Publications

For more than 25 years, the California History Center Foundation's publication program has been centered around books produced in its Local History Studies series, which currently number over 60 volumes.

The books have been written by professional historians as well as gifted avocational writers. Three have won national book awards and several have been used as texts in California history classes. Many of the early volumes are no longer in print but are available for research in the center's Stocklmeir Library. Those currently in print are listed below and are available from the California History Center by calling 408.864.8712.

The CHCF also publishes a magazine three times per year entitled Californian. Each issue focuses on a certain theme and contains a main feature article as well as information about activities of the CHC and CHC Foundation. The Californian, a benefit of membership in the CHCF, has been published since 1980 and many back issues are still available.

 
 
Martin Murphy Family Saga by Marjorie Pierce

Martin Murphy Family Saga

by Marjorie Pierce

After six years of research, Marjorie Pierce tells in narrative non-fiction form the first complete story of the colorful Murphy family of California. It is also the first account of the 1844 Murphy-Stephens party. Previous accounts of their crossing are based solely on the recollection of Moses Schallenberger who does not include the Oregon group.

Hard Cover

Passing Farms Enduring Values by Yvonne Jacobson

Passing Farms, Enduring Values

by Yvonne Jacobson

The new edition features an Epilogue on the loss of farm land in the county and across the state and nation. Recent photographs illustrate this new essay. The new book also includes an introduction by Wallace Stegner and a new Preface authored by California History Center Director Emeritus, James C. Williams.

Hard Cover

Saratoga Stereopticon by Willys I. Peck

Saratoga Stereopticon: A Magic Lantern of Memory

by Willys I. Peck

This collection of entertaining and insightful articles that appeared in the Saratoga News in a column entitled "Saratoga Stereopticon" is sure to make the reader smile. The vignettes offer glimpses of a rapidly fading Saratoga past. Mr. Peck has been a newspaperman for over 40 years and has also been dedicated to historical groups. He is a trustee of the California History Center Foundation.

Soft Cover, ISBN 0-935089-21-7

The Rise of Silicon Valley by James C. Williams

The Rise of Silicon Valley

by James C. Williams

Originally published as an essay entitled "Frederick E. Terman and the Rise of Silicon Valley" in Carroll Pursell, ed. Technology in America (1990), this booklet traces the human and technological forces that coalesced to create the Silicon Valley.

Soft Cover, ISBN 0-935089-16-0

 
Santa Clara Sagas by Austen Warburton, edited by Mary Jo Ignoffo

Santa Clara Sagas

by Austen Warburton, edited by Mary Jo Ignoffo

The late Austen Warburton, an attorney and history buff, wrote a series of historical articles about families in Santa Clara's history which appeared in the Santa Clara American during the 1970s and 1980s. They have been compiled here along with over 90 photographs. Historical essays about the city of Santa Clara, added by the editor, complement the family sagas.

Hard Cover, ISBN 0-935089-20-9
Soft Cover, ISBN 0-935089-19-5

Scow Schooners of San Francisco Bay by Roger Olmstead

Scow Schooners of San Francisco Bay

by Roger Olmstead

In describing the history of the "Scow Schooners... an ugly barge-like craft with the aesthetically appealing lines of the much more graceful sailing vessel... it's a work that will find a warm place in the hearts of anyone who loves tales of sailing vessels and their hardy crews. Very highly recommended." --Scale Ship Modeler.

Soft cover, ISBN 0-935089-12-8

 
Gilroy's Old City Hall 1906-1989 by Angela Woollacott & Carroll Pursell with Chuck Myer

Gilroy's Old City Hall 1906-1989

by Angela Woollacott & Carroll Pursell with Chuck Myer

This is the history of a landmark California building and the people who have lived their lives in and around this California community. A lively text captures the story of Gilroy's city government from volunteer fire fighters and "frontier justice" through the events surrounding the two world wars. The building's transformation from city hall to popular restaurant tells an important historic preservation story.

Soft Cover, ISBN 0-935089-15-2

 
Sunnyvale From the City of Destiny to the Heart of Silicon Valley by Mary Jo Ignoffo

Sunnyvale From the City of Destiny to the Heart of Silicon Valley

by Mary Jo Ignoffo

Sunnyvale--in 1750 the land lay virtually untouched by Western civilization.
A mere two hundred year later, a technological revolution had its beginning here. This book tells the story of Sunnyvale and its people from earliest days through the emergence of the fruit industry to the birth of a high-technology enclave, the heart of today's Silicon Valley.

Soft Cover, ISBN 0-935089-17-9

 
Like Modern Edens: Winegrowing in the Santa Clara Valley and the Santa Cruz Mountains, 1798-1981 by Charles L. Sullivan

Like Modern Edens: Winegrowing in the Santa Clara Valley and the Santa Cruz Mountains, 1798-1981

by Charles L. Sullivan

"Some day I hope to meet Charles L. Sullivan and salute him with a raised glass of wine in honor of this fine book...[which] deftly intertwines regional history with s in other winegrowing areas..."
Charles T. Morrissey, University of Vermont.

Soft Cover, ISSN 0276-4105

 
The World of Fort Ross: A Picture Book by David W. Rickman

The World of Fort Ross: A Picture Book

by David W. Rickman

Soft Cover, ISSN 0276-4105

 
County Chronicles by Margery Quackenbush

County Chronicles

by Margery Quackenbush, Editory

"This book represents a series of historical studies covering the early backgrounds of Santa Clara County. It gives us a fascinating picture of events, problems and trends encountered by these cities as they faced urbanization, economic change and upheaval, population growth, social change, and the other pressures to which every community has been subjected." Excerpt, Introduction by  Walter G. Warren, Director of CHC

Soft Cover

Free PDF

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