The Arcadia Historical Society unveiled its eighth History Lives Here historical marker in the last four years on August 13, 2011, at The Derby during a ceremony with more than 50 local dignitaries. Historical markers are just one of the projects of the Society related to history in Arcadia. The primary focus is on community outreach efforts that also include regularly scheduled historical programs and newsletters for members, Creative Expression contests, support of the police department’s classic 1959 Ford, informational booths at local events, among other things.
The Society, which was founded more than half-a-century ago in 1954 as an independent group, also continues to support the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum, which opened only ten years ago. It was the Society that established and ran the city’s historical museum for decades and spearheaded the initial campaign to get the current building opened in fall 2001.
While the City owns and manages the Museum, which also has its own City Commission, and while the Society is a separate and independent non-profit organization with its own board of directors, members of the Society and its auxiliary Friends of the Arcadia Historical Society continue to support, promote, and provide volunteers for activities and exhibits at the Museum. The Society contributed $10,000 to the architectural designs of an education center extension of the Museum that is being considered by another organization. The Museum’s upcoming figure of Anita Baldwin is funded with more than $11,000 of money donated by the Society.
It is the Society’s goal to maintain its ten-year relationship with Museum officials, to offer its materials for any short-term or long-term Museum exhibits, and to ensure that future board members of the Society always have the option of donating any and all Society materials to the Museum in the event of the discontinuation of the Society.
Contrary to recent rumors, the Society has no plans for fund-raising, has never been involved with any plans relating to the restoration of the Hugo Reid adobe, and does not have plans to create a competing museum. The Society believes it is in the best interest of the preservation and communication of Arcadia history for the Society and Museum to maintain an amicable and mutually supportive relationship.
