The California Historical Society (CHS) was created in 1871. It was established as a permanent institution in 1922 when C. Templeton Crocker donated his vast California collection to the Society. For many decades, the organization continuously collected material related to the State’s diverse histories and people, making it one of the major research institutions devoted to California and the West.

CHS was legally recognized as the official State Historical Society in 1979. It was located on Mission Street in San Francisco. Its holdings comprised over 4,000 manuscript collections, 500,000 photographs and scrapbooks, 50,000 books and pamphlets, and other printed material including posters and ephemera. The Society made the stories of California accessible to the public through its research library, exhibitions, and educational and public programs.

The California Historical Society dissolved in 2025, and its collections were transferred into the care of Stanford University Libraries.

(Senate Bill 63, Chapter 52, 1979)