Manuscripts

The history of Baker, Hamilton & Pacific Company

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Description: This manuscript covers the entire history of Baker, Hamilton & Pacific Company, which began as the Baker & Hamilton Company, founded by Livingston Low Baker and Robert Muirhead Hamilton, two men who came to California in 1849 to mine for gold, but who eventually gave up mining to open a hardware store in Sacramento. Baker & Hamilton also sold farming supplies and equipment. They opened a second store in San Francisco in 1867, which was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. In 1918, Baker & Hamilton merged with Pacific Hardware & Steel Company to create Baker, Hamilton & Pacific Company. The author also discusses the history of agriculture in California and the agriculturist James L. L. F. Warren.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1939.
Call number: mssHM 66703
Creator: Janin, Henry Covington(Opens in new tab)
Provenance

BAKER, HAMILTON & PACIFIC CO.: Charles Henry Janin

Manuscripts

The collection consists of letters, manuscripts (including diaries and mining reports), photographs and maps related to the career of mining engineer Charles Janin. Subject matter in the collection focuses on minerals, mines and mining, especially in California, Mexico, Alaska, Canada, Russia (including Siberia), and Central and South America. There is information about gold, silver, platinum, and tin mining as well as gold dredging.

mssJaninc

Arlington Pharmacy and E.E. Baker grocery store, West Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles

Visual Materials

Street view of the two-story building on the corner of Arlington Avenue and West Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, with the storefronts of the Arlington Pharmacy of G. F. Meiser (2500 West Washington) and the grocery store of E. E. Baker (2502 West Washington), and two men, a scale, a bus bench marked "Whiting-Mead Comml Co ... Whiting Wrecking Co. 8th & San Pedro, Lumber Plumbing, Hardware, & Paint," and a sign "We sell Crescent Ice Cream" on the sidewalk.

photCL_555_01_79

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Oral history interview with Andrew Baker

Manuscripts

This is an edited transcript of an oral history interview of Andrew Baker conducted by Volker Janssen. Topics covered in the interview include: Fort Monmouth lab, presence of Jews and African-Americans, McCarthyism; Lockheed research programs in oceanography, biological weapons, clear-air turbulence, metallurgy, aerodynamics, structures, electronics; attitudes towards Vietnam War; effects of L-1011 program on Lockheed; Lockheed workforce demographics; diversification into commercial projects in 1970s; origins of Stealth program; security clearances and classification ; briefings to CIA on foreign capabilities.

mssHM 80611 (32)

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Right-of-way maps of Southern Pacific Company

Manuscripts

Although the majority of the maps are for the Southern Pacific Company, there are also maps for the Pacific Electric Railway Company and the Inter-California Railway. The collection contains 117 silk maps and 16 photocopies of maps. They are all locations in Southern California.

mssHM 59566

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John A. Hamilton letter to N. Hinman

Manuscripts

In this letter to Mr. N. Hinman, the Chairman of Board of Trustees of Pacific University in Oregon, John A. Hamilton writes on behalf of the American College and Education Society in Boston. He discusses "the loosing of Pacific University from Congregational moorings" and "the grave issue" of "the speedy coming into existence of a competing Congregational Institution." He suggests a solution: "Let the Trustees pass the provision for Change of Charter which the Statute law of the State offers." Mr. Hamilton also advises that the University not relocate, as a railroad may be constructed nearby. Typewritten letter, signed by hand.

mssHM 16534

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Southern Pacific Railroad Company and Southern Pacific Company agreement with Pacific Electric Railway Company

Manuscripts

The collection consists of the personal and business papers of Henry E. Huntington. There is material related to the Huntington, Holladay (Henry E. Huntington's sister Caroline married Edmund Burke Holladay), and Metcalf families, but most of the collection deals with Huntington's business interests in Southern California, railways, real estate, and industry. There is a series about Henry E. Huntington and his family that includes biographical information, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, ephemera, and physical objects. There is material related to the Huntington Land and Improvement Company, Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, and the Pacific Electric Railway Company as well as other businesses in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and San Gabriel Valley, California. This material includes business records, account books, annual reports, correspondence, maps, tracts, balance sheets, and others. There is also material related to the founding of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens including auction catalogs, invoices, receipts, and bills for art and rare books, and information regarding a lawsuit about Huntington's estate tax after his death, and the passing of Proposition 15, in 1930, which exempted The Huntington from paying California property tax. There is also material related to Collis P. Huntington and his business interests and Arabella Huntington. The largest series contains over 22,000 pieces of personal and business correspondence spanning approximately 1790 to 1950. The physical objects include Henry E. Huntington's lunch box, razors, traveling trunk, and other items.

mssHEH

The history of Baker, Hamilton & Pacific Company

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BAKER, HAMILTON & PACIFIC CO.: Charles Henry Janin

Arlington Pharmacy and E.E. Baker grocery store, West Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles

Oral history interview with Andrew Baker

Right-of-way maps of Southern Pacific Company

John A. Hamilton letter to N. Hinman

Southern Pacific Railroad Company and Southern Pacific Company agreement with Pacific Electric Railway Company