About the Collection
The Homestead Museum's collection focuses on objects dating from 1830 to 1930 with strengths in the history of southern California and the museum's historic houses and cemetery, along with other items pertaining to Los Angeles, California, and the United States.
Main Collecting Areas
• Architecture, including interior decoration and decorative arts
• Economics, including ranching and farming, the oil industry, viticulture and wine- making, and real estate development
• Household management, including party and event planning, etiquette,
cooking and serving, and household cleaning and maintenance
• Leisure, including sports, music, film, tourism, and outdoor activities
Other Areas of Interest
• Race and ethnicity
• Politics
• Education
• Fashion
Strengths of the Collection
• Maps, especially of the Los Angeles area, California, and the western United
States
• Documents and reports from Los Angeles County, California, and United States governments, including
selected volumes of California statutes, reports of the state Supreme Court, and state reports on agriculture, mining,
and other topics
• Documents pertaining to such subjects as real estate, architecture, the oil industry, viticulture and wine-making,
and tourism
• Photographs, including stereoscopic photographs, cabinet cards, and snapshots of Los Angeles, Los Angeles
County, and the San Gabriel Valley
• Books from 1930 and before concerning the history of California, the Los Angeles area, and the American West
To search the Collection & Library on-line »
Image: Pamphlet, "California Resources and Possibilities," published by the California Development Board, San Francisco, 1919. From the Homestead Museum Collection.