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Merced County, University of California Cooperative Extension Records

 Collection
Identifier: UCCE-0001

Scope and Contents

The University of California Cooperative Extension Records for Merced County span the years of 1916-2000. Records include reports and information on irrigation districts, fire protection districts, infrastructure improvement, economic outlook, migrant workers, rodent eradication, WWI and WWII home front activities, Great Depression impact and relief programs, land management, rural development, and correspondence. A large portion of the records are related to agriculture in Merced County, San Joaquin Valley, and California and include trial reports and reference material on crops, domesticated animals, wildlife, integrated pest management, fertilizer, pesticides, water, soil, and climate. These records also include reports and information on the work of the Home Demonstration Agents, who later became the 4-H advisors. Subjects include: home economics, nutrition education, home gardens, home beautification, youth development, and lesson plans. The collection includes a wide variety of formats: typed reports, data sets, local newsletters and press releases, maps, audiovisual material, photographs, slides, scrapbooks, and a variety of publications from the county, state, and national level.

Dates

  • Creation: 1916 - 2003

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research. A portion of the records have been digitized and are freely available online.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is intended to support teaching, research, and private study. Copyright belongs to the Regents of the University of California. Use of the materials beyond that allowed by fair use or by any Creative Commons licenses assigned requires the written permission of the copyright owner(s). For further information, please contact the University of California, Merced Library at archives@ucmerced.edu.

Organizational History

Cooperative Extension was established in Merced County in 1917 with a unanimous vote by the County Board of Supervisors. In its first year, Cooperative Extension had a membership of 406 members. J.F. Grass, Jr was the first Farm Advisor in Merced. Cooperative Extension has played an important role in the county with the formation of the irrigation districts, fire suppression, cow testing, farm visits, home economics, and pest extermination campaigns. Farm Advisors and Home Demonstration Agents addressed both statewide and local priorities and programs. Prior to the 1950s, the Merced County office had limited staff and the Farm Advisors did not specialize in areas. Their work was largely dictated by federal and state programs, such as wartime activities and the Agricultural Adjustment Act. These federal and state programs at times curtailed their local programs and priorities, which included cow testing, 4-H club work, and vine and tree fertilizer work. After the 1950s, as the county office staff grew in size, the farm advisors started to specialize in different commodities, with a focus on sweet potatoes, tomatoes, nuts, fruit trees, cattle, and dairy, as well as youth development and nutrition.

County Directors:

J.F. Grass Jr., 1917-1923 John L. Quail, 1923-1931 W.H. Alison Jr., 1931-1953 Don A. Peterson, 1953-1973 Glenn Voskuil, 1974-1983 Robert W. Scheuerman, 1983-1985 Linda M. Manton, 1985-1990 James Farley, 1991-2005 Richard L. Mahacek, 2005-2012 Maxwell V. Norton, 2012-2015 Scott Stoddard, 2015-Present

Extent

78.51 Linear Feet : Located at UC Merced Library

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection consists of 10 series and 52 subseries:

Series 1. Administrative Files Subseries 1. Annual and Weekly Reports Subseries 2. Trial Reports Series 2. Maxwell Norton Records Subseries 1. Correspondence and Reports Subseries 2. Fruit Trials Subseries 3. Historic Files Series 3. Robert Scheuerman Records Series 4. Bill Weir Records Subseries 1. Meeting, Talks, and Project Materials Subseries 2. Soil Subseries 3. Crops Subseries 4. Water Subseries 5. Publications Subseries 6. Lab Materials Series 5. Lonnie Hendricks Records Subseries 1. Pomology Subseries 2. Almond Subseries 3. Apricot and Pistachios Subseries 4. Walnut Subseries 5. Soils/Weather/Weeds Subseries 6. Fruit Subseries 7. Grant Funded Project Files Subseries 8. Old Files Series 6. Crops Subseries 1. Sweet Potato Subseries 2. Tomato Subseries 3. Vegetables Subseries 4. Grains and Soils Subseries 5. Fruit Trees Subseries 6. Flower Series 7. Livestock Subseries 1. Dairy Science Subseries 2. Poyltry Series 8. 4-H Subseries 1. Administrative Files, 1993-2002 Subseries 2. Inactive 4-H Records Subseries 3. Judging Forms Subseries 4. Outreach Material Subseries 5. Publications Subseries 6. Scrapbooks Series 9. Photography and Audio-Visual Material Subseries 1. Aerial Photographs Subseries 2. Slides Subseries 3. Motion Picture Film and Audio Recordings Subseries 4. Agriculture Photos Series 10. Publications Subseries 1. Cooperative Extension Publications Subseries 2. Fruit Notes and Tree and Vine Notes, 1961-1985

Related Names

Subjects

Deaccessions

  • Box 2 was deaccessioned April 2020

Digital Material

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
University of California Cooperative Extension Records, Merced County
Status
Under Revision
Author
Carol Wilson Lisa Vallen Natalie Khoury
Date
May 2025
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the University of California, Merced Library Repository

http://library.ucmerced.edu
Contact:
5200 North Lake Road
Merced 95343 U.S.A. US
(209) 228-4444
(209) 228-4271 (Fax)

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