The entrance to the California Museum and the California State Archives on O Street, Sacramento, California. All photos provided by the author.
The California State Archives offer a vast assortment of records to root through. There are historical documents from a seemingly infinite number of state government agencies, the records of lawmakers, as well as collections from other notable parts of California history. Their holdings include prison inmate records and the files of the pioneering political consultant firm, Whitaker and Baxter. My purpose in the archives, however, for my summer 2022 trip, was a bit more mundane. I traveled to review records of the California Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Public Health during the 1950s and 1960s. I wanted to find out how the departments handled the emerging threat of toxic residues from pesticides in milk from 1955 to the mid-1960s for an article I am working on examining how state officials dealt with the pesticide residues ending up in cattle and milk.1
The California State Archives is conveniently located in the middle of downtown Sacramento. It is so accessible that it even has its own light rail stop, Archives Plaza. The actual state archives are located within the Secretary of State building, since the state secretary is responsible for managing the state’s records. To get to the archives, enter through the California Museum and head past the California Hall of Fame that former California first lady Maria Shriver helped create. From there, it is a short trip up the elevator to the fourth floor reading room.
Even the California State bear wore a mask in the California Museum.
My trip to the archives proved fruitful. I double-checked some records that I had already looked at in order to catch items that I previously missed. I also examined new records. I found out more about cows, residues, and how the state government established safety levels for things like the amount of DDT residue in milk.
A blank reference request sheet, how every research trip begins.
It is fitting to research policy history in the heart of Sacramento. Two blocks away from the archives are the State Capitol and the Capitol Mall. This is where the governor works and the legislature meets.2 I found Sacramento a great place to walk, stretch out, eat a snack, and watch democracy in action. The mall attracts protests, and I find that seeing citizens petition their government in this way helps me focus on the relationship between democratic government and the bureaucratic agencies I study.
The California State Capitol Building, with protestors cropped out.
Sacramento is not only a place for archival research. I also enjoyed taking in the sites that the river city has to offer. Thanks to its historical development, there are many interesting buildings that make for an architectural treat. From the historic governor’s mansion to buildings like the Office of Planning and Research. Walking around the city is a journey through various styles of architecture.
Office of Planning and Research as seen from the Capitol Mall.
The best part of visiting Sacramento, though, might be escaping the city. Northern California is renowned for the rugged beauty of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which are within driving distance of the archives. My favorite spot to visit last summer might have been the lower Lake Clementine dam, accessible via a drive up I-80 and then hiking up an easy trail. The nearby, old mining town of Auburn is also worth a quick visit. On the hike, sun-scorched berries filled the air with a scent that took me as far from the dusty reading room as possible. But, in another way, I was still in the room and thinking of those records. I found myself contemplating the nature of my work on the history of environmental toxins and consumer protection in agriculture. What happens in the environment affects people and animals, whether it is a burnt berry smell filling up our nostrils or a trace amount of a chemical lingering on cattle feed that then ends up in commercial milk products. Being out there on the trail reminded me that my work is about humans making sense of, and trying to control, the physical world. In the case of this research trip, the issue was humans adapting to an environment drenched in new chemicals with unknown health effects.
A view of the North Fork of the American River from the Lake Clementine Trail.
The author extends his thanks to the University of Missouri Department of History’s financial support for this research trip.
- The article discusses how the then-California State regulatory regime handled the introduction of pesticides like DDT since these kinds of chemicals left potentially toxic residues on the crops which were sprayed with them. What the state focused on was milk residues as a metric for the general problem. As long as residue amounts were less than a certain part per million, the product was designated safe for consumers.
- A visit to the California State Supreme Court though requires a trip down to San Francisco.
