HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-12-12 - AGENDA REPORTS - PERKINS COLLECTIONAgenda Item: 12
1. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
14)
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: '
DATE: December 12, 2023
SUBJECT: ACQUISITION AND RELOCATION OF THE PERKINS
COLLECTION TO THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA HISTORICAL
ARCHIVES
DEPARTMENT: Human Resources and Library Services
PRESENTER: Shannon Vonnegut
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Approve the acquisition and relocation of the Perkins Collection to the City of Santa Clarita
Historical Archives.
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute the contract and all associated documents.
BACKGROUND
On June 29, 2023, Marguerite R. Perkins (Perkins) contacted the Santa Clarita Public Library to
discuss the donation of the Perkins Family Collection (Collection) to the City of Santa Clarita
Historical Archives (Archives). A former Newhall resident now residing in Northern California,
Perkins is an author and historian who published Newhall (Images ofAmerica) in 2010 and The
Oak of the Golden Dream: The Legend and the History in 2011. Perkins is also the
granddaughter of Newhall's first historian, Arthur B. Perkins. Due to the Collection's research
value and historical significance to the Santa Clarita Valley (Valley), Perkins is interested in
gifting the Collection to the Archives to ensure it is properly preserved and made available to the
public.
Arthur B. Perkins arrived in Newhall in 1919 and became a property owner and developer,
businessman, civic leader, author, and local historian. His contributions to the growing Newhall
community included serving as justice of the peace, managing the Newhall Water System,
campaigning for the establishment of William S. Hart High School, and co-founding the
Masonic Lodge and Kiwanis Club. During his retirement, Arthur Perkins focused his efforts on
preserving the region's history by collecting stories, images, and records that documented the
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early days of the Valley. He also gave history lectures and authored numerous articles, including
a column entitled "The Story of Our Valley," which originally appeared in The Newhall Signal
and Saugus Enterprise from April 1954 to January 1955. These materials comprise a significant
portion of the Collection.
On September 28, 2023, Archives staff traveled to Northern California to survey the Collection.
The Collection measures approximately 110 cubic feet and includes an estimated 630 books,
correspondence, photographic material, documents, manuscripts, ledgers, maps, digital files, and
artifacts that document the Perkins's Family history, their professional and civic activities, and
the history of the Valley. Topics of historical significance include Perkins genealogy; Rancho
Camulos and the del Valle Family; the St. Francis Dam Disaster; oil, transportation, and mining
history; Newhall development; local family and community histories; and Southern California
history as it relates to the Valley. The Collection also contains Arthur and Marguerite R.
Perkins's historical files, which document their research and publishing activities. Marguerite
Perkins continues to research historical topics and the Archives staff anticipates receiving future
accruals to the Collection.
Upon completion of the survey, staff put together a tentative list of items that would be needed to
accept and relocate the Collection, including a project budget, list of professional moving
companies, and planning efforts for the Collection's preservation and storage needs. Should the
City Council approve the recommended action, staff will execute a Deed of Gift to transfer
ownership of the Collection to the Archives; travel to northern California to stabilize and pack
the Collection for relocation; and ensure the Collection's proper relocation to the Archives. The
relocation project is estimated to take one year and cost approximately $20,000.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
Sufficient funds to facilitate the recommended actions are available in Expenditure Account
3098200-511101 (Library Fund 309).
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