Southern California Edison Records

The Southern California Edison Records contain books, catalogs, correspondence, journals, ledgers, log books, meeting minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, photographs, press releases, reports, scrapbooks, and other materials documenting the history of the Southern California Edison (SCE) Company. The records cover the years 1848 to 1989 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1911 to 1965. The material is largely textual with the exception of a few non-paper items scattered throughout. The Southern California Edison Records consist of materials created, maintained, and collected by the company. Series 1, Administrative Records, includes documentation of the management of the company such as Annual Reports to the Federal Power Commission (1918-1964) and Annual Reports to Stockholders (1914-1987). Also included are correspondence, manuals, policy and procedure orders, and other documents. Series 2, Department/Division Records, contains records pertaining to the Commercial Department, Communications Division, Engineering Department, Garage Department, Shop and Test Department, and the Steam Generation Division. The collection also contains Employee Records (Series 3), detailing SCE employees' activities, benefits, and rules, as well as Financial Records (Series 4), consisting of cost reports, valuations, and other materials. Series 9, Publications, includes items published by SCE as well as items collected by SCE. Series 10, Publicity Records, contains mostly newspaper clippings, press releases, and other materials documenting the 1953 Edison Employee Strike. Project Records (Series 8), Research Files (Series 11), Topical Files (Series 12), and the Vertical File (Edison Library) (Series 13) contain a variety of materials on various subjects such as Big Creek, the Central Valley Water Project, the Colorado River, energy, Hoover Dam, hydroelectric plants, public utilities, Thomas Edison, and more. One of the largest series, Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Records, is divided into four subseries. Subseries 5.1, Generation (Power Plants) Records, contains an extensive set of log books maintained by various SCE plants/stations including Big Creek, Etiwanda, Fontana, Long Beach, Lytle Creek, Mill Creek, Ontario, and Santa Ana River. These log books contain meter readings, statistical information, and documentation of plant/station maintenance and operating activities. Materials in this subseries range in date from 1899 to 1980. While the Southern California Edison Records are comprised primarily of company records, Series 6 contains collections of personal papers donated to the company by various Edison employees, including Dean E. Batchelder, Albert Chavannes, Elizabeth Erickson Edmunds, and David Hubbard Redinger. Of particular historical note are a set of Redinger's journals ranging in date from 1904 to 1976. These journals document Redinger's life, including his time as division superintendent for SCE at Big Creek, California. In addition to materials documenting the Southern California Edison Company, the records also contains limited documentation pertaining to a number of SCE's predecessor companies, such as the California Electric Power Company, the Edison Electric Company, the Nevada-California Electric Corporation, the Pacific Light and Power Company, and the Southern Sierras Power Company. Materials for these and other predecessor companies are located in Series 7. The Southern California Edison Records are arranged alphabetically by series title, with the exception of the last series (Series 14. Oversize Materials). Folders are arranged alphabetically by title within series. Documents within folders are arranged in chronological order by date with undated materials residing at the end of each folder.