South Riverside Land and Water Company records

The documents provide insight into the business history and practices of the South Riverside Land and Water Company as well as the Jameson Packing House, which shipped citrus fruit, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Business Records, the largest series of the collection, with 9,638 items, is arranged alphabetically by folder title and then by date where applicable and includes banking records; bills of lading; blueprints; checkbooks, check stub books, and checks; contracts; daily reports of the fruit; ephemera; financial records; freight bills; inventories and inventories of fruit; land surveys; legal documents; maps; receipts; stock certificates; tax records; deeds from states such as Colorado, Florida, and Iowa; sales records, primarily of Queen Colony Fruit Exchange document fruit was shipped to Toledo, Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburg, Boston, Sioux City, Cincinnati, Omaha, Buffalo, Spokane, St. Louis, Calgary, Oklahoma City, Peoria, Vancouver, Milwaukee, Butte, Des Moines, Cleveland, Kansas City, Wichita, Seattle, Denver, Regina, Louisville, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Grand Rapids, Winnipeg, Baltimore, San Antonio, Albany, Columbus, Sacramento, Scranton, Waterloo, and Detroit; shipping records; records of fruit treatment; logs of temperature and meter readings for fruit; and time books.

The Correspondence series contains 3,613 items. Most of the correspondence is business related with many inquiries from potential customers wishing to purchase land. The majority of the correspondence has been arranged by the author's last name or the name of the company from which the correspondence was sent. Some correspondence was batched together alphabetically if there were fewer than two items from the same author or if the complete signature was indistinguishable. Correspondence was noted from the following locations: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Nebraska, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, B.C. Vancouver, and Winnipeg Canada, and includes many law offices, newspapers for which the company often advertised in, and county records including deeds, taxes, and correspondence to county officials. In addition, there are numerous documents from banks regarding their business finances and letters from various fruit companies and railroads discussing shipping. Some of the notable clients and companies include Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company; California Fruit Agency; California Fruit Growers Exchange; Foltz, Clara Shortridge, 1849-1934; Huntington, Henry Edwards, 1850-1927; Lemon Administrative Committee; and Southern Pacific Railroad Company.

The 35 volumes include fruit logbooks, fruit shipping records, cashbooks, account books, ledgers, letter books, and an account journal.