Partners of the National Archives at Riverside

California State Archives

Established by state statute in 1850, the California State Archives, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, is the official repository for the state's permanent governmental records as well as other materials documenting California history. The California State Archives collects, describes, preserves, and provides access to the historic records of state government and some local governments. The California State Archives serves a wide variety of researchers whose interests range from legislative intent and public policy to genealogy and railroad history in California.

To learn more, please visit: www.sos.ca.gov/archives

The Japanese American National Museum

Located in the heart of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, the Japanese American National Museum seeks to preserve the Japanese American experience in the United States and to address issues within the community. Key elements of the museum revolve around Executive Order 9066, Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas, and to intern Japanese American along with Japanese Nationals during World War II, and subsequent efforts at restitution; cultural programs designed to demonstrate the qualities of the Japanese American lifestyle; artistic and community programs that project the values of Japanese American culture; and museum and archival research programs that support a realistic understanding of Japanese American life in the United States.

Permanent exhibits, touring exhibits, film series, introductions to food, language, and art, a research program based in the Hirasaki National Resource Center and the Watase Media Arts Center create a dynamic approach to understanding the 130-year history of the Japanese people in the United States.

The Centers' staff and volunteers handle all types of requests and are very knowledgeable. Educational programs, such as the janmKIDS, the National Diversity Education Program, and Group Visits, are also available. And many features of the museum can be accessed on-line

For more information, please visit www.janm.org.

Planes of Fame Air Museum - Where Warbirds Fly and Aviation History lives

Planes of Fame Air Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1957 by Ed Maloney. It is the mission of Planes of Fame Air Museum to preserve aviation history, inspire interest in aviation, educate the public, and honor aviation pioneers and veterans.

The first aircraft Ed Maloney collected were stored in the backyard of his home as his wife Louise and four children looked on. In January, 1957 Ed Maloney took a major step in his preservation efforts by opening to the public a small museum in Claremont, California called simply 'The Air Museum'. Ed Maloney was determined not only to preserve historic aircraft but to keep them flying as well.

Today Planes of Fame Air Museum operates two facilities: one at Chino Airport in Chino, CA and the other at Valle Grand Canyon Airport in Valle, AZ. We have over 130 historic aircraft on display as well as a hands on aviation learning center and theater.

To learn more, please visit www.planesoffame.org or visit us on facebook

San Diego History Center

San Diego History Center is dedicated to helping people of all ages learn about and enjoy the history of San Diego, and to appreciate how our past, present, and future are interrelated.

Our extensive Object, Document and Photograph Collections document the people, places and stories of San Diego's past and present, and provide excellent resources for researchers.

The Object Collection contains over 15,000 objects in four main collection areas: Costume and Textiles, Decorative Arts, Fine Arts, and Objects of Daily Life. With over 7,000 items, the Costume and Textile Collection illustrates the history of dress from the late 18th century to the present, and represents one of the largest historical costume collections on the West Coast.

In the Document Collection, over half a mile of shelf space is currently dedicated to San Diego City and County public records. Included are court case files, minutes of the City Council and Board of Supervisors, local ordinances, Coroner's inquest reports, probate records, tax lists, school reports, deed records, marriage licenses and mining records.

Containing over 2.5 million images, the Photograph Collection is of both regional and national significance. This vast collection allows for in-depth examination into the rapidly changing cultural, political and social mores of the region, and insight into the people and environment of San Diego from the late 19th, 20th, and early 21st century.

For more information: www.sandiegohistory.org

Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

As a major component of the History Department of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the center documents the history of the trans-Mississippi American West. With holdings of over 1.3 million historic records, it is a treasure trove of manuscript materials, books, pamphlets, broadsides, maps, posters, prints, and photographs. Strengths of the collection are Spanish and English-language business, legal, governmental and personal papers; monographs; history journals; and files on 850 cultural and historic sites in Los Angeles County. Significant holdings include Southern California images by Al Greene and Frederic Maude and Native American image by Will Soule and A.C. Vroman; manuscripts of early motion picture personalities Florence Lawrence and William S. Hart, papers of prominent California Mexican families, such as the del Valles and Coronels, and Amelia Earhart's flight log for her 1928 Atlantic crossing; maps from the Warren C. Shearman Collection and many real estate developments in the area; Los Angeles County materials, including rare Mexican-era alcalde records from the 1830s; and local and international materials relating to America's wars, the two Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, and early flight history in Los Angeles County.

The Seaver Center opened in 1986 through a grant from the Seaver Institute.

To learn more, please visit: www.nhm.org/research/history/seaver_center.html

The Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research (SHHAR)

The Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research (SHHAR) is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, founded in 1986, with the goal of helping Hispanics/Latinos research their family history. Although the group is based in Orange County, California, networking participation via the Internet is world-wide, via www.SomosPrimos.com. SHHAR is maintained through donations.

For more information about SHHAR, see www.SHHAR.net