University of the Pacific: John Muir Collections
Since 1970, the University of the Pacific, in Stockton, California, has been the repository for the John Muir Papers, and much of Muir's personal library. The collecton includes Muir's journals and notebooks, correspondence, manuscript writings, drawings, and family and biographers' papers. These materials represent the largest collection of Muir's works in the world. In 1980, the University began a five-year project to gather and publish these documents. The project culminated in a microfilm/microfiche edition of Muir's papers. Published as The John Muir Papers, 1858-1957, the limited copies were distributed to forty repositories throughout the United States, giving access to researchers around the United States. In recent years ,much of the microfilm collection has been digitized, and there is an ongoing project to crowd-source the transcription of Muir's journals and letters to allow for full-text searching. Since that time, additional Muir-related materials has been added to the library's special collections.
Why the University of the Pacific? Several of Muir's descendants attended University of the Pacific during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1970, the heirs of Muir's two daughters, Wanda Muir-Hanna and Helen Muir-Funk, entrusted University of the Pacific with the majority of John Muir's manuscripts and personal papers. That indefinite loan led to additional acquisitions, including most of Muir's personal library and a portion of his office furniture from his home in Martinez. In 2019, the University of Pacific was given ownership of Muir's papers.
In 2021, the University began preparing the "Muir Experience" museum, with artifacts and exhibits explaining Muir's life in full.
The University of the Pacific hosted the first academic conference on John Muir in 1980, and has hosted additional Muir conferences at least every five years thereafter. Several books resulting from the papers presented at these conferences are annotated in our Historical and Literary Analyses section of our John Muir Bibliography, with the most recent noted below.
Today, the University of the Pacific continues to host several programs related to John Muir:
- Researching John Muir: Overview of John Muir Collections at Holt-Atherton Special Collections and Archives
- John Muir Papers at Scholarly Commons: Digital Archives
- The Muir Center hosts the Muir Symposium to explore and examine Muir and the beginning of the Conservation Movement. The now quadrennial event focuses on the life and legacy of Muir with speakers, meals, receptions, and field trips.
- John Muir Center: The Center facilitates scholarly research on John Muir, and sponsors classes, symposia and publications, including the John Muir Newsletter and a monograph series about John Muir.
- John Muir Symposium: Pacific's Muir Symposium takes place ever four years and covers topics related to John Muir and the National Park system.
- John Muir Newsletter - the quarterly newsletter published by the John Muir Center containing articles, book reviews and news of interest to Muir scholars.
We host online a number of articles from back issues of this outstanding publication. - John Muir Collections, repository for the John Muir Papers - Holt-Atherton Library, University of the Pacific
The John Muir Papers include correspondence, journals, notebooks, unpublished and published manuscripts, miscellaneous notes, sketches and photographs. Muir's unpublished writings were until recently the literary property of the Muir-Hanna Trust; in 2019 they were donated to the University of the Pacific and remain protected by copyright. - You can volunteer to help transcribe John Muir's journals.
Other Resources from University of the Pacific:
- Limbaugh, Ronald H. and Kirsten E. Lewis, editors, The John Muir Papers, 1858-1957 MICROFORM, With accompanying Guide (Alexandria, Virginia: Chadwyk Healey, 1986).
With 40 copies in libraries throughout the United States, and available to scholars through interlibrary loan, this is the complete collection of all extant Muir correspondence, manuscripts, journals, sketchbooks, notes, and pictorial works. - John Muir Newsletter: Published until 2015.
- Article: John Muir's legacy showcased at University of the Pacific
by Anthony Cusuman, Lodi News-Sentinel - Lodi,C A,USA (January 31, 2005) - John Muir's Personal Library: 700 books that belonged to John Muir, many with his notes and annotations, available to researchers. This page offers an embedded PDF file listing all the books. (offsite link working as of 3 April 2022, but the UOP frequently changes the URL for this page.)
- Muiriana collections: Awide array of family papers, photos memorabilia , genealogical materials, various biographers' notes/collections, reminiscences by John Muir's contemporaries, materials on the the creation of the John Muir Memorial County Park on the first Wisconsin homesite of John Muir in 1957, and correspondence not contained in the John Muir Papers proper.