History Center of San Luis Obispo County

Mission statement: The History Center promotes the understanding and appreciation of San Luis Obispo County’s historical and cultural heritage. The History Center collects, preserves and exhibits historic artifacts, records, images, and documents and provides access to its collections in both traditional and digital forms, for research, study and educational purposes. The History Center cooperates with other regional organizations and promotes their goals and programs.

The Institution ● The History Center of San Luis Obispo County is a 501(c)-3 non-profit corporation, founded in 1953 ● Our mission is to promote the understanding and appreciation of San Luis Obispo County’s history and cultural heritage. ● Though we are primarily privately funded, we receive a subvention from the County of San Luis Obispo that makes up about one third of our operating budget. ● Louisiana Clayton Dart was the original Director of the then-named Historical Society, serving from its founding until the mid-1970s. The Carnegie Library ● Both the History Center offices and the County History Museum are housed in the Carnegie Library building ● Construction was completed in 1905 on the first free, open-to-the-public library in San Luis Obispo, one of 144 built in California and over 2500 built worldwide. ● The building is owned and maintained by the City of San Luis Obispo, who has leased the building to the History Center since the mid-1950s. The most recent 20-year lease was signed in 2007. The Dallidet Adobe ● Pierre Hypolite Dallidet (1823-1909) immigrated to San Luis Obispo in 1853, and later became the first commercial vintner in our county. ● His adobe home, which dates to 1860, as well as his half-acre gardens, are located at 1185 Pacific Street, one block north of Santa Rosa. ● Pierre’s youngest son, Paul, willed the home and gardens to the History Center upon his death in 1958. ● The Dallidet Adobe and Gardens are open to the public on weekends from April through October, and can be rented for special events. The Collection ● The History Center maintains two off-site storage facilities, one in eastern San Luis Obispo (referred as Capitolio, or Cap), and the other on the grounds of Camp San Luis. ● We have a collection of over 50,000 objects, including photographs, government records, and personal objects. ● Our research room is open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. We have volunteer researchers on duty who help find materials.