automobile and the Spatial Transformation of American
Culture” in David L. Lewis and Laurence Goldstein, eds. The Automobile In American Car Culture, (Ann
Arbor, Michigan: The University of Michigan Press, 1980), 90.
12 Interrante, 101; Foster, 320
8
many fleeing the fires and in rebuilding the city afterwards in situations where horses had
been scared and ineffective.13
The introduction of the Model T in 1908 kept the car from merely being a trend or
fancy and made the automobile part of American life forever. Assembly line production
allowed not only cheap production, but also cheaper maintenance with interchangeable
parts that fit perfectly on any car of that model. Automobiles traveled with better gas
mileage, were built higher to not break on bumps in the road, and were more affordable
and higher quality than ever before.14
In 1897 the California Legislature began reassigning responsibility for the state
roads and highways in order to more efficiently address the state’s transportation needs.
The Department of Highways (headed by three Commissioners, reduced to one in 1898)
absorbed the functions of the Bureau of Highways and the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road
Commissioner, which were then absorbed into the Department of Engineering in 1907.15
The building and planning of state highways became more specialized and was handled
by a subdivision of the Engineering Department called the Highway Department.
Legislation added three members called the California Highway Commission (hereafter
CHC) to the Advisory Board of the Department of Engineering in 1911 and vested them
with direct control over the Highway Department.16
The establishment of the CHC coincided with the State Highways Act that took
effect on December 31, 1910, having been approved by the people in the November
13 Nelson, 43-45; 23
14 Nelson, 99
15 Statutes. 1897, ch. 272; Statutes. 1907, ch. 183
16 Statutes. 1911, ch. 409
9
election. This law authorized the Department of Engineering to issue $18 million in
bonds for a "continuous and connected state highway system" that would connect all
county seats.17 The three-member California Highway Commission took full charge of
the construction and maintenance of this system. The CHC determined the best routes
and construction began in 1912.18
In 1920, Ben Blow, manager of the Good Roads Bureau of the California State
Automobile Association, wrote an account of California highways and the record of their
development. Blow emphasized the support of both the state government and voters for
developing the highway system. However, in the early days of highway building there
was not an immediate or outright partnership of the government and citizens in
supporting automotive transport. The local government of Los Angeles defended the
rails by enacting a parking ban on downtown streets during the day, even if the public
outcry meant it was overturned within sixteen days.19 The Los Angeles city council also
banned the jitney automobiles [taxis] from working within the downtown limits so as not
to take business away from the rails.20 The state government did however support the
highways in ways it never did the rails: financially.
While Ben Blow glorifies the government’s efficient and diligent efforts to
“stretch out their meager funds” and build a highway for less than half the estimated
costs, the actual construction costs were more than expected and required additional
17 Statutes, 1909, Ch. 383
18 Ben Blow, California Highways: A Descriptive Records of Road Development by the State and by such
Counties as have Paved Highways, (San Francisco: H.S. Crocker Co., Inc., 1920), 27-34; 2.
19 Bottles, 248-249
20 Bottles, 50-51
10
funds to be approved by voters. Blow describes the need for the three highway bond
issues passed prior to 1920, which raised $73,000,000 for State Highways.21 Because the
first bond issue (the State Highways Act) did not provide enough funding, the "State
Highways Act of 1915" was approved by the Legislature on May 20, 1915. This gave the
Department of Engineering an additional $12 million to complete the original system and
$3 million for an additional 680 miles of road specified by the law. A 1917 bond
measure contributed another $18 million for road building and in 1919 a $40 million
bond measure passed. 22
The public agreed they wanted better roads and faster travel and reached into their
pocketbooks to get it. Creative highway funding tactics like the “seedling mile” at the
national level motivated generous taxation in California for highway funding at the State
level. When funds were short, crews would build a short stretch of concrete highway a
few miles from town so that when people drove over the rough rotten dirt roads to get
there, the difference would be obvious and they would be more likely to accept a tax
increase to pay for the smooth roads that did not turn to mud in winter and were useable
all year.23
The 1916 Federal Highway Aid Act was essential to successful construction of
the highway system as well. The federal aid boosted road building by providing
matching funds to states for road construction conditional on the forming of a highway
department, which California founded years earlier. California received millions in
21 Blow, 2.
22 Nelson, 95-96
23 Nelson, 89-90
11
federal aid that improved the roads and encouraged people to use automobiles. National
Parks had previously banned automobiles but with the rapid improvements in roads and
influx of motorists, they repealed the ban and the automobile found itself becoming
useful in every part of California.24
The Panama-California Exposition (1915-1917) in San Diego and the PanamaPacific International Exposition (1915) in San Francisco brought many people to
California, many of them arriving in automobiles, coming to see automobiles, or using
automobiles once there. At the San Francisco exposition the Palace of Transportation
was the biggest show. In contrast to the previous world’s fair in St. Louis (1904) that
featured less than 200 automobiles and highlighted the latest in horse-drawn
transportation, San Francisco exposition was as a commentator remarked “an exhibit on
horse-drawn vehicles would have looked like a hangover from the days of Rip Van
Winkle.” To demonstrate the rapid hold the automobile took on Californians, railroad
exhibits were only a quarter of the transportation exhibits featured while cars, trucks, and
motorcycles took up all the rest. The fair showcased the top sixty American car
companies and the Automobile Club of Southern California held what it claimed to be the
longest motor rally ever, a string of probably two hundred and fifty cars from Los
Angeles to the fair.25
In 1900, before the state organized a strong infrastructure to support motoring,
groups of motorists joined together to form automobile clubs led by the Automobile Club
of Southern California (A.C.S.C.) to promote motoring interests. The Club’s Articles of
24 Nelson, 96
25 Nelson, 88-89
12
Incorporation signed and filed in 1900 made the Club a legal entity and stated that the
purposes of the organization were to “obtain appropriate legislation in respect to the use
of [motor] vehicles, to promote and encourage the construction and maintenance of good
roads, to protect the interest and maintain the lawful rights and privileges of owners or
users of motor vehicles and generally maintain an organization devoted to
automobiles.”26 The records of the California Highway Commission (CHC) include
reports and evidence of the Club’s participation in governmental affairs concerning road
improvements and traffic problems. Conference transcripts reveal that automobile clubs’
representatives regularly presented their opinions, reports, and concerns to the
Commission.27 Older than the Lincoln Penny and ice cream cones, the A.C.S.C. is set
apart by its early dedication to public works proclaiming itself as not a social
organization, but a “public spirited body…allied for the purpose of benefiting its
members and their friends.”28
The Automobile Club of Southern California took steps in its early years to
increase awareness and interest in state programs and general road improvement. It
began posting directional signs as part of its broad public service mission in 1906 as well
as making membership fees an attainable $1/month in the same year (Figure 1).29 By
adding services such as the publication of their own magazine and a Tour Book including
nearly one hundred maps and lists of California automobile laws and traffic ordinances
26 J. Allen Davis, The Friend to all Motorists: The Story of the Automobile Club of Southern California
Through 65 years, 1900-1965 (United States of America: Anderson, Ritchie & Simon, 1967), 8.
27 Scope and Content, California Highway Commission Records, F3778, F3779, California State Archives,
Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.
28 Davis, 22
29 Kathy Talley Jones and Letitia Burns O’Connor, The Road Ahead: The Automobile Club of Southern
California 1900-2000 (USA; Donnelley & Sons, 2000), 10.
13
the Club quickly doubled membership in the subsequent two years.30 By 1911,
membership was up to 2,500 and the Club began issuing license plates on authority from
the Secretary of State and offering legal services to members victimized by the unlawful
loss of machine by theft or unjust traffic arrests.31
The A.C.S.C.’s monthly publication, Touring Topics, reported on legislation and
Club services, promoted touring in California and advertised for many of the newly
developed industries related to the automobile and motoring such as car camps. Articles
advised readers on important legislation, as was the case in July 1923 when California
Senator Arthur H. Breed of the State Senate wrote explaining the need and importance of
the Breed Vehicle Act. This act set uniform speed limits, rules for the road, as well as
new restrictions on commercial vehicles, the establishment of a flat registration fee of
$3.00 for motor vehicles, and policies for the apportionment of that revenue.32 Local
bond measures, state and federal aid, and Acts of Congress relating to highways and
gasoline taxes were all presented in pamphlets and other printed media for Club members
free of charge in order to encourage voter participation and increase awareness about the
Club itself. 33
CHC encouraged these activities as a way to advertise the needs and priorities of
the commission in creating new roads. Public participation and support that the Club
rallied was essential in passing taxes and highway legislation (Figure 2). In order to
seduce the support of voters, the A.C.S.C. utilized advertising tactics that appealed to
30 Davis, 22
31 Davis, 27
32 Davis, 91-92
33 Davis, 88-89, 96;
14
motorists on the basis of safety. They portrayed the needs for highway improvement as a
safety issue by parading crashed cars on platforms with banners featuring images of
mothers and children while explaining the need for increased funding (Figure 3).
Well-known portions of the highway system built by the commission included the
Ridge Route in southern California and the Yolo Causeway west from Sacramento.34
The Ridge Route, precursor to Interstate 5 along the Grapevine, cut a trail through the
Tehachapi Mountains and was one of the biggest highway building projects in the United
States. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that it was one of the most remarkable
engineering feats of the California Highway Commission, “Southern California’s
magnum opus in mountain highway construction.”35 Beginning in the 1930s, the
numerous accidents on the Grapevine inspired the building of a safer alternative route
(Interstate 5) over the Tejon Pass, opened in 1970.36
Prime Time and Problems for Automobiles
The sheer size of the state contributed to the automobile’s popularity in California
as well. California is larger than Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Ohio, and Vermont combined. While
smaller states were able to cover most interstate travel by train or trolley, these modes of
transportation simply were not sufficient to take people everywhere they needed or
34 Department of Engineering, Fifth Biennial Report of the Department of Engineering of the State of
California, December 1, 1914, to November 30, 1916, 1917. Google Books. 198.
35 Davis, 93-95
36 Nelson, 93-95
15
wanted to go.37 Thus, the A.C.S.C. reported that as early as 1923, one out of every three
Californians owned a car.38
The automobile industry maintained symbiotic relationships with other industries
that both developed around the automobile and further enabled its pervasive hold on
society. Kevin Nelson places car salesmen at the center of this revolution. They used
every stunt and auto race to get people interested in and behind the wheel of a new
automobile.39 Establishing gas stations was a major impetus for people buying more
automobiles as well. The capitalist venture, easy access filling stations, made the action
of getting fuel so much easier that it contributed to the adoption of the automobile as a
common commodity. More than one million Californians owned an automobile by 1924,
a time when there were only fifteen million automobiles in the United States and eighteen
million in the world. 40 There was no going back; the age of the automobile was here to
stay.
The automobile industry came to make up a large portion of the American
economy with one in six Americans employed by the highway/motor complex.41
Highway advocates included automakers; cement, asphalt, and steel producers; petroleum
companies; road contractors; insurance sales companies; banks; motel operators;
automobile clubs, etc. Californians drove automobiles fueled by gas and oil from
pumped from California oil fields and refined in California refineries. Oil companies big
37 Nelson, 50
38 Talley-Jones & Burns O’Connor, 7
39 Nelson, 53
40 Nelson, 97-98; 136
41 Goddard, ix
16
and small thrived from sales inside and outside the state.42 Federal aid throughout the
1930s continued interstate highway construction and further encouraged automobile and
automobile-related industries in the west and specifically in California.43 With such a
strong force lobbying for the growth and success of an automotive transportation system
in California, the overwhelming support is not surprising.
The auto’s appearance in movies and the actor’s use of automobiles around town
buttressed the car’s popularity in California and the nation as well. The automobile
revolutionized the movie industry and made it easier to transport sets and equipment
away from the studio, allowing more exotic scenery and shorter filming time. The
thriving movie industry and the tourism it attracted contributed significantly to the state’s
economy.44
However, with all this popularity and rapid transformation of state and local
transportation, came a slew of problems as well. Street and highway congestion was not
a new problem. The chaos of intermingling pedestrians, horse, train, streetcars, and
automobiles was an enormous land use problem long before the automobile and not
exclusively in California. The automobile was originally considered a convenience to
avoid traffic within the decentralizing city because it opened up crosscurrents of
movement between suburbs as the rails all ran through downtown.45 However,
California’s, and especially Southern California’s, rapid population growth and
42 Nelson, 137
43 Carl Abbot, The Metropolitan Frontier: Cities in the Modern American West (Tuscon: The University
of Arizona Press, 1993), 6.
44 Nelson, 82-85.
45 Interrante, 95
17
automobile use led to horrible traffic conditions. Highways and eventually freeways, a
non-toll road with limited access that allowed cars to travel at unfettered rates of speed,
were considered solutions.46
In 1938 construction began on California’s first freeway, the nine mile Arroyo
Seco Parkway between LA and Pasadena. The freeway met significant objections as it
went through many public parks hence the name parkway. It was opened in 1940 and
cost $4.5 million. Now called the Pasadena Freeway, the freeway is an integral part of
Angelenos’ commuting patterns and culture. In 1999 the freeway was named a national
historic civil engineering landmark; speaking not only to its significance of design and
construction, but also to California’s cultural relationship with automobile
transportation.47
The increase in road construction at the time demonstrates the simplicity of the
general solution to the traffic problem: build more freeways. The assumption was that
the new freeways would decrease traffic stops, increase gas mileage and minimize
acceleration and deceleration which would also reduce gasoline fumes released into the
atmosphere.48 Early on, traffic was so bad in Los Angeles that the city council
considered banning automobiles from parking downtown and triggered debate about the
place of the car in the city. However, the auto had become so central to business, “it is as
much a part of modern life as shoes” said one observer.49
46 Nelson, 319
47 Nelson, 319-320
48 Nelson, 324
49 Nelson, 137
18
California grew to 10.5 million residents in 1950, nearly 16 million in 1960, and
officially surpassed New York as the most populous state in 1964. Motor vehicle
registrations doubled every ten years and Los Angeles led with more cars per capita than
any other city in the world.50 Statistics like these encouraged Governor Earl Warren in
1947 to sign the Collier Burns Highway Act, a landmark legislative effort that raised the
state gasoline tax by one and a half cents per gallon. It was bitterly opposed because it
also empowered counties to adopt, monitor, and enforce anti-pollution measures and
form pollution control districts of their own.51
Traffic had caused a mysterious problem where the air turned yellowish brown
and stank, which made it difficult to breath. The causes of what came to be termed
“smog” were discovered in 1950. A temporary solution that all parties agreed upon was
to build more freeways. It would decrease traffic stops, increase gas mileage, and
minimize acceleration and deceleration thus reducing gasoline fumes released into the
atmosphere.52
Arie Jan Haagen-Smit, the scientist to explain the smoke/fog called smog, fought
for clean air. This environmentally-minded mantra became a new concern for the State.
Scientists and government representatives established committees and boards like the
Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board, formed in 1960. The board oversaw a number
of national firsts: controls on hydrocarbon crankcase emissions and tailpipe emission and
smog control devices for automobiles—its leadership spurred the creation of the
50 Nelson, 319
51 Nelson, 320-324
52 Nelson, 324
19
Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the federal Clean Air Act in 1970.
In 1967 California merged the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board with another
agency and formed the Air Resources Board which continues to monitor air pollution and
other environmental issues in the state. Governor Reagan appointed Dr. Haagen-Smit to
be its first chairman and he served in the position for years.53
Transportation for Today and Tomorrow
On the east coast, both above ground and under ground interurban rail
developments thrived earlier than on the west coast. In California and along the west
coast, transportation development has lagged in more recent history. It was not until
1957 that the California State Legislature approved the creation of the San Francisco Bay
Area Rapid Transit District, a network of trains that were supposed to be an alternative to
the automobile. The BART trains however would not come for another fifteen years.54
The California Highway Commission ceased to exist as of July 1, 1978.55 It was
replaced by the California Transportation Commission (CTC), created by the 1977
Statutes, operative as of February 1, 1978, to assume the duties and responsibilities of
four existing bodies: the California Toll Bridge Authority, State Transportation Board,
State Aeronautics Board, and California Highway Commission.56 The CTC was created
for the purposes of simplifying and clarifying the transportation planning and
programming process; consolidating the various transportation boards and commissions
53 Nelson, 326
54 Nelson, 325
55Statutes. 1977, ch. 1106
56 Statutes, 1977, Chapter 1106
20
into a single planning and fund allocation commission; and to increase the responsibility
and effectiveness of the legislature in deciding state transportation policy. Rather than an
agency focused on construction, the CTC focuses on planning for the state’s
transportation needs.57
CTC’s creation came at a time of cultural criticism of the automobile and its
supporting industries in the 1970s and 1980s, which included the damages of smog and
the “crushing” of mass transit corporations. The increasingly urgent concerns about
pollution, energy and petroleum costs, and fuel shortages required a reorganization and
reallocation of focus and responsibilities within the state. The Legislature therefore
replaced the CHC and other agencies with the California Transportation Commission in
order to have a broad focused body that served in an oversight and developmentallyminded capacity.
Specifically the CTC is responsible for adopting a State Transportation
Improvement Program (STIP) including an estimate and allocation of state and federal
funds for transportation projects over a five-year period and ranking those projects in
keeping with statewide interests. Projects including the Los Angeles multi-billion dollar
subway that opened in 1992, “pollution free” automobile sales mandates for 1998 and
2003, BART trains, Amtrak trains, and local light rail transit are all alternative efforts
taken in California transportation planning that the Commission reviews.58
The Commission also prepares a Biennial Report to the legislature that evaluates
significant transportation issues, making an overview of necessary future investments,
57 Government Code, sections 14520-14522
58 Goddard, 245, 268
21
and recommending legislative and administrative actions to meet California’s emerging
transportation problems.59 The CTC’s focus covers not only highway transportation, but
also aeronautics and mass transportation programs, which require the commission to be
informed about a variety of diverse issues including energy concerns, traffic problems,
regional and state development plans, as well as individual projects. The massive size of
the state and therefore its roads, tracks, and skies requires near constant construction or
maintenance, which is an enormous financial burden on the state.
The legislature tasked the newly created CTC with evaluating the proposed
budget of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), recognizing the role of
finances in the transportation development and maintenance. This legislation was
amended in 1981 to specify that the Commission’s evaluation report must recommend
“adjustments of the motor vehicle fuel tax rates and commercial vehicle weight fees
necessary to fund the State highway program.” 60 Amended again in 1982 the law
required the budget evaluation report to, “reflect the Commission’s judgment regarding
the overall funding levels for each program category and shall not supplicate the item-byitem analysis conducted by the Legislative Analyst.”61 By evaluating whether the
department’s budget established adequate funding for the various program needs, the
Legislature and Commission seek to ensure that the state provides a comprehensive
multimodal State Transportation System “consistent with the orderly economic and social
59 Government Code, sections 14520-14536
60 Statutes, 1981, Chapter 541 (SB215)
61 Statutes, 1982, Chapter 580 (SB1376)
22
progress of the State.”62 California and therefore the Commission must not only meet the
current transportation needs of its citizens, but their future needs as well.
In his 2008 publication Mass Motorization + Mass Transit, historian and policy
analyst, David Jones, identifies a plethora of present-day transportation problems that
plague the United States. With education and work experience centered in California
transportation, Jones acknowledges that “mass motorization” 63 occurred in the United
States in 1958, thirteen years before any other country.64 Los Angeles had 357 reported
motor vehicles per 1,000 residents as early as 1936.65 Historian Carl Abbott notes that by
1970 a worker in a typical city in the southwest such as Los Angeles could be traveling a
seventy-five mile radius to get to work and back.66 In 2002, Los Angeles ranked the
highest in the nation in terms of hours of traffic delay per capita, with San Francisco the
second highest.67 It is no wonder with such conditions that traffic and congestion
continue to be a major transportation concerns for the state. The need for fuel-efficient,
cost-effective transportation options is obvious. In his study of Los Angeles and other
major metropolitan areas, Jones deduces that “when it comes to transportation investment
and traffic management…planning is most likely to produce the best results when
tailored to fit local circumstances and local needs.”68 The Governor appoints CTC
62Robert S. Nielsen, Memoranda, “Commission Mission Statement,” December 3, 1987, California
Transportation Commission Records, R223.01, Box 34, California State Archives, Office of the Secretary
of State, Sacramento, California.
63 “Mass Motorization” defined by Jones as 400 vehicles per 1,000 population.
64 David W. Jones, Mass Motorization + Mass Transit: An American History and Policy Analysis,
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008), 3; 10; 18.
65 Jones, 128
66 Abbott, 169
67 Jones, 130
68 Jones, 131
23
members with careful concern for geographic balance of representation from the north
and south, urban and rural areas. CTC holds its monthly meetings throughout the state at
locations chosen for their population density or their proximity to specific projects under
review by the Commission.69 In such ways, CTC is organized to best serve the needs and
specific circumstances of the state demonstrating a consensus in state policy and Jones’
deductions.
Conclusion
Exploration in California and the West did not end with the pioneers in wagons,
the miners of the Gold Rush, or the transcontinental railroad. Automobiles opened up
new paths to the West and avenues within it as well. The transformations in the
landscape and culture came not by a single vast enterprise, but by countless small
enterprises and individuals. The push of many industries and individuals all going
diverse directions, making tiny incremental advances, had monumental transformative
effects on society.70
The automobile was embraced in California faster and with more fervor than
anywhere else in the nation. Its significance to the spatial development and land use of
the state is undeniable. Complaints about traffic and the yellowish haze named smog in
1950 are still challenges for the state of California. The problems of global warming and
the gradual depletion of global oil supplies are environmental and financial burdens that
69 Government Code Section 14504; Inventory of the California Transportation Commission Records,
R223.01, California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.
70 Nelson, 54
24
motivate drivers, developers, and the government to look for new transportation
solutions. Transportation planning has changed to look more to the future and
alternatives to automobiles, but progress is slow and funding even slower coming.
With an infrastructure in place for alternative transportation, the automobile
remains more than a vehicle for the state of California. The automobile is elemental in
the state’s cultural identity and will continue to have a significant role in the state’s
transportation planning. As present and future historians study California’s
transportation history, the records of the California Highway Commission and the
California Transportation Commission will provide an essential link to state policy in
transportation development. The preservation and accessibility of these records are of
fundamental value to such pursuits.
This project demonstrates the steps taken in order to ensure these records’
preservation and accessibility. The intern arranged and described the records of the
California Highway Commission and the California Transportation Commission in
accordance with archival standards and the policies and procedures of the California State
Archives.
25
Chapter 2
METHODOLOGY
Archival processing denotes multiple steps of appraising, arranging, and
describing records of enduring historical significance.71 It is an essential process
whereby the archivist obtains greater physical and intellectual control of the records in
order to make them accessible to researchers.72 Chapter 1 of the Statutes of 1850
established the California State Archives as the repository for all state government
records of enduring value and as such, the State Archives has the responsibility to
preserve and provide access to those records.73
The records of the California Highway Commission and its successor, the
California Transportation Commission, are two valuable record groups at the California
State Archives (CSA). These two unprocessed collections are legally accessible for
public research, but multiple accessions and previous partial attempts at processing stunt
the accessibility and therefore value of these records. CSA has vague and insufficient
descriptions for researchers to approach the approximately 200 cubic feet of records
giving the archives limited intellectual control of the collections. According to
Government Code Section 12153 and 12227, it is the responsibility of the Chief of the
Archives Division to preserve and index material deposited at the State Archives. In
accordance with this mandate, the intern fully arranged and described these two groups of
records, complete with detailed finding aids describing the agency history, record series,
71 Gregory S. Hunter, Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives, 2nd ed. (New York: NealSchuman Publishers, Inc., 2003), 113.
72 Kathleen D. Roe, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society of American
Archivists, 2005), 11.
73 Statutes, 1850, Chapter 2.
26
and arrangement of the records. The staff and intern at CSA encoded the finding aids,
which are published on the Online Archive of California expanding access to an
international audience. This chapter will explain the detailed methodology practiced by
the intern at the various stages of the project.
Accessioning
CSA collection policy is based on the statutory mandate to acquire state
government records, selected local government records, and related materials of enduring
value that augment the record of California governmental and political activities,
functions, and purposes. The archives takes possession of these records either by “legal
and physical transfer, deed of gift, bequest, exchange, purchase or any other transaction
by which title passes to the Archives.”74 The selection and appraisal efforts of the
archivists are based on quarterly inspections of retention schedules and transfer lists.
Records retention schedules are documents that state agencies, committees, and officials
within the executive branch are required to update every five years designating the
timetable on which records are scheduled to be relocated to the state records center, the
archives, or destroyed. CSA archivists review the transfer lists of all those records
registered for destruction (both those previously flagged, or identified for transfer to the
State Archives at the end of its life cycle, and those un-flagged) and make a final decision
about their transfer to the archives.
74 Office of the Secretary of State, Archives Division, Collections Management Manual, unpublished,
February 1998, revised September 2007, 2.
27
Agencies are required to submit records retention schedules listing all the records
maintained by their office to the Department of General Services (DGS) and the
Archives’ State Records Appraisal Program (SRAP) for approval and identification of
archival materials. Agencies are then allowed to transfer their records to the State
Records Center for storage until the records reach the end of their useful lifecycle and are
either destroyed or sent to CSA for permanent preservation. Once agency records have
no further administrative, legal, or fiscal value to the agency if the State Records
Appraisal Program (SRAP) Archivists identified them as historically significant by
flagging the record retention schedules, the State Records Center will alert the Archives
they are ready for transfer. The retention schedule acts as a transfer document meaning
the Archives takes physical and legal ownership of the records once they are received on
site. When the records are transferred and physically located at the Archives, a staff
member accessions the records and enters basic identification information into an
accessioning worksheet on “Minerva,” the California State Archives’ online searchable
catalog.
CSA’s appraisal of the California Highway Commission and Transportation
Commission records began when they received the commissions’ retention schedules
submitted to DGS. The SRAP staff then flagged those records they identified as
potentially historically significant. Their aim is to collect those records that relate to the
agency’s function, purpose, and performance thereof, such as policy, procedure, and
program files. If the records are flagged during review of the schedule, they are sent to
28
the archives at the end of their lifecycle for accessioning and processing in order to make
them available to the public.
Accessioning is defined as “the act and procedures involved in a transfer of legal
title and taking records or papers into the physical custody of an archival agency, records
center, or manuscript repository.”75 An examination of CSA accessioning procedures
reveals elements of Mark Greene and Dennis Meissner’s suggestions from their 2005
article, “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing,” in the
American Archivist.76 CSA in fact practices Greene and Meissner’s processing
suggestions in accessions by re-boxing the records in acid and lignin-free boxes and
creating box lists for certain accessioned records to increase access before housing them
in environmentally controlled stack areas.
In addition to re-boxing the records, during accessioning archivists also capture
preliminary data regarding the records creator, title, date range, method of acquisition,
volume, a brief description, and notes on any restrictions before locating the newly
accessioned records to a location in the second floor stacks to await further processing.
This descriptive information can usually be obtained from the transfer documents written
by the agency and is verified by taking a cursory look at the records during re-boxing.
Other routine activities performed during accessioning include discarding duplicative
items, non-record materials, and blank forms, removing publications, separating artifacts,
ephemera, and selected other items (e.g. nitrate film) and relocating them to their
75 Hunter, 101
76 Mark Green and Dennis Meissner, “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival
Processing,” American Archivist 68 (2005): 208-265.
29
respective locations within the Archives’ stacks. A separation sheet is maintained with
the records and accessioning continues with an evaluation of the condition of materials,
preparing preservation work orders if necessary, and performing basic preservation work
including the removal of large metal fasteners and heavy surface dirt.77
The accessioning of records at CSA therefore is part of the staff’s physical and
intellectual control of the records and includes initial levels of description and
preservation. The archivists assign an accession number consisting of the year it was
received followed by a dash and a three digit number. This three-digit number is
assigned numerically starting with 001 and ascending order for each accession received
that year. The accession worksheets automatically upload to Minerva and Archive’s staff
place a copy of the worksheet in the research room binders for in-person patrons’ access.
Accessioning therefore creates two access points for the researcher who can then request
the records and have them pulled from the stacks during open research hours: in person
and online.
The California Highway Commission and the California Transportation
Commission Records processed by the intern were received in ten different accessions
via the agency or by transfer from the State Records Center storage facility. Various
archivists and staff accessioned the approximately eighty-eight cubic feet of records
between 1979 and 2002. The State Archives expects continual accruals of records as
long as the agency is in existence.
77 SOS, Collections Management Manual (2007), 3-7.
30
Processing – Arrangement and Description
The Processing Coordinator, Jeff Crawford assigned the records of the
California Highway Commission and California Transportation Commission to the intern
in March 2010. The intern and Processing Coordinator removed the accessioning
worksheets from the master set of worksheets and the intern pulled the records from their
stack locations listed on the accession sheets, relocating them to the processing lab. In
order to maintain intellectual control of the records during processing, the intern emailed
all staff in the Archives Division that the accessions had been pulled, the volume of
records pulled, and the records’ new location in the processing lab at the intern’s
processing station. Since the records remain open to the public during processing the
intern stamped the accession sheets in the research room binders to say “Out for
Processing Lisa D.” The location record in the California State Archives’ electronic
internal data entry catalog interface, Gencat, was updated to maintain intellectual control.
Gencat, which was created by Eloquent Systems Inc., a company that manufactures
software specifically designed for managing information in archives, libraries and
museums, uploads to Minerva overnight so that patrons searching the online catalog will
have the most up-to-date information regarding the records.
At the start of any new processing project at the California State Archives, the
processing archivist begins a “Processing Checklist” which lists the various tasks to
complete during processing, from pulling the accession sheets to the project’s
culmination in the encoding of the finding aid for the Online Archive of California. The
Processing Manual prepared for the staff at CSA clearly states that, “planning and
31
preparation are essential to processing historical records.”78 The intern therefore
conducted a preliminary review of all the records. She gathered information about the
provenance, physical condition, content, arrangement, as well as the types of materials.79
The intern reviewed the accession sheets and provisionally inspected the contents of the
boxes themselves in order to obtain the information about the records needed to prepare a
processing plan.
All processing archivists outline a plan for the records’ arrangement and description
by completing a processing plan worksheet which identities the record group by name as
well as any predecessor names. Further information such as the accession numbers, the total
volume at the start of processing, organization of the records, dates covered, types of
materials included, primary subjects covered by the records, physical condition of the
materials, any restrictions to access, and the records units the processing archivist identifies
within the records, is also captured on the worksheet. Researching the agency’s history is an
important first step in the preparation of a processing plan. For the California Highway
Commission (CHC) records, a brief agency history existed as part of the Department of
Public Works, Division of Highways finding aid. Since the CHC was placed under the
Department of Public Works in 1921, it was identified as a sub-group of the department’s
collection when partially processed in the past despite the fact that the commission became
an independent body in 1923.80 Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS),
published and adopted as a professional standard by the Council of the Society of American
78 Laren Metzer, “Processing Manual” (Sacramento: California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of
State, 2002, updated June 2004), 5.
79 SOS, Collections Management Manual, 9
80 Statutes, 1921, Ch. 607; Statutes, 1923, Ch. 289
32
Archivists in March 2005, says that one should “create an authority record for each person,
family, or corporate body associated with the creation of archival materials.”81 As an
independent authority, CHC should therefore have its own record group according to DACS.
With the agency history loosely established, the intern continued with the processing
plan and outlined a preliminary sketch of the record units including the records previously
processed under the Department of Public Works, and the accessioned files currently located
in the processing lab. The initial plan recognized that while the accession worksheet
identified the records as County Files, Agency Files, Correspondence, and Condemnation
Resolutions, there were many more series included in the transfers. The intern therefore
proposed arranging the records into twenty-one series, merging the old with the new records
intellectually in the finding aid. This processing plan included the addition of nine new
series, adding to two existing series, and editing the description for ten series identified in
the Public Works finding aid.
After establishing a plan, the intern began arranging the records. Arrangement is the
process of organizing the records to reveal their context, contents, and significance.82 As
outlined in the CSA Processing Manual, the intern needed to “analyze the records in detail
and make final decisions about retaining and discarding files, identify organizational
units within the records (record groups, subgroups, record series, sub-series, files and
individual documents), organize these units by provenance and filing structure into
meaningful relationships with each other, preserve the records by carrying out basic
81Society of American Archivists, Describing Archives: A Content Standard (Chicago: The Society of
American Archivists, 2004), 106.
82 Hunter, 113
33
preservation activities and foldering, labeling, boxing and storing the records according
to established professional practice.”83
Essential to archival arrangement are the principles of provenance and original
order. Provenance, or the French term respect des fonds, refers to the organization of
records by creator meaning that records of difference agencies should not be grouped
together. Unlike libraries, archives organize records by the records’ creator, in this case,
the California Highway Commission. Original order “means that records should be
maintained in the order in which they were placed by the organization that created
them…as evidence of how the records were used by the creator.”84 The intern paid close
attention to these guiding principles during all stages of processing, but especially during
arrangement. The CHC records presented a particular challenge because they were in
various stages of processing at the start of the project and identified under multiple
identification systems in use during the course of CSA’s history.
An identification number exists for every records creator, present or past, that
exists in the holdings of the archives. The current system of identifying records at CSA
assigns government agencies like the Commission a two part identification number
consisting of a record group number (R plus a three-digit number,) and a series number,
which is separated by a period from the record group number and is added to identify
records at the series level.85 The processing manual recognizes that, “the identification
83 Metzer, Processing Manual, 11
84 Hunter, 114
85 Linda Johnson, CSA Archivist, email correspondence, September 21, 2010.
34
number controls all the records created by the agency and is based on provenance.”86
Archivist and Reference Coordinator, Linda Johnson, discussed the transition to the new
system and referenced an early proposal for the system written by deputy State Archivist,
Laren Metzer, which states that the new system:
reflects two key elements of modern archival practice: one, the use of a
record group/collection structure for organizing governmental records at
the highest bureaucratic level; two, the use of the record series as the
primary unit for the intellectual control of records. The use of a number to
identify record groups/collections represents provenance and, in turn, is the
basis for organizing finding aids. The use of a series designator represents
the fundamental level for arranging and describing the records and is the
linchpin to archival work in a government setting.87
At the start of the project, Processing Coordinator Jeff Crawford discussed the
need to merge the old and the new identification systems applied to the Commission
records. The processing manual recognizes this as a decision made at the discretion of
the processing archivist, in this case, the intern. The manual states, “because a processing
project will encompass all records from a given creator and its predecessors, there may be
multiple identification numbers to track…The decision to use a single or multiple
identification numbers for a project will be made by the processing archivist.”88
The records of the Highway Commission included both records considered
processed and unprocessed by the State Archives. Those records identified under the
Department of Public Works finding aid are arranged and described, although under the
incorrect record group, and are therefore considered “processed.” The records identified
86 Metzer, Processing Manual, 12
87 Laren Metzer, “Proposal for New Identification System,” division memo, May 9, 2002.
88 Metzer, Processing Manual, 12
35
with only their accession number and relocated to the processing lab are considered
unprocessed. There was also a third group of records that existed in the Archives’
internal location database, identified as “Meetings” that had been assigned an F number
and were not associated with an accession number. These meeting files were not listed in
the Department of Public Works finding aid and were not listed or described anywhere
except the location database.
Although the processed records’ finding aid description used the Archive’s old
filing system of “F” numbers, the intern planned to use the Commission’s assigned
identification number, R295, for the accessioned records to be processed. During the
intern’s cursory review of the records for the processing plan, she recognized that
preliminary arrangement was already begun on certain records noting that a staff member
had assigned certain file folders an F number. The processing coordinator believed that
the records of the Highway Commission had been in the process of arrangement and
description during the early 1990s when the Archives moved records off-site during the
construction of a new building (completed in 1995). CSA records indicated staff never
finished this project. Since this selection of records was still associated with an accession
number, had not been described or labeled, and lacked even the most basic preservation,
it was necessary at this time to fully process these “partially processed” records. Upon
consultation with the processing coordinator, the intern decided to process all the
accessioned records with an R number as planned and in accordance with updated
institutional and professional standards. The expansive group of Meeting Files identified
as F3779:338-1737 occupied three different locations on the fourth floor stacks and
36
would not be processed with the rest of the records but would be included and described
in the new Highway Commission finding aid.
The intern continued down the processing checklist and began to arrange the
records into appropriate units by sorting the boxes of records according to the identified
series approved in the processing plan as Hunter advises.89 Unlike record groups that
relate to entities that create records, records units, such as a record series, subseries, and
individual documents, relate to the records themselves and particularly to the records’
filing structure. The intern arranged the records of the Commissions into series and
subseries. “A record series is a unit of records organized in a unified filing system or
created and maintained as a unit by an organization or individual because of some
relationship derived from its function, content, form or use.”90
At this point, the intern identified a potential problem. The F numbers assigned to
the partially processed records were inconsistent. The F number identification system
included a four-digit number associated with a record’s creator and a file folder number
separated from the creator number by a colon. The meeting files, which were the first
"new" series slated to be processed by the intern, were from the partially processed
records identified as F3779:1750 and the marking, folder C. Aware of potential
inconsistencies caused by partial processing, the intern was concerned about the missing
folders A and B. She searched the location database for further clues. Noting that the
meeting file records were identified as F3779:338-1737 the intern was also surprised that
folders 1738-1749 were also unaccounted for, along with folders A and B of F3779:1750.
89 Hunter, 123
90 Metzer, Processing Manual, 13
37
The intern went to the fourth floor stacks of processed records where the meeting files
were located. While the majority of the meeting files were located on shelves D03418D03470, the last range of file folders, F3779:1733-1737 was located separately at
D03688 according to the location database. It was unusual that this one cubic foot would
be isolated from the rest of the meeting files if processed so the intern began her
investigation at that location.
Inside the box the intern found folders F3779:1734-1750 B, which connected the
previously processed records with the accessioned records pulled and located in the
processing lab. This discovery revealed the lack of intellectual control over these records
and therefore the significance of this project. These records were not recorded on any
accession sheet nor finding aid, not cataloged in Gencat, or the location database; the
only clue to their existence was a pencil label on a separate accession of records. This is
evidence of the folly of partially completed processing projects; no one at the Archives
knew these records of the California Highway Commission existed, much less what they
contained and where they were located. The intern removed the cubic foot of records and
relocated it to the processing lab with the other records and emailed all Archives staff
with the new temporary location.
Another significant discovery accompanied the finding of the “missing” records, a
hand-written finding aid in pencil with a basic description of folders F3779:655-2085.
The intern immediately contacted the processing coordinator to re-evaluate the
processing plan. With this new information, the processing coordinator decided that it no
longer made sense to fully process the accessioned records since the pencil finding aid
38
found with the missing files finding aid met the minimum descriptive standards according
to DACS. The newly-found finding aid identified the following series: Meeting Files,
Condemnation Resolutions, Coordinating Agreements, County Files, Subject Files,
Correspondence, State Highway Finance Board, Highway Budget, and Reports.
The intern continued processing the records according to a new processing plan in
accordance with the hand-written finding aid using Acid and lignin free file folders with
labels created by hand using a #4, hard lead pencil. Labels included the records’
identification number, records’ creator (California Highway Commission), record
unit/series title, inclusive dates, and specific folder content data when necessary. The
intern did not include the box and folder numbers on the folder label since the F number
identification number is assigned numerically with each folder having a unique number,
unlike the R number that identifies the creator and series number and requires specific
box/folder numbers on the folder for specifying a particular file folder.
Preservation is a significant part of archival practice that prolongs the life of the
records and continues their accessibility. Basic preservation efforts are an essential part
of the arrangement activity and the intern performed these efforts on the records of the
Commission according to institutional policies. During the earlier arrangement and
description of the records of the Commission records, staff had performed little or no
basic preservation work on the records. The intern therefore took care to remove paper
clips, metal posts and bands, alligator clips, grommets, pins, rubber bands, sticky notes
and strings, classified as “destructive fasteners” in the processing manual.91 The intern
91 Metzer, Processing Manual, 21
39
also photocopied records suffering from rapid deterioration caused by glue and tape. The
Condemnation Resolutions series had severe damage as the acidity of the tape and glue
discolored the document and those around the effected record. Further threats existed as
the materials deteriorated because those records glued and taped together separated and
could easily loose their context. Photocopying preserved the information, even if the
original medium was discarded. Sticky notes and envelopes that contained pertinent
information, as well as other materials whose acidic content posed a preservation concern
including newspaper clippings and telegrams were also photocopied and removed. The
Highway Commission records also contained a number of records printed on Thermo fax
paper that the intern photocopied onto bond paper to combat the loss of information
caused by fading ink. The intern placed all photographic records in Mylar polyester
sleeves to prevent damage from handling. A magic rub eraser and clean cotton cloth
enabled easy removal of extensive surface dirt from records before they were housed in
non-acidic, lignin-free file boxes as a final preservation measure during arrangement.
While these item level preservation measures are significant, archivists recognize
that the best preservation technique is to maintain environmentally controlled stack areas.
The main threats to archival records are temperature, relative humidity, air quality, light,
biological agents, and theft.92 The environmental conditions in the CSA stacks are kept
at a temperature of sixty to sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit with fifty-percent relative
humidity and positive pressure. These conditions provide the best conditions for the life
of the paper and the deterrence of pests and dust. The thickness of walls facilitates the
92 Hunter, 164
40
maintenance of these environmental controls which hypothermograph machines located
in the stacks measure and which the staff monitors.93 Re-filing the processed boxes in the
stacks after arrangement and description is therefore a further method of preservation
against the first five threats. Security at the Archives exists at various degrees and levels
the moment staff and patrons enter the building and is a method of preservation against
the fifth threat: theft. The intern, and all staff, are required to keep their identification
badge and security key card with them at all times. In order to access the stacks,
preservation lab, and processing lab, the intern used her badge to gain entry.
To prepare the boxes for re-filing, the intern created box labels with descriptive
information so that the records could be easily pulled and re-filed by archives staff in the
future. CSA maintains a Microsoft Access database for the creation of all box labels in
both accessions and processing. The intern accessed the database via the shared file on
the archives network. Fields in the box label database include “IDnum” for the
identification number, “Agency/Source” for the records’ creator, the “Record Title” for
the series, the “Dates” covered in this box, the “Loc” for location on the D-Floor stacks,
as well as the box number, and the total number of boxes. Once the intern placed the
labels on the lower, right corner of the boxes, the California Highway Commission
records were ready for description.
When preparing to process the records of the successor to the California Highway
Commission, the intern knew these records would be a separate record group because of
the change in the agency’s function. The California Transportation Commission replaced
93 Kevin Turner and Juan Ramon, Preservation Technicians at CSA, intern conducted interview,
September 17, 2009.
41
four agencies at its creation in 1978, the California Toll Bridge Authority, State
Transportation Board, State Aeronautics Board, and California Highway Commission.94
Processing these records began with a processing checklist and a processing plan. The
intern pulled the original accession sheets from the master accessioning worksheet boxes
and removed the sixty-six cubic feet of material listed on the accession sheets from the
second floor (B-Floor) and fifth floor (E-Floor) stacks to the processing lab. As she had
done with the Highway Commission, the intern then emailed all staff alerting them of the
records location status and new temporary location in the processing lab at the intern’s
station, and stamped the accession sheets in the research room binders to say “Out for
Processing, Lisa D.” in order to maintain intellectual control. The staff at the State
Archives then also updates the Gencat records to reflect the records’ new location and
status as well.
Once the records were located in the processing lab, the intern began her initial
review of the records, comparing them to the accession sheets descriptions. Immediately
the intern recognized an error on the accession sheet. The three cubic feet from accession
2002-129, entitled “Subject Files” included records dating from 1950-1978. These
records were created by the California Highway Commission, not the California
Transportation Commission. Though the California Highway Commission ceased to
exist in 1978, not all of their files had reached the end of their retention period. These
records were transferred from the Transportation Commission and were therefore
identified as CTC records. However, provenance dictates that these records belong with
94 Statutes, 1977, Chapter 1106
42
the Highway Commission record group and therefore the intern informed the processing
coordinator of the discovery and her plan to begin a third processing plan for these three
cubic feet of records.
The intern arranged these misidentified records into six series and identified them
with the R295 identification number. CSA policy regarding series numbers changed
since the processing of this record group. The first new series identified by the intern
consisted of the record group number, R295 followed by a period and a “.01” which now
denotes the series “Commissioner Files.” The intern labeled each folder with the
appropriate record group number, and series number on the top left hand side of the
folder and the box and folder number separated by a forward slash in the top right hand
corner. Graduate Intern Coordinator and Archivist, Sara Kuzak, notified staff via email
on July 15, 2010 that the archives policy regarding agency series numbers officially
changed. The new policy for processing agency records is to write the identification
number without an extra zero before the series number. For example: R250.1, instead of
R250.01.
With approval from the coordinator Jeff Crawford to continue with the processing
plan, the intern continued with the arrangement and basic preservation efforts according
to institutional practices previously discussed. Maintaining the original order of the
records, the intern recognized the following new units within the records: seven folders
of Commissioner Files, ten folders of Administrative files, seventeen folders of Project
Files, and five folders of Financial Files. The intern recognized the next two file units as
series existing in the processed records of the Highway Commission including two file
43
folders of Chairman’s Correspondence and three file folders of General Correspondence
of the Commission Secretary. As part of the appraisal process during arrangement the
intern constantly made decisions regarding the value of records according to their
historical and intrinsic value in relation to the collection.95 The intern discarded duplicate
records, non-record material including blank forms and unrelated published material in
accordance with the processing manual.96 Once arrangement was complete with folder
and box labels, the intern added their description to the finding aid of the California
Highway Commission and located the records in the stacks next to the rest of the recently
processed CHC records. The intern emailed all staff regarding the records’ new identity
and location increasing both intellectual and physical control over the records. All the
records of the California Highway Commission are open to the public, without any
restrictions from the Information Practices Act or the Public Records Act.
The second accession of Transportation Commission records was fifty-two cubic
feet of textual files identified on the accession sheets, and physically confirmed, as CTC
Meeting Files dating 1978-1990. The CSA staff assigned the Transportation Commission
record group number R223. When the Archives transitioned to the R number
identification system, staff identified all existing authority records and created a chart
assigning each creator its own record group number. The staff maintains this chart
internally, and if new authorities are created, the authorities are added to the list
numerically and assigned the next sequential number.
95 Hunter, 50
96 Metzer, Processing Manual, 15
44
The single-series processing plan for the Transportation Commission record
group was very simple. The SRAP archivists flagged the records containing information
on the Commission including agendas, minutes, condemnations, hearing transcripts, and
reports to the legislature on the Commission’s records retention schedule. The intern also
identified correspondence, resolutions, and summaries within this flagged series
identified as “Monthly Meeting Master Books” by the accessioning archivist. Once the
processing coordinator approved the processing plan, arrangement proceeded in
accordance with the principle of original order.
During arrangement, the intern performed basic preservation on the records and
placed them in acid- and lignin-free file folders within acid- and lignin-free cubic foot
boxes. The intern careful looked through the records and removed metal paper clips,
rubber bands, alligator clips, and rusted staples that threaten to deteriorate the paper and
the ink and therefore the information contained within the documents. Ripped pages that
had been taped by the creator were photocopied to stop the spread of the tape’s acid to
the surrounding pages and photographs and maps were placed in mylar sleeves for added
protection.
The records were placed in archival file folders chronologically by meeting date.
The intern neatly labeled the top, center of file folders with the name of the records
creator, “California Transportation Commission,” the series name, “Monthly Meeting
Files,” and the specific meeting date contained within each folder. She wrote the year(s)
covered in the folder to the right of the creator information. In the top left hand corner,
the intern included the identification number consisting of the record group number,
45
R223, followed by a period and the series number, .01. In the top right hand corner of the
file folders, the intern transcribed the box and folder number to increase the intellectual
control of that specific file while aiding staff in the pulling and refiling of the records.
California State Archives policy dictates that the folders labels are to be “created by hand
using a #4 (hard lead) pencil… [with] upper and lower case letters.”97 The intern then
placed the individual file folders with cubic foot archival boxes.
The Hollinger Metal Edge one-cubic foot archival storage boxes used at the
California State Archives were created specifically to suit the needs of CSA during their
move from their old facility to the temporary location in Roseville during the
construction of the current building, and then the final re-location to their permanent,
current location. The boxes are filled along the long side of the box first, placing file
folders face down. Once the file folders reach the top of the box’s horizontal size, an
additional three or four file folders are placed facing the opposite direction filling the rest
of the box. The arrangement of folders within the box is not only an efficient use of
space within the box, it also protects the records. For example, if a staff member drops a
box while on a ladder, the files will fall neatly maintaining their order for re-foldering.
More significantly, if there is a fire that causes the sprinkler system to discharge in the
stack areas, only the edges of the records come in contact with water and therefore the
records have a lesser chance of being damaged or information lost.
The intern took care to fill the file folders and the boxes appropriately. The
Processing Manual indicates that the file folders are to be scored along the pre-existing
97 Metzer, Processing Manual, 16
46
lines so that the width is neither too narrow nor too wide to accommodate the records.98
The intern used appropriately sized file folders for the material, meaning that oversized
documents were placed in legal size folders instead of the typical letter size. The boxes
need to be filled so that the files folders fit securely to prevent curling of the records over
time as they slouch within the box. However, the intern took care not to over fill the
boxes, which makes them excessively heavy and difficult to access. The Processing
Manual also reminds processing archivists that over filling the boxes speeds up the
deterioration of the folders and boxes as they are more likely damaged during retrieval
and re-filing of the records after research use.99 Once the intern arranged all the files and
placed them in the file folders and boxes, she made box labels to identify which records’
series lived in each respective box in order to facilitate easy access.
Box labels at the California State Archives contain important information that aid
support staff in paging records for patrons and re-filing the records after their use.
Typically, researchers request only a few file folders of information, so the box labels are
for mostly internal use. The intern used an internal Microsoft Access database to create
the box labels. Located on the Archive’s shared drive, the database contains eight fields
of information that is filled out by the staff. The staff at the California State Archives
uses this database for all box labels during accessioning and processing of textual records
as well as artifacts and certain audio-visual records.
When creating the box labels for the CHC and the CTC, the intern entered the
“IDnum” field with the appropriate record group numbers, either F3778, F3779, R295, or
98 Metzer, Processing Manual, 17
99 Metzer, Processing Manual, 18
47
R223. Other fields of information on the label include the “AgcySrce” or creator, the
series title[s] contained within the box, the date range of the records within the box, and
the physical location in the stacks that the box will occupy.100 The physical location is
always listed as a five-digit alpha-numeric shelf number where the alpha-character refers
to the “floor” which are lettered “A-F” in ascending order. Processed records, including
those of the CHC and the CTC received a D-floor location because they are on the fourth
floor stacks. The five-digit number refers to the specific shelf on that floor that holds the
box. Each horizontal shelf holds three one cubic foot size boxes. The boxes are also
labeled with a “NUM,” referring to the box’s sequential number out of the total number
of boxes in the recently processed or accessioned project; for example, the label on the
first box of sixty-three CTC boxes, read “1 of 63.”101 See Appendix C for a sample of the
CTC box labels.
The intern created, printed, and applied the labels to each of the collections before
placing them in the stacks at their permanent location. The labels are printed on an
archival grade adhesive label and placed on the lower, right hand corner of the box
slightly towards the middle. The intern was careful not to place the label too close to the
handle opening of the box where repeated contact with the label during the pulling of the
box would result in smearing and increased deterioration of the label. With all boxes
labeled, the intern prepared to relocate the records to the stacks area.
100 “Creating Box Labels and Box List Report.” Internal employee handout from the California State
Archives’ Shared File. Undated.
101 “Creating Box Labels and Box List Report.”
48
The processing coordinator assigned shelving locations for the CHC and CTC
records according to protocol in the Processing Manual. The intern loaded the labeled,
processed boxes, onto a flat bead hand truck and removed them from the processing lab
to the environmentally controlled fourth floor stacks using the employee freight elevator
between floors. The boxes for both the CHC and CTC records were placed on the
shelves in numerical order as listed on each box. With the records relocated, the
processing coordinator updated the internal Microsoft Access location database with the
new locations.102 The intern then removed the stamped accession sheets from the binder
and submitted them to the internship coordinator. The processing coordinator took
possession of the original accession sheets pulled at the beginning of the project along
with copies of the original and final processing plans for the projects. The intern emailed
all staff regarding the records new status as fully processed records and their new
location. This completed the physical arrangement of the records.
According to the Processing Manual, “arrangement is the foundation for
description,” and description is “focused on working with information about the
records.”103 The second half of processing the CHC and CTC records encompassed the
description of the records. Kathleen D. Roe defines description as “the creation of an
accurate representation of a unit of archival material by the process of capturing,
collating, analyzing, and organizing information that serves to identify archival material
and explain the context and records system(s) that produced it.”104 In the case of the
102 Metzer, Processing Manual, 19
103 Metzer, Processing Manual, 23
104 Roe, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts, 13
49
CHC and CTC records, the intern created a finding aid to guide researchers in their use of
the records. The intern continually worked on the finding aid during arrangement as she
gathered information about the collection and its content and context, the records’
creators, record series, and data used for calculating extent and date ranges. By the time
the intern relocated the records to their permanent locations, the finding aids were under
final review for approval by the processing and internship coordinators.
The purpose of description is to make the records accessible so that researchers
can use them optimally. Roe reminds archivists that the principles of provenance and
original order apply to description when she suggests that, “records need to be arranged
and described in a manner that supports a user’s understanding of how the records were
created and originally used.”105 The description of the records must “offer sufficient data
so that a researcher may determine if he/she wants to examine the records.”106 By the
end of description, the intern created a detailed finding aid, multiple access points for inperson patrons to the Archives, a Gencat computer entry for the record groups and series
for both collections, and created encoded archival description which enable the
description to be published on the Online Archive of California.
For California State Archives staff, the creation of a records inventory is the
primary focus of description. According to CSA policy, an inventory provides summary
information at a records series level for a single records creator or several record creators
that are linked by function or a close relationship. The inventory typically includes the
following information: an agency history, a scope and content note, record series
105 Roe, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts, 17
106 Metzer, Processing Manual, 23
50
descriptions, and indices to provide easy reference to find relevant information. Gregory
Hunter list seven sections that usually comprise an inventory; CSA includes the
information of all the sections listed but in a format that is congruent with their
institution’s needs. The intern prepared two separate finding aid inventories for the two
collections since the tasks and responsibilities of the two agencies, though related, are
distinctly independent.
When the intern began the project it was necessary to investigate the agency
history in order to properly arrange the records and understand the organization of the
record creators. In preparing the finding aid’s agency history the intern consulted many
resources in the CSA library as well as online, however, much of the information
included in the finding aid is from the records themselves. The records include
documents explaining the Commission’s involvement in specific projects, as well as
articles and memoranda authored by the Commissions at different points in their history
regarding the agency’s functions. The library at the CSA contains valuable resources
such as the Governor’s Budgets and the telephone directories for the state government.
These sources often detail the divisions with the organization, their physical? location
and a general outline of their budget and spending allocation. Other resources include
publications about state agencies including the California Blue Books authored by the
Secretary of State and State Legislature and published by the State Printer, and Elsey
Hurt’s California State Government.
These and other publications give descriptions of the agency and its function at
various points in its administrative history and give a reliable reference to changes over
51
time. As the style guide for agency finding aids suggests, this section should emphasize
the major points of development since the creation of the agency, starting with the
earliest predecessor agency.107 Included will be information about statutory law or
regulations that established the agency, its mission, and significant programs and
administrators. Other sources consulted to gather this information include the agency’s
website, predecessor agencies’ finding aids at CSA, Assembly and Senate Journals, and
the California Statutes, which created and amended the functions and powers of the
agency in state law. The agency history section of the finding aid gives the researcher
insight into the context of the records by eliminating events documented in the collection
and the organization of the agency at the time of the records’ creation.108
The intern composed the scope and content section of the finding aid after the
final arrangement of the records. One of Hunter’s seven sections, the scope and content
is essential to researchers because it elucidates in narrative form the extent, depth,
strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in the collection.109 The intern included the types of
materials in the collection, the date range, record series, major subjects, and ways in
which the records may be useful. It is essential that the intern did not impose judgments
on the records or their content. The intern’s responsibility is not to provide interpretation
for the records, but to guide users in the content and context of the records. As the
processing archivist, the intern is the expert on the collections and therefore is responsible
107 “Agency Finding Aid Guide,” California State Archives internal document. Unpublished.
108 Hunter, 137
109 Hunter, 137
52
for communicating and documenting the specific contents on the records that one cannot
know without going through the records.
The next major section of the finding aid is the series description. Hunter
suggests the series descriptions are essentially an abbreviated scope and content note.
CSA policy conforms with Hunter recommendations and encourages the inclusion of
pertinent information such as the inclusive dates of the series, title and quantity of
records, types of materials, physical and legal restrictions, arrangement, subseries,
functions, and major subjects. The organization of series within the finding aid reflects
the physical organization of the records in terms of ordering the series. The series
number attached to the identifying R-number corresponds with the series numbering in
the finding aid. However, in cases where records were not processed collectively, as in
the case of the Highway Commission, the finding aid’s series descriptions is the place to
intellectually associate those records belonging to the same series that are not physically
located next to each other in the box or in the stacks. The records, perhaps sent to the
Archives in different accessions, though physically apart, are connected by the series
description to be sure the researcher understands the provenance of the collection.
As the Processing Manual indicated, the series descriptions are the “heart” of the
inventory where the intern included the most detail about the units of records
identified.110 For the California Highway Commission, the intern had less freedom in
writing the descriptions since the pencil-written finding found with the records included a
basic write-up. The intern’s main responsibility was to collect all the pertinent
110 Metzer, Processing Manual, 25
53
information from the existing description and combine it with the series descriptions from
previously existing series, newly added series, and make sure that the information was
accurate and included the recommended data. This collation of data ensured that
pertinent information related to the series was centrally located in one spot.
The intern created two appendices for the CHC finding aid in order to give folder
level detail for those series which needed additional description to be accessible. An
appendix is created when additional and detailed information not part of a series
description would be of particular value to a researcher. The intern assigned each
appendix created a letter, beginning with A according to CSA policy. The first appendix
contains an alphabetical listing of the County Correspondence of the Commission
Secretary series and includes the county name, dates of records related to each county,
the number of file folders, and the identification number for each folder. The second
appendix is a listing of the County Files series’ contents. This list is arranged
alphabetically like the files themselves and includes similar data to the first appendix.
The second appendix also includes a listing within the respective counties of specific
projects that were particularly voluminous. Examples include the Century Freeway in
Los Angeles and Doyle Drive in San Francisco. This degree of description was largely
dictated by the records themselves. The intern maintained the original organization
assigned by the records creator. The appendix and records arrangement therefore reflects
when the records creator assigned a specific folder to a project within the county file.
As mentioned above, the California State Archives maintains a style guide on the
formatting of their finding aids. The style guide for agency records includes instructions
54
followed by the intern dictating the content, location, and fonts to be used in the creation
of the inventory. The guides documents the current practices and procedures relating to
the formatting and is not intended to provide the same level of information found in the
processing manual. Generally, the style guide mimics the format used for the Online
Archive of California in order to meet professional standards and to facilitate easy
transference of data during encoding.
As part of the style guide, a template for agency records ensures that the preface
and introductory information for all agency finding aid inventories is uniform in content
and structure. Hunter’s recommended content including information about the
institution’s access restrictions, copyright information, and citation and publication
format are included in this template. Information about alternate formats including
microfilm and digit copies would be included in the template as well, if the information
was applicable to the collection. The finding aids for the two commissions share much of
the same information, such as the State Archives address, contact information, and
copyright. The intern listed agency specific information such as related collections,
collection numbers, extent, title, and creator and predecessor information under the
Descriptive Summary and Administrative Information sections of the finding aid
template.
The intern used Microsoft Office 2003 version of Word to compose the finding
aid which facilitated easy editing by CSA supervisors. Once the intern completed a draft
of either finding aid, she emailed the file to processing coordinator Jeff Crawford and
Internship Supervisor Sara Kuzak for editing. Crawford and Kuzak used the track
55
changes function in MS Word to correct grammatical errors and recommend content
additions to the finding aid before it was approved and added to the Archives division
shared file on the network and made available to the public in person and online.
With the finding aid complete, the intern began the final stages of description for
the records. While CSA primarily uses Minerva, their online catalog to search for
records and encourages patrons to use Minerva on the two research room computers, the
Archives maintains an active card catalog for processed records. The intern created one
catalog card for each Commission and added them to their appropriate drawer, filed
alphabetically by creator. In the past, CSA created a separate card for each series,
however current policy is moving away from the card catalog. The cards created by the
intern therefore alerted patrons to the existence of records by that creator and directed
them to the master finding aid available in the research room binders. A sample catalog
card for the Transportation Commission is included in Appendix D.
The next two stages of description involve preparing the information for the
internet and online accessibility. CSA policy dictates that “One record should be created
for the record group/collection level with subsequent records created for each record
series.”111 The intern began with the top level record first. At the record group level, the
Gencat entry includes record status (fully processed); the title of the record group
(California Transportation Commission Records); creator; date range; quantity in cubic
feet; identification number; arrangement or organization; and various detailed descriptive
information from the finding aid. The Gencat entry screen has both drop down menus
111 “Agency Finding Aid Guide,” California State Archives internal document, unpublished.
56
and data entry fields. For the text fields with more content such as the scope and content
note, administrative history, citation, publication, related materials notes, and other
information included in the inventory’s preface, the intern copied and pasted from a plain
text file of the finding aid into the Gencat corresponding fields. The intern also wrote an
abstract for the collection, which is one of the Online Archive of California requirements
that is not included in the CSA inventory.
Gencat needs to reflect the hierarchy and provenance of the records just like the
finding aid in accordance with DACS. In order to maintain the layered hierarchy, the
intern linked all records, top-level and series level records, to the records creator, and
then linked each series record to the next top-level record. In so doing, the intern linked
the series records to all the information included in the top-level record that was not
included in the series level records. If the records were not linked, not only would the
structure and provenance be confusing, but there would be a significant amount of
additional data entry since the administrative history, scope and content notes, and all the
information applied at the record group level would have to be individually entered for
every series.
Series level records in Gencat include the same information as the Inventory. The
series descriptions, arrangements statements, dates, and volume are all entered directly
from the finding aid. Also included in the Gencat entry, but not in the finding aid are the
physical locations of the records. While Minerva, the public side of Gencat will not show
the locations of the records, including this information with the data in Gencat allows
57
staff to quickly search for the record locations when assisting patrons with research
requests.
After the intern completed the Gencat entry allowing researchers to locate records
within the State Archives, she also encoded the finding aid for publication on the Online
Archive of California (OAC). The OAC brings together descriptive information from
archives, libraries, and manuscript collections throughout California. That way when a
researchers is looking for information on a specific topic and is unfamiliar with where
pertinent records are located, they can search the OAC and find archival records from
multiple repositories in one search. CSA’s participation in the OAC publicizes their
collections and reaches a much broader audience.
Encoded Archival Description (EAD), the application of publishing standards to
electronic finding aids was adopted by the Society of American Archivist in 1993 and
allows CSA to publish on the OAC. Encoding the finding aid is the final step in the
processing project. The intern began by preparing the finding aid to be pasted into a
notepad template for California State Archives finding aids uploaded to the OAC. The
intern copied and pasted the entire finding aid into a separate notepad document and
removed all the “&” which would be readable in an encoded file. The intern copied and
pasted each section of the finding aid plain text within hierarchically structured code tags
within the template. These tags identify each element of the finding aid and properly
format the corresponding text to look like all the other OAC finding aids. For example,
the administrative history text was placed within the following code tags:
<bioghist></bioghist>. The intern encoded all of the information included in the original
58
finding aid and saved the file as an XML file. The intern also added three indexing terms
using Library of Congress authorities. These are not included in the finding aid but are
essential in identifying the major subjects of the collection to aid researchers in their
search for records.
Once all the information was properly encoded, the intern submitted the file to the
internship coordinator who used an EAD validator to identify any "parsing errors"
throughout the file, such as missing code tags. The intern corrected these errors, and
repeated the submission and correction process until no errors existed in the file. The
Internship Coordinator then submitted the file to the OAC’s automatic submission site
and the finding aid was available on the website within a week. On the OAC patrons can
view the finding aid as an .html page or download the file as a .pdf.
59
Chapter 3
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
It took five months to complete the arrangement and description of the California
Highway Commission and California Transportation Commission records. At the
beginning of the project, the records of the California Highway Commission and the
California Transportation Commission were in disarray. Multiple accessions and
partially processed records made it difficult for researchers to be sure what records were
available at the State Archives. Very little description existed to guide researchers and
the archivists to the records’ potential use, which arrested the records’ value to end users.
As the intern proceeded with the project, she found new problems that demonstrated the
lack of intellectual and physical control of the records was worse than originally
understood. Records existed in the stacks with no indication of their location or content.
Records were mislabeled under the incorrect record group and organized with incorrect
provenance. While the records existed in environmentally controlled stacks, some of the
records were housed in acidic boxes and folders, which were speeding their decay. With
the arrangement, description, and preservation efforts of the intern, the records of the
CHC and CTC are now much more secure and accessible enhancing their value.
The intern arranged and described the records to the folder level meeting, more
than the minimum archival standards in DACS. This new level of intellectual and
physical control according to professional theory and practices makes the records of the
two commissions highly accessible. Basic preservation work performed during
processing improved the physical control of the records. The intern housed the records in
60
acid and lignin free file folders and boxes and removed harmful materials that speed
record deterioration.
The purpose for processing archival records is to improve access, especially for
the records at the California State Archives, which are open to the public according to
state law. By creating a Gencat entry and encoded archival description for the
collections, the record descriptions are now accessible to a new, international audience.
The intern’s efforts reduced the size of the backlog of unprocessed records at the
California State Archives. Processing resulted in the consolidation of files and reduced
the cubic feet needed to house the records in the stacks. Like most facilities, CSA suffers
from a shortage of space as the stack areas fill up quickly and efficient use of space is
essential.
Among all the physical benefits to the users and the custodial institution, the
intern also benefited greatly from the experience. Working with the commission records,
the intern gained valuable professional experience in the practice of archival processing.
The practical act of handling the records and making decisions regarding their
arrangement, preservation, and description was a wonderful immersion in the archival
profession.
The biggest challenge the intern encountered in processing these records was
addressing how to merge the old and the new identification systems of records while
those records existed at various different stages of arrangement and description. The
challenges met in merging old and new systems of records identification gave the intern
the opportunity to study the development of professional practices and their
61
implementation at the California State Archives. The decision not to re-process the
records that had been previously arranged was a strong dose of professional reality.
Archivists are charged with the care and preservation of and access to these records. Yet
daily decisions must be made in the best interest of the whole archive and all its
collections. While reprocessing according to the most up-to-date professional standards
would have benefitted the CHC records, the required staff time and time away from other
projects with a greater need was considered too costly. The professional reality of
limited time and resources means that an ideal standard cannot always be reached.
However, the California State Archives maintains far above the minimum professional
standard and the intern received valuable training under the tutelage of their ethical and
efficient staff.
The CHC and CTC records benefitted greatly from the intern’s arrangement and
description. The CHC records are now correctly indexed with the proper provenance as
an independent record group. The CTC records are no longer mislabeled but are properly
identified and described. The intern’s efforts enhanced the collections’ value and
patrons are already taking advantage of the rich resources. A researcher recently came in
to view the newly processed and described records of the California Highway
Commission. Their accessibility via the internet and their detailed description allowed
the researcher to pinpoint the records of greatest import to her research quickly and
easily. The records’ immediate use serves as a testament to the benefits and success of
this project. Traditional archival processing remains a significant and important
responsibility of the archivist. No matter what the media or format of archival records,
62
careful arrangement and description unlocks the value of these important historical
resources for present and future generations.
63
APPENDICES
64
APPENDIX A
Inventory of the California Highway Commission Records
65
Inventory of the Records of the California
Highway Commission
1911-1978
California State Archives
Office of the Secretary of State
Sacramento, CA
Contact Information:
California State Archives
1020 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
FAX: (916) 653-7363
E-mail: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
Processed by:
Archives Staff
Inventory prepared by:
Archives Staff
Date Completed:
April 2010
© 2010 California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State. All rights reserved.
66
Descriptive Summary
Title
California Highway Commission Records
Collection Number
F3778
F3779
R295
Creator
California Highway Commission, 1911-1978
Extent
157 cubic feet
Repository
California State Archives
Office of the Secretary of State
Sacramento, California
67
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
For permission to reproduce or publish, please consult California State Archives staff.
Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives,
Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, as the owner of the physical items. The researcher
assumes all responsibility for possible infringement that may arise from reproduction or
publication of materials from the California State Archives’ collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], California Highway Commission Records, [identification
number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State,
Sacramento, California.
Related Collections at the California State Archives
California Transportation Commission
Department of Public Works - Division of Highways
Restrictions
None.
68
Agency History
The first state agencies formed for the purpose of constructing roadways were established
in 1895. In that year, the Bureau of Highways was created to study the laws, physical
features, and economic and legal status of highways in the State (Stats. 1895, ch. 203). In
addition, a Tahoe Wagon Road Commissioner was appointed to investigate the
possibilities of construction of a road to Lake Tahoe (Stats. 1895, ch. 128).
In 1897, the Department of Highways (headed by three Commissioners, reduced to one in
1898) assumed the functions of the Bureau of Highways (Stats. 1897, ch. 272). Both the
functions of the Department of Highways and the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road
Commissioner were absorbed into the Department of Engineering in 1907 (Stats. 1907,
ch. 183). Highway work was handled by a subdivision of the Engineering Department
called the Highway Department.
Three members were added to the Advisory Board of the Department of Engineering in
1911 (Stats. 1911, ch. 409), who were vested with direct control over the Highway
Department. On August 8, 1911, the Advisory Board designated these members the
California Highway Commission (hereafter CHC) and delegated to them powers
necessary to the work of constructing the state highways under the State Highways Act.
On October 9, 1911, the newly created CHC appointed a Highway Engineer to act as
chief executive of the Highway Department and created seven highway districts, each
with a district office headed by a division engineer (hereafter referred to as district
engineers). District engineers were responsible for the location, construction, and
maintenance of roads within their district (see series entry 1, MINUTES). At that time,
the Highway Department contained five major organizational units: legal, disbursing,
accounting, and headquarters engineering.
When the Department of Engineering was reorganized in 1915, the designation Bureau of
Highways was officially used in place of Highway Department, but the CHC continued to
act as the executive body and the organization remained unchanged.
In 1921, the Bureau of Highways was re-designated the Division of Highways and along
with the CHC was placed under the newly created Department of Public Works (Stats.
1921, ch. 607). The director of the Department acted both as State Highway Engineer and
as Chief Executive of the CHC.
In 1923, however, highway activities were removed from the Department of Public
Works and placed under the CHC which became a totally independent body (Stats. 1923,
ch. 289). The Statutes of 1927 (ch. 252) again amended the Political Code relating to the
Department of Public Works. The Department succeeded to the power and duties of the
Commission, although the CHC was re-created with more limited powers including: the
69
routing of highways, the funding of projects, the abandonment of routes, the inclusion of
roads within the State highway system, and the condemnation of property.
The CHC reorganized the Division of Highways in 1923. The Disbursing Department
ceased to exist. In addition, six new Departments were added: Bridges, Construction,
Maintenance, Equipment, Prison Road Camps, and Surveys and Plans. Although the
Division was placed under the control of the Department of Public Works again in 1927
(Stats. 1927, ch. 252), its organization remained essentially unchanged until 1947, with
the following exceptions: in 1928, the Testing and Research Laboratory was removed
from the Construction Department and renamed the Materials and Research Department;
in the same year the Department of Prison Road Camps was placed under the
Construction Department; in 1933, the City and Cooperative Project Department was
created; and in 1938, the Department of Traffic and Safety was formed.
The CHC originally created seven highway districts to oversee construction and
maintenance. By January 1924, increased construction demands made necessary the
addition of three new districts, bringing the total to ten. An eleventh district was added in
1935.
Increased highway funding in 1947 necessitated the revamping of the Division of
Highways in August of that year. The Departments of Construction, Maintenance,
Equipment, and Research were made functions of a new Department of Operations.
Traffic and Surveys and Plans (renamed Design) were placed under the newly formed
Department of Planning. An Administrative Department was established encompassing
the Office Engineer, County and Cooperative Projects (created in 1945), City and
Cooperative Projects, Highway Stores (in 1951 the name changed to Service and Supply),
and the Federal Secondary Engineer (created June 1, 1945). Further, the Department of
Rights of Way was formed to handle right of way functions first centralized in 1941, and
an Assistant State Highway Engineer was made responsible for personnel matters and the
prequalification of contractors.
The following additional changes were made to the 1947 organization before the
elimination of the Division of Highways in 1973: in 1948, the Advanced Planning
Department was established under the Department of Planning; the Department of Public
Relations and Personnel was formed in 1951; and 1962 brought the creation of the Office
of Urban Planning under the Department of Planning, and the renaming of the
Accounting Department as the Department of Fiscal Management.
In 1973, the functions of the Division of Highways were assumed by the Department of
Transportation ( Stats. 1971, ch. 1400 and Stats. 1972, ch. 1253).
The California Highway Commission ceased to exist as of July 1, 1978 (Stats. 1977, ch.
1106).
70
Scope and Content
The California Highway Commission Collection consists of 157 cubic feet of textual
records with selected photographs interfiled reflecting the Commission’s study, review,
planning, and funding of California’s highway projects. The records, dated from 1911 –
1978, cover the entire period of the Commission’s existence and their efforts to extend,
improve, and maintain state highways. The records are organized into twenty-two series:
Minutes, Meeting Files, Records of Commission Hearings, General Correspondence,
Correspondence of Commissioner Harrison R. Baker, Correspondence of the
Commission Secretary, Press Releases, Condemnation Resolutions, Cooperative
Agreements, Proposed Highway Contract File, Progress Reports, Report on Additions to
the Highway System, Seminar Transcript, County Files, Subject Files, State Highway
Finance Board Minutes, Highway Budget, Reports, Commissioner Files, Administrative
Files, Project Files, and Financial Files.
The records of this agency are useful in tracing the development and growth of
California’s highway system. The minutes, transcripts, and background material
collected for meetings demonstrate the debates and concerns of the Commission over the
quality and funding of highways as well as the needs and concerns of the local
communities affected by the roadways. Series are organized according to county and
district (as determined by the Commission) and relate to specific projects and programs
initiated in those counties and districts. Prominent projects include the Century Freeway
and Mulholland Scenic Drive in Los Angeles County, Route 39 in Orange County, Doyle
Drive in San Francisco County, and the Manteca Bypass in San Joaquin County.
When researching the history of transportation in California the reports, minutes and
corresponding materials, and committee files will offer great insight about projects and
priorities within the Commission itself. Progress reports for 1912-1913 contain a chart
listing each segment of road under construction, the date of the survey, the layout, and the
contract number. In the Minutes series, resolution summaries and reports from the
Highway Engineer on proposed building projects relate to the feasibility of various
proposals and frequently include maps. Records of bids, contracts, letting of funds,
condemnation of property and the abandonment of highway routes, tabulations of federal
funds obtained for state highway construction and monthly lists of all employees hired,
terminated, or granted a raise and their salaries (to 1924 only) illuminate for researchers
the process and people involved in the planning and construction of highways. Of special
interest is a report on the orderly addition of new roads to the state highway system which
appears in the July 24, 1930 minutes of the Commission. After 1935, verbatim
transcripts are frequently available for conferences in which municipal and county
officials as well as automobile clubs’ representatives presented their opinions and
concerns to the Commission. Also of interest is a verbatim transcript of a meeting
between the Commission and the State Board of Prison Directors to discuss the use of
71
road gangs in the building of highways, which appears in materials relating to the
October 21, 1943 meeting of the CHC.
The Commission had the authority to condemn property for the right-of-way of highways
and condemnation resolutions make up a large percentage of the Commission’s later
records. Resolutions of condemnation were voted on at CHC meetings, and a summary
of the resolutions appear in the Commission minutes. The series of condemnation
resolutions include a copy of the Commission resolution, a description of the lands being
condemned, and maps showing the exact location of the condemned property which are
useful for tracing how highways have changed the natural landscape and personal
property lines.
Subject files contain budget information and records of committees appointed by or
charged by the CHC with specific tasks related to the gathering and presenting of
information regarding programs, construction, and policy procedures. In the report
series, reports from 1912, 1921, and 1934 (which includes a report on the California state
highway system prepared by Automobile Club of Southern California and the California
State Automobile Association) provide the early history of California highways and will
offer early reference points for changes over time.
The Commissioner files and Administrative files give insight into the functions and
process of Commission work including policy, staff duties, members and their
biographies, policy, and clarification on the distinction between the Public Works
Department of Transportation and the Highway Commission. As part of the
Administrative Files series, two file folders pertaining to the naming of highways,
freeways, and expressways reflect the shift in the legislative authority away from the
Commission. Peripherally interesting to the researcher may be the Commission decals,
branding irons, and Commission and commissioner photos within the Commissioners
Files series which include photos of the commission with Governor Ronald Reagan when
the Commission was dissolved by the Legislature.
The Project Files and Financial Files series relate to specific projects and corresponding
financial needs of the highway system. The Project Files series includes 1977 status
reports for projects in progress and those projected for future construction, organized by
district. Other significant files are the four file folders relating to the Six-year highway
program proposed by the Commission which took considerable critique from the
Department of Transportation. The Financial File contain the budgets, audit reports, and
cost-benefit analysis considered by the Commission.
72
Series Descriptions
1. Minutes. 1911-1950. 25 cubic feet. F3779:1-337
Arranged chronologically by year.
Contains bound copies of the minutes of all CHC monthly meetings (Vols. 1-52, Vol 19
is missing), and the original initiated copies of resolutions before the Commission.
Minutes of Meetings (1911-1950) are arranged chronologically by year. Includes copies
of all resolutions voted on by the Commission dealing with the awarding of contracts, the
laying out of highway routes, the letting out of funds, the allocation of funds, the
condemnation of property and the abandonment of highway routes; summaries of
conferences with municipal and county officials and representative of automobile clubs
requesting revisions or additions to proposed highway routes (after 1935, frequently
verbatim transcripts); lists of bids received and contracts and work orders let; calendars
of correspondence received (including a brief statement of the content); tabulations of
Federal funds obtained for State highway construction and monthly lists of al employees
hired, terminated, or granted a raise and their salaries (to 1924 only). Minutes from
1911-1927 frequently contain summaries of meetings of the Advisory Board of the
Department of Engineering (often attended by the governor) called to discuss the State’s
highway program and the letting out of major construction contracts. (1928-1945) –
minutes no longer contain calendars of correspondence or lists of bids, contracts and
work orders, but do contain copies of the proposed budget of the Division of Highways.
Of special interest is a report on the orderly addition of new roads to the State highway
system which appears in the July 24, 1930 minutes of the Commission.
Original Resolutions and Correspondence (1912-1950) are arranged by date of meeting
and are filed directly after the volume of minutes to which they relate. Original copies of
Resolutions, which include the signature or initials of Commission members approving of
the resolution and in some cases additional information which does not appear in the
bound volumes of the minutes (frequently after 1930, maps of proposed highway routes).
Also incoming correspondence from the Highway Engineer containing construction
proposals for consideration and action by the Commission (largely from 1911 to 1915).
Resolutions of the Commission presented at Advisory Board meetings from 1912-1914
are filed separately after all other materials relating to 1914. Resolutions presented at
Commission meetings from 1913-1915 are filed separately after all other materials
relating to 1915. Of special interest is a verbatim transcript of a meeting between the
Commission and the State Board of Prison Directors to discuss the use of road gangs in
the building of highways, which appears in materials relating to the October 21, 1943
meeting of the CHC.
2. Meeting Files. 1957-1977. 1456 file folders. F3779:338-1793.
73
Arranged chronologically.
The series contains notices, agenda and minutes from the Commission’s monthly
meetings. It also includes selected correspondence, rescission or recycling of adopted
routes, financial resolutions on projects to be added or removed from the budget, right-ofway leases, resolutions of necessity to acquire certain real property, abandonment
resolutions, director’s deeds (conveyance of excess state-owned real property and
exchanges), transcript of proceedings, and exhibits relating to the hearings.
3. Records of Commission Hearings. 1954-1956. 17 file folders. F3778:11-27.
This series contains materials collected during public hearings to discuss the proposed
routing of two controversial freeways in Southern California: the Riverside-Ventura
Freeway and the Olympic Freeway.
Records relating to the Riverside-Ventura Freeway (VII-LA-2-161-LA) are placed first
(1954); records of the Olympic Freeway (VII-LA-173-Smca) are placed second (19551956). Records relating to both freeway are then organized into findings, transcripts,
supplements to transcripts, correspondence, and petitions. Finding contain copies of the
conclusions reached by the hearing Commissioners at the end of the public hearing,
summarizing testimony and making recommendations to the full Commission.
Transcripts contains testimony of the state highway engineers, and statement and
testimony of interested parties. Testimonies address the need for a freeway and its
probable effects on the surrounding area. Supplement to Transcripts contain copies of
maps, statements, and articles submitted at hearings. The maps illustrate proposed routes,
traffic flow, and population density. Transcripts are followed by a sampling (A, D, G,
M, W) of Correspondence arranged alphabetically by name of sender. The
correspondence consists of letters received from the public protesting proposed freeway
routes, and copies of Commission replies. Placed in the front of the first folder of
Olympic Freeway correspondence are copies of form letters sent in reply to all incoming
correspondence. Placed last are petitions. A sampling (1 in 10) of petitions protesting
the routing of freeways are also included.
4. General Correspondence. 1933-1950, 1958-1959. 102 file folders. F3778:28-129
1970-1978. 14 file folders. F3779:2058-2071.
1973-1975. 2 file folders. R295.05 Box 2/10-2/11
Organized into the following categories in the following order: correspondence – outside,
correspondence –internal, minute records, chairman’s correspondence, commissioner’s
correspondence, and commissioner’s correspondence received. Thereunder arranged
chronologically.
74
Correspondence – Outside. 1933-1934. 5 file folders. F3778:28-32.
Contains resolutions, protests, petitions, requests to appear before the
Commission, requests for information on building programs, and invitations
largely received from municipal and county officials; and replies prepared by the
Commission Secretary.
Correspondence – Internal. 1933-1949. 13 file folders. F3778:33-45.
Copies of letters sent by the Chairman to the Director of Public Works describing
the future of the Commission; memoranda from the Secretary to members
describing issues to be discussed at meetings and transmitting petitions,
resolutions, and in some cases maps; incoming and outgoing correspondence with
the Highway Engineer requesting information on the progress of building
programs; and scattered copies of addresses delivered by members.
Minute Records. 1938-1950, 1958-1959. 2.75 cubic feet. F3778:46-129.
Materials sent to the Commissions in advance of meeting including memoranda
summarizing resolutions to be voted on, and reports from highway engineer on
proposed building projects, the feasibility of various proposals, and providing
information requested by the Commission (maps frequently included). Also
contains copies of resolutions, petitions, plans, maps, and related correspondence
submitted in conjunction with conference with municipal and county officials to
discuss future building proposals. Transcripts of conferences appear in the
minutes (see series entry 1, Minutes, 1911-1950). Of special interest is a progress
report on prison labor camps (Minute Records, August 29, 1949).
Chairman’s Correspondence. 1970-1976. 2 file folders. F3779:2058-2059.
Chairman’s Correspondence is arranged chronologically and contains letters of
Fred C. Jennings, Maynard Munger, Winston R. Fuller and Joseph F. Sinnott.
Vice Chairman’s Correspondence. 1973-1975. 2 file folders. R295.05
Box2/10-2/11.
Vice Chairman’s Correspondence is arranged chronologically and contains
incoming and outgoing correspondence from William E. Leonard pertaining to
Transportation Finance.
Commissioner’s Correspondence. 1976-1978. 4 file folders. F3779:20602063.
75
Commissioner’s Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by commissioner and
chronologically there under. Subject matter includes testimony before legislative
committee, presentations at conferences, position statements regarding a particular
legislative bill, Proposition 5, and procedures to increase public involvement in
CHC matters. (note: “*” indicates persons who served as Chairman)
* Bistrin, Herman. 1976-1977
F3779:2060
Brito, Joaquin. 1977
F3779:2060
Fuller, Winston R. 1977
F3779:2060
Howard, Bruce. 1977
F3779:2060
* Leonard, William E. 1979-1977
F3779:2061
Sarguis, Francis. 1976-1978
F3779:2062
Sinnott, Joseph F. 1977
F3779:2063
* Vetter, Kenneth E. 1977
Walker, Jean K. 1977-1978
F3779:2063
F3779:2063
Commissioner’s Correspondence Received. 1975-1977. 8 file folders.
F3779:2064-2071.
Commissioner’s Correspondence Received is arranged chronologically and covers
subject matter pertaining to construction of specific routes, highway safety,
legislative bill analysis and funding. Also included are news clippings and news
releases.
5. Correspondence of Commissioner Harrison R. Baker. 1943-1952. 5 cubic feet.
F3778:130-222.
Arranged chronologically.
The records are arranged chronologically by meeting date with meeting background
memoranda placed first and the correspondence from that year proceeding thereafter.
Meeting background memoranda contain materials distributed to Commissioners in
advance of meetings, including summaries of proposed resolutions regarding the budget,
condemnations, abandonments, and Director’s Deeds; reports by the Highway Engineer
76
on the progress of specific highway projects, proposed highway routing, the acquisition
of rights-of-way, repair programs, and roads, added to the highway system (reports
frequently include alignment maps); financial status reports; statistical reports on prison
labor projects; petitions from municipal and country governments dealing with highway
proposals before the Commission; and miscellaneous related correspondence. Of special
interest is a history of the State road gang labor system (October 5, 1943 meeting).
Correspondence consists of letters and resolutions received from municipal and county
officials, associated or interested in highway construction (i.e. the Central Valley
Highway Association), and from the general public requesting revisions in highway
construction plans, citing hazardous points along roads, or complaining about the effects
of highway construction on the surrounding countryside; replies from Baker,
communication between Baker and the Highway Engineer and District of Engineers of
District V and VII requesting specific information on the highway construction program
in Southern California; notes on inspections tours made by the Commission; State
Chamber of Commerce recommendations for building programs; and monthly statistics
on the cost of prison and road gangs. Filed directly after the general correspondence
relating to 1951 is a folder dealing with the opposition of the City of El Monte to the
construction of the Pomona Freeway through that city. Folder contains feasibility
reports, copies of memoranda between Commission members and the Highway Engineer,
and copies of transcripts of hearings held by the Commission on the subject.
6. Correspondence of the Commission Secretary.
1951-1958. 3 cubic feet. F3778:223-267
1963-1968. 2 file folders. F3779:2086-2087
1967-1968. 45 file folders. F3779:2088-2134.
1975-1976. 3 file folders. R295.06 Box 2/12-2/14
Organized into the following categories in the following order: general correspondence
placed first, arranged alphabetically by name of sender (incoming), addressee (outgoing),
or subject and chronologically thereunder; district correspondence thereafter organized
by district number in ascending order and chronologically thereunder; and lastly, county
correspondence organized alphabetically by name of county.
General Correspondence. 1950-1959. 18 file folders. F3778:223-240.
1963-1968. 2 file folders. F3779:2086-2087.
1975-1976. 3 file folders. R295.06 Box 2/12-2/14
Scattered letter received from the general public and copies of the Secretary’s
replies to public questions about highway programs; Attorney General’s opinion
on highway laws, opinions by the Division of Contracts and Rights of Way on the
legal authority of the Commission; copies of resolutions and petitions of
77
municipalities and counties transmitted by the Secretary to the Commission; press
releases and itineraries of filed trips by the Commission.
District Correspondence. 1950-1958. 27 file folders. F3778:241-267.
Letters received from the public and copies of Secretary’s replies to questions and
complaints about highway projects in specific highway districts; memoranda sent
to Commissioners and Director of the Department of Public Works providing
information requested on specific building projects; communications with district
engineers (frequently containing project maps); resolutions, petitions, and reports
submitted by municipal and county governments; and transcripts, Commission
findings, reports, and press released relating top public hearings held by the
Commission to receive comments on proposed building projects.
County Correspondence. 1967-1968. 45 file folders. F3779:2088-2134.
Series includes both letters received from the public—including area businesses,
city administration and local residents in potential project areas—along with
copies of Secretary’s replies to questions and complaints about highway projects
in specific counties. Letters reflect concerns, petitions, or requests for projects or
changes to highway projects changes relating to a number of counties.
For a detailed list of counties, see Appendix A.
7. Press Releases. 1921-1923. 1 file folder. F3778:268.
Arranged chronologically.
Announcements of the completion of projects, the results of road building experiments,
the letting out of contract, and the assets and obligations of the road building program.
8. Condemnation Resolutions. 1945-1947. 3 file folders. F3778:269-271.
1964-1977. 168 file folders. F3779:1794-1933, 2135-2162.
Arranged chronologically.
The Commission had the authority to condemn property for the right-of-way of
highways. Resolutions of condemnation were voted on at CHC meetings, and a summary
of the resolutions appear in the Commission minutes. The files contains a copy of the
Commission resolution, a description of the lands being condemned, and maps showing
the exact location of the condemned property. A sampling of resolutions from one
meeting per year is available for the years 1945-1947.
78
F3778:269-271
F3779:1794-1889
F3779:2135-2162
F3779:1890-1933
#C6325-#C10194
#C10195-#C101518
#C10687-#C11339
1945-1947
Jan. 1964 – Aug.1971
Sept. 1971 – Sept. 1973
Oct. 1973-Dec.1977
9. Cooperative Agreements. 1972-1973. 1 file folder. F3779:1934.
Arranged numerically by internal numbering system.
Sampled agreements with outside agencies on right-of-way, transportation study, contract
work, and Federal Aid Urban System Projects (FAU).
10. Proposed Highway Contract Files. 1921-1926. 16 file folders. F3778:272-287.
Arranged by district, county, route, and section and chronologically thereunder.
Records submitted to the Highway Commission by the State Highway Engineer
containing information on proposed highway construction contracts, including
memoranda from the Highway Engineer describing the proposal, a report by the district
engineer comprising recommendations and estimate of cost, a copy of the proposed
contract, notices to contractors, bond forms, and specifications.

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II-Las-28-A
II-Las-29-B
II-Las-29-C
II-Las-23-C & D
III-Sac-3-B
III-Pla-37-A,B,C
IV-Mrn-1-B
V-S.B.-2-J
VI-Tul-10-F
VII-Imp-27-A
VII-Ora-60-A & B
VIII-S.Bd.-26-A
11. Progress Reports. 1912-1913. 1 volume. F3778:288.
Reports submitted to the Commission by the Highway Engineer containing a chart listing
for each segment of road under construction the date of the survey, the layout, and the
contract number; a brief narrative statement of the progress being made on each segment
of road under construction; statement s of the assets, liabilities, and expenses of the
Commission; and reports by the Highway Engineer on the problems and
accomplishments of the construction programs – including criticisms of its weaknesses.
79
12. Report on Additions to the Highway System. 1930. 1 file folder. F3778:289.
Bound 165 page report prepared by the Division of Highways titled, Report on the
Orderly Addition of New Roads to the California State Highway System. Contains
recommendations by the Division for additional road construction and supportive data
including traffic studies, descriptions of on-site investigations, and estimates of the
probable cost of additional construction. An early draft of this report may be found in the
minutes of the State Highway Commission for July 24, 1930 (see series entry 1, Minutes,
1911-1950).
13. Seminar Transcript. 1914. 1 file folder. F3778:290.
Transcript of March 26 and 27, 1914 seminar of the Highway Bureau department heads
called by the California Highway Commission. Contains copies of all addresses delivered
at the seminar. Topics include: county bridges, rights of way, day labor vs. contract
labor, publicity, accounting, purchasing, surveys and drafting, testing materials, drainage,
mountain roads, inspection on contract work, extra work orders, various types of road
construction, collecting of cost data, and maintenance.
14. County Files. 1965-1978. 109 file folders. F3779:1935-2043.
Arranged alphabetically by county and chronologically thereunder.
One of the functions of the California Highway Commission (CHC) is to determine the
location of a highway after the Legislature designates the termini. The CHC works in
conjunction with local county and municipal authorities in developing a recommendation
for a specific freeway route. This series contains reports on factors considered on the
adoption of a highway location; resolutions passed by county boards of supervisors, city
councils, boards of education and private enterprises; correspondence from the general
public concerning needed improvements such as sound barriers, planting, rest stops,
directional signs and traffic signals; letters from legislators writing on behalf of their
constituents voicing their support or opposition to the routing of a freeway or highway in
their district or their concern over a dispute on the value of property which the
Department of Transportation wishes to acquire for route improvement. When highway
funding was scarce, many local government agencies expressed their displeasure
regarding the apportionment of funds in the CHC 6-year Highway Program.
For detailed list of Counties, see Appendix B.
15. Subject Files. 1966-1977. 14 file folders. F3779:2044-2057.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
80
Subject files consist of minutes, resolutions, memoranda, correspondence, circular letters
and news clippings. Greater description follows each of the individual files, listed below.
Advisory Committee on Freeway Route Locations and Design Procedures. 19691972. 1ff. F3779:2044
The Committee was appointed by the Highway Commission and the Director of
Public Works to study and make recommendations on the Commission and policy
and procedures in route determinations and on the Department’s policy and
procedures in highway design. Chaired by Robert Boles.
Airspace Advisory Committee. 1968-1977. 1 file folder. F3779:2045
Charged by the Highway Commission and the Director of Public Works to
develop a program for multiple use of freeway right-of-way, advise on formats for
leasing airspace sites for advertising, parking, recreational uses. (Formerly known
as the Citizen’s Airspace Advisory Committee).
Federal Highway Funds. 1966-1975. 1 file folder. F3779:2046
Correspondence regarding proposed reduction in Federal Highway Funds
allocations and President Ford’s release of $2 billion of Federal Highway Trust
Funds.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Proposed Rules on Highway Location
Procedures. 1968-1969. 1 file folder. F3779:2047
Land and Buildings Committee. 1968-1975. 3 file folder. F3779:2048-2050
Committee is responsible for seeing to major and minor construction and
improvements of maintenance stations (e.g. building facilities for sand/salt
storage, establishing communication lines) and district office buildings (e.g.
improving heating or electrical power systems) on state owned or leased land.
Mass Transit Guideway Projects (Proposition 5). 1975-1976. 1 file folder.
F3779:2051
Correspondence pertaining to proposals to change means of finding transit
guideway work with state gas tax funds provided by Proposition 5 (1974).
Miscellaneous. 1971-1976. 2 file folders. F3779:2052-2053
(1976 Six-Year Highway Program comments, effect of Small Business
Procurement and Contract Act, 1975-76 Fiscal Year State Highway Budget,
Address by CHC Vice-Chairman Joseph F. Sinnott before State Transportation
Board, February 7, 1974; resolutions; comments on Departmental Directive Draft
on subject of Legislative Liaison and Contract.
81
Roadside Rest and Highway Planting Committee. 1972-1977. 2 file folders.
F3779:2054-2055
Trucking. 1973-1974. 1 file folder. F3779:2056
Commission’s stance on the proposal to increase truck weight limits on state and
federal highways.
Washington D.C. Visit. 1977. 1 file folder. F3779:2057
Contains briefing paper and position statement to inform California congressional
delegation and Carter Administration transportation officials of the state’s
transportation needs and policy in order to influence the outcome of the Federal
Highway Act (FHWA) and the Urban Mass Transportation Act (UMTA).
Includes notes from meetings of California Highway Commission with member of
the Washington D.C. delegation.
82
16. State Highway Finance Board Minutes. 1920-1924. 1 file folder. F3779:2072.
The State Highway Finance Board was created by an initiative which was passed at the
general election held on November 2, 1920. The board consisted of the Governor, State
Controller, State Treasurer, chairman of the State Board of Control and chairman of the
California Highway Commission. The minutes reflect the function of the committee to
determine the amount of bonds to be sold, the date such bonds shall bear, and the interest
rate.
17. Highway Budget Files. 1927-1943. 7 file folders. F3779:2073-2079.
Files are arranged in the following order: state highway fund, major project allocation for
construction, minor improvement project allocation, and federal aid feeder fund, grade
separation fund, access highway fund, flight strip fund.
Within Minor Improvement Project Allocation Funding, files are arranged alphabetically
by district. Highway Budget Files provide information regarding funding for various
projects. Information includes county, route and section number; description of work
required, amount allocated; and dates request received and approved.
State Highway Fund.
Major Project Allocation for Construction.
Minor Improvement Project Allocation.
Federal Aid Feeder Fund, Grade Separation Fund,
Access Highway Fund, Flight Strip Fund.
1941-1943. 1ff. F3779:2073
1937-1943. 1ff. F3779:2074
1927-1943. 4ff. F3779:2075-2078
1941-1943. 1ff. F3779:2079
18. Reports. 1912-1934. 6 file folders. F3779:2080-2085.
Arranged alphabetically by report title.
Reports are as follows:
California Highway Transportation Survey. 1934
Light Asphaltic Oil Road Surfaces
By C.L. McKesson, Materials and Research Engineer, California Highway Commission
and W.N. Frickstad, Highway Engineer, Bureau of Public Roads. (A Progress Report)
[1928]
Report on California State Highways
By Automobile Club of Southern California and California State Automobile
Association, 1921.
83
Report on Organization and System of California Highway Commission
By Klink, Bean & Co. Accountants. 1912
Report on the “Mecca Blythe” Route: Los Angeles, California to Phoenix, Arizona
(Division VIII Riverside County 64).
Report to California Highway Commission on Organization and Progress of Work on
State Highway System
By Austin B. Fletcher. 1912
19. Commissioner Files. 1943-1977. 7 file folders. R295.01. Box 1/1 – Box 1/7.
The Commissioners Files are organized into the following categories in the following
order: CHC members – biographies and appointments, Commissioners’ terms and status,
Commission/Commissioner photos, Commissioner decals, Branding irons – CHC.
The records contain files relating to the members of the Commission including
biographies, records of their appointment by the Governor, obituaries, news releases,
correspondence, and photos. Also included are the official window decals given to the
Commissioners in 1968.
20. Administrative Files. 1959-1977. 10 file folders. R295.02. Box 1/8 – Box 1/17.
Administrative Files are organized into the following categories in the following order:
CHC staff duty statements; Jan. 19 farewell dinner invitation; policies and rules for CHC;
Proposition 5; Relationship between the Department of Transportation and CHC; Little
Hoover Commission; Legislative affairs and policy; Naming highways, freeways, and
expressways; and Microfilm information.
Administrative files include news articles, resolutions, correspondence, reports, and
memoranda relating to the policies regulating the commission and their functioning
activities.
21. Project Files. 1975-1977. 17 file folders. R295.03. Box 1/18 - Box 2/4.
Project Files are organized in the following categories in the following order: gas tax
increase, project evaluation status of projects, office of structures—status of projects,
southern projects pulled, projects/routes of high interest, California transportation plan,
transportation plan task force issue papers, 1977 highway program, section 188.8, sixyear highway planning program.
Records relate to the project priorities and plans of the Highway Commission. Project
files include correspondence reports, summaries, charts, and maps.
84
22. Financial Files. 1975-1977. 5 file folders. R295.04. Box 2/5 – Box 2/9.
Financial Files are organized into the following categories and in the following order:
Budgets, Audit Files, Audit Reports, Costs and Revenues, Cost-Benefit Analyses.
Records consist of correspondence, reports, publications, charts, notes, and graphs, used
by the Commission and Department of Transportation in establishing budgets for the
Commission and allocating funds to various projects they determined eligible. Files
relate to both federal aid apportionment and state funds.
85
Appendix A: County Correspondence of the Commission Secretary
Alameda, December 1969-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2088
Alpine, February-May 1968. (1ff)
F3779:2089
Amador, December 1967-October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2090
Butte, January-June 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2091
Calaveras, April-October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2092
Colusa, January-October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2093
Contra Costa, 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2094
Del Norte, November 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2095
El Dorado, March-November 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2096
Fresno, April- October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2097
Glenn, May-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2098
Humboldt, 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2099
Imperial, March-August 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2100
Inyo, September-October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2101
Kern, February-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2102
Los Angeles, 1965-1977 (4ff)
F3779:2103-2106
Marin, April-October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2107
Menlo, May-June 1968
F3779:2108
Merced, June-October 1968
F3779:2109
Monterey, April-October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2110
86
Napa, May-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2111
Nevada, March-April 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2112
Orange, May1967-December 1968 (2ff)
F3779:2113-2114
Placer, February-October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2115
Riverside, February-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2116
Sacramento, March-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2117
San Benito, December1966-May 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2118
San Bernardino, March-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2119
San Diego, October 1967-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2120
San Francisco, April-October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2121
San Joaquin, December 1967-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2122
San Luis Obispo, 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2123
San Mateo, January-October 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2124
Santa Barbara, February-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2125
Santa Clara, February-December 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2126
Shasta, April-September 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2127
Solano, September 1968 (0.5ff)
F3779:2128
Sonoma, February-October 1968 (0.5ff)
F3779:2128
Stanislaus, May-August 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2129
Tulare, May-December 1968 (2ff)
F3779:2130
Tuolumne, January-November 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2131
Ventura, 1968 (4ff)
F3779:2132
87
Yolo, November 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2133
Yuba, February-June 1968 (1ff)
F3779:2134
88
Appendix B: County Files
The following headings are in the County Files:
Alameda, 1969-1977. (3ff)
F3779:1935-1937
Alpine, 1970-1977. (1ff)
F3779:1938
Amador, 1968-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1939
Butte, 1970-1976 (1ff)
F3779:1940
Calaveras, 1969-1976 (1ff)
F3779:1941
Colusa, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1942
Contra Costa, 1969-1977 (2ff)
F3779:1943-1944
Lafayette, 1972 (1ff)
F3779:1945
Del Norte, 1969-1976 (1ff)
F3779:1946
El Dorado, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1947
Fresno, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1948
Glenn, 1969 (1ff)
F3779:1949
Humboldt, 1969-1977 (2ff)
F3779:1950-1951
Imperial, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1952
Inyo, 1969-1975 (1ff)
F3779:1953
Kern, 1969-1976 (1ff)
F3779:1954
Kings, 1969-1976 (1ff)
F3779:1955
Lake, 1972-1974 (1ff)
F3779:1956
Lassen, 1969-1976 (1ff)
F3779:1957
Los Angeles, 1965-1977 (11ff)
F3779:1958-1968
89
Century Freeway, 1966-1972 (1ff)
F3779:1969
Hawthorne Public Hearing, 1975 (1ff)
F3779:1970
Malibu Canyon, 1970-1972 (1ff)
F3779:1971
Mulholland Scenic Drive, 1965-1968 (1ff)
F3779:1972
South Pasadena, 1966-1972 (3ff)
F3779:1973-1975
Madera, 1971-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1976
Marin, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1977
Mariposa, 1971-1976 (1ff)
F3779:1978
Mendocino, 1969-1976 (1ff)
F3779:1979
Merced, 1969-1976 (1ff)
F3779:1980
Modoc, 1972-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1981
Mono, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1982
Monterey, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1983
Napa, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1984
Nevada, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1985
Orange, 1965-1978 (7ff)
F3779:1986-1992
Placer, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:1993
Plumas, 1974-1975 (1ff)
F3779:1994
Riverside, 1969-1977 (5ff)
F3779:1995-1999
Sacramento, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:2000
San Benito, 1973-1976 (1ff)
F3779:2001
San Bernardino, 1969-1977 (2ff)
F3779:2002-2003
90
San Diego, 1969-1977 (3ff)
F3779:2004-2006
San Francisco, 1969-1978 (1ff)
F3779:2007
Doyle Drive, 1969-1976 (1ff)
San Joaquin, 1969-1977 (1ff)
Manteca Bypass, 1975-1976 (1ff)
F3779:2008
F3779:2009
F3779:2010
San Luis Obispo, 1969-1976 (1ff)
F3779:2011
San Mateo, 1965-1977 (6ff)
F3779:2012-2017
Santa Barbara, 1969-1977 (2ff)
F3779:2018-2019
Santa Clara, 1969-1977 (5ff)
F3779:2020-2024
Santa Cruz, 1968-1988 (1ff)
F3779:2025
Shasta, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:2026
Sierra, 1969-1972 (1ff)
F3779:2027
Siskiyou, 1969-1972 (1ff)
F3779:2028
Solano, 1971-1977 (1ff)
F3779:2029
Sonoma, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:2030
Stanislaus, 1969-1976 (1ff)
F3779:2031
Sutter, 1971-1976 (1ff)
F3779:2032
Tehama, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:2033
Trinity, 1973-1977 (1ff)
F3779:2034
Tulare, 1966-1975 (2ff)
F3779:2035-2036
Tuolumne, 1969-1977 (1ff)
F3779:2037
Ventura, 1968-1977 (4ff)
F3779:2038-2041
91
Yolo, 1970-1977 (1ff)
F3779:2042
Yuba, 1974-1975 (1ff)
F3779:2043
92
APPENDIX B
Inventory of the California Transportation Commission Records
93
Inventory of the Records of the California
Transportation Commission
1978-1990
California State Archives
Office of the Secretary of State
Sacramento, CA
Contact Information:
California State Archives
1020 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
FAX: (916) 653-7363
E-mail: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
Processed by:
Lisa DeHope
Inventory prepared by:
Lisa DeHope
Date Completed:
July 2010
© 2010 California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State. All rights reserved.
94
Descriptive Summary
Title
California Transportation Commission Records
Collection Number
R223
Creator
California Transportation Commission
Extent
41 cubic feet
Repository
California State Archives
Office of the Secretary of State
Sacramento, California
95
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
For permission to reproduce or publish, please consult California State Archives staff.
Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State
Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, as the owner of the physical
items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement that may arise
from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives’
collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], California Transportation Commission Records, R223.01, [box
and folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State,
Sacramento, California.
Related Collections at the California State Archives
California Highway Commission Records
California Toll Bridge Authority Records
State Transportation Board Records
State Aeronautics Board Records
Business and Transportation Agency – Office of Transportation Planning and Research
Records
Department of Transportation – Aeronautics Program Records
Department of Public Works - Division of Highways Records
Restrictions
None.
96
Agency History
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) was created by the 1977 Statutes,
operative as of February 1, 1978, to assume the duties and responsibilities of four existing
bodies: the California Toll Bridge Authority, State Transportation Board, State
Aeronautics Board, and California Highway Commission (Statutes of 1977, Chapter
1106). According to Section 2 of Chapter 1106, the Commission was created for the
purposes of simplifying and clarifying the transportation planning and programming
process; consolidating the various transportation boards and commissions into a single
planning and fund allocation commission; and to increase the responsibility and
effectiveness of the Legislature in deciding state transportation policy.
General CTC responsibilities include advising and assisting the Secretary of Business,
Transportation, and Housing Agency and the Legislature in formulating and evaluating
State policies and plans for California transportation programs. Specifically CTC is
responsible for adopting a State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) including
an estimate and allocation of State and Federal funds for transportation projects over a
five year period and ranking those projects in keeping with statewide interests; preparing
a Biennial Report to the Legislature that evaluates significant transportation issues,
making an overview of necessary future investments, and recommending legislative and
administrative actions to meet California’s emerging transportation problems; and
evaluating the proposed budget of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
and commenting upon that budget before the California Legislature (Government Code,
sections 14520-14536). Statutes of 1981, Chapter 541 (SB215), amended the legislation
requiring CTC comment on the Caltrans budget by adding language that required the
Commission report to recommend “adjustments of the motor vehicle fuel tax rates and
commercial vehicle weight fees necessary to fund the State highway program…” In
1982 further language additions required the budget report to “reflect the Commission’s
judgment regarding the overall funding levels for each program category and shall not
duplicate the item-by-item analysis conducted by the Legislative Analyst.” (Statutes of
1982, Chapter 580, SB1376)
The Commission consists of eleven members. Nine members are appointed by the
Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of whom must be a member of
the California Public Utilities Commission (Government. Code, section 14502). The two
remaining members participate in Commission activities according to their availability,
but are non-voting members appointed as follows: one member of the Senate, appointed
by the Senate Rules Committee, and one member of the Assembly, appointed by the
Speaker. The nine voting members of the Commission serve four year terms and are then
either reappointed or replaced once a successors is appointed and qualified by the Senate
(Government. Code, section 14503). Members are to be from varied and balanced
geographic backgrounds in order to sufficiently represent the northern, southern, urban,
97
and rural population of the State (Government Code, section 15404). Appointees attend
Commission meetings, conduct their research, and prepare reports and presentations
without resigning from their current employment responsibilities. (Government Code,
section 14509). The Commission elects a chairman and vice chairman from its members
who preside at meetings and appoint members to committees after consultation with
Commission members (Gov. Codes 15405, 15404.5).
By law, the CTC organizes itself into at least four committees: the Committee on
Aeronautics, Committee on Streets and Highways, Committee on Mass Transportation,
and the Committee on Planning. The chairman also appoints a Technical Advisory
Committee on Aeronautics “based on consultation with the aviation industry, airport
operators, pilots, and other aviation interest groups and experts that shall give technical
advice to the Committee on Aeronautics regarding issues considered by the Commission”
(Gov. Codes 15406, 15406.5). In April 1978, two ad-hoc committees, namely the
Review Committee and the Programming Committee, were appointed by Commission
Chairman, Norton Simon, in order for Commission members to determine their specific
interests and capabilities before establishing membership of the permanent committees as
required by law (Norton Simon Correspondence, April 10, 1978 to Commission
members). The Review Committee’s responsibilities include the screening of all
potential agenda items for each Commission meeting in order to determine which items
will not be considered by the full Commission using a “Consent Calendar” basis thereby
allowing the Commission to focus on only those items of the greatest importance and
urgency. “In other words, this committee concerns itself with agenda content and
provides a method to deal with appropriate access to its recommendations. The
programming committee evaluates and integrates existing programming documents from
predecessor Commissions, input from the Legislative and Executive branches, Caltrans
and others, and develop these documents into a coherent set of documents as required by
law.”
The Commission established a policy direction for transportation which emphasizes
protection and preservation of the existing system through adequate maintenance and
rehabilitation; safety and other operating improvements; fulfillment of existing
commitments; capturing all available Federal funds; and a reasonable balance between
new highway and transit improvements (Biennial Report II, Draft February 26, 1981,
“Stabilizing Transportation Financing in California”). Since 1987, the CTC’s mission
as an independent public agency reflected their efforts to enhance the economic, social
and environmental welfare of all California citizens by providing for a comprehensive
multimodal State Transportation System which is consistent and compatible with the
orderly economic and social progress of the State.
As of 2010, the Commission was still in existence but with thirteen members (Statutes of
2007, Chapter 717, AB1672). The May 2010 mission statement for the CTC identifies
the Commission as dedicated to ensuring a safe, financially sustainable, world-class
98
multimodal transportation system that reduces congestion, improves the environment,
and facilitates economic development through the efficient movement of people and
goods. The Commission is responsible for the programming and allocating of funds for
the construction of highway, passenger rail and transit improvements throughout
California (http://www.catc.ca.gov/mission.htm, accessed on July 19, 2010).
99
Scope and Content
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) Records consist of 41 cubic feet of
textual records, with selected photographs and maps interfiled, reflecting the
Commission’s study, review, planning, policy development, and funding allocation of
California’s transportation systems. The records date from 1978-1990 covering the first
twelve years of a public agency still functioning today. The records are organized into
one series: Commission Meeting Files.
The records of this agency are useful in tracing the development and growth of
California’s transportation system and the overarching transportation goals of the State.
As the oversight agency with the delegated responsibility of reviewing and allocating
both State and Federal funds for transportation in California, the CTC is significantly
influential in the direction and progress of highways, transit and commuter rails. The
background material and presentation transcripts reflect the concerns and interests of
local citizens and agencies in the development and construction of various modes of mass
transportation and their routes.
The Commission records reflect the prominence of transportation in California’s
governance. Topics frequently reviewed in the CTC meeting files include route
rescission and adoption, and the preparation and review of the Biennial Report and the
State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) while demonstrating concern for the
environmental and social impact of transportation projects. Major projects include
Highways 101 and 99, and Interstates 5, 80, and 680.
When researching the history of transportation in California the reports, minutes and
corresponding materials provide insight about projects and priorities within the
Commission itself. The state’s growth of population, increase in transportation by
automobile and public transit are all represented directly and indirectly in statistical
reports and project proposals which were reviewed by the Commission in their efforts to
prioritize projects and review the transportation budget. The Commission’s far reaching
responsibilities within mass transportation programs, aeronautics programs, and highway
programs requires the CTC to work closely with others agencies and organizations
outside of the Department of Transportation to ensure they are an effective, efficient,
informed and balanced body. Such organizations include the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission (MTC), a public agency created in 1971 for the purpose of
regional transportation planning and coordination in the nine Bay Area Counties of
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and
Sonoma and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), concerned
with the maintenance and coordination of demographic projects, the integrated land use,
housing, employment, transportation programs, measures, as well as various other
100
environmental concerns (http://www.mtc.ca.gov/about_mtc/about.htm,
http://www.scag.ca.gov/about.htm, accessed July 19, 2010).
101
Series Description
1. Commission Meeting Files. 1978-1990. 41 cubic feet. R223.01. Box 1/1 – Box
41/17.
Arranged chronologically by meeting date.
Commission Meeting Files contain the minutes, agendas, and background materials used
by the Commissioners in the preparation and conduct of their monthly meetings. CTC
meetings are held in various cities in California chosen for their population density or
their proximity to specific projects under review by the Commission. Commissioners
usually arrive for a two day meeting schedule including a tour, meetings of committees,
and informal gatherings with local transportation agencies and organizations.
This series includes background materials such as correspondence, reports, memoranda,
statistical data, news clippings, new releases, as well as maps and photographs of
proposed projects. These and other related materials were frequently mailed out to
Commissioners before each meeting by the Executive Director with supplemental
information available at the meeting. At the end of each meeting file are the original
resolutions passed by the commission often accompanied by a transcripts of a part or the
whole meeting. Detailed meeting minutes are available for each meeting and the agenda
allots time each month for the Commission to approve or adjust the previous month’s
minutes. Also included within the meeting files are files from additional workshops and
special meetings held to discuss an urgent project or an emergency transportation issue
such as those arising after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. These workshops and
special meetings were typically conducted in conjunction with the Commission’s
monthly meeting schedule, held either the day before or morning of the scheduled
monthly meeting. Specific projects or broad transportation issues within California that
required supplemental or more comprehensive attention were reviewed by the
Commission in workshops in order to succinctly address the issue at the monthly
meeting. Workshops frequently focused on either Federal funding and the effects
shortages had on the transportation budget or issues associated with the State
Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) such as the highway landscaping program.
Other special meetings focused on broad transportation concerns such as San Francisco
peninsular transit issues or Los Angeles County transit issues.
Copious files were maintained by the Commission relating to the preparation and review
of the STIP. Hearings in both northern and southern California were held by the
Commission before submitting their final report to the Legislature. The meeting files
contain both draft and final copies of the STIPs and presentations made by and before the
Commission at said hearings.
102
APPENDIX C
Sample Box Labels
103
104
APPENDIX D
Sample Catalog Card
105
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
LOCATION
D2631D2644
R223.01
Box 1/1-Box
41/13
DESCRIPTION
COMMISSION MEETING FILES
(754ff)
See master finding aid for more
description.
DATE
1978-1990
106
APPENDIX E
Sample of Encoded Archival Description
107
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<head>Descriptive Summary</head>
<unittitle label="Title">California Transportation Commission Records</unittitle>
<unitdate type="inclusive" normal="1978/1990" label="Dates">1978-1990</unitdate>
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<abstract label="Abstract">The California Transportation Commission (CTC) Records consist of
41 cubic feet of textual records, with selected photographs and maps interfiled, reflecting the
Commission's study, review, planning, policy development, and funding allocation of California's
transportation systems. The records date from 1978-1990 covering the first twelve years of a
public agency still functioning today.</abstract>
108
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abbott, Carl. The Metropolitan Frontier: Cities in the Modern American West. Tuscon:
University of Arizona Press, 1993.
Adler, Sy. “The Transformation of the Pacific Electric Railway: Bradford Snell, Roger
Rabbit, and the Politics of Transportation in Los Angeles.” Urban Affairs
Quarterly 27, no. 1 (September 1991): 51-86.
Bottles, Scott. Los Angeles and the Automobile: The Making of the Modern City.
Berkeley: University of California, 1987.
California Government Codes, Statutes of 1977, Chapter 1106.
California Highway Commission. Records of the California Highway Commission.
California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento,
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