The Peoples Temple Collection at California Historical Society

The California Historical Society (CHS) is the chief repository for materials related to Peoples Temple. These materials include organizational and personal papers, legal documents, financial records and photographs. CHS currently holds seventeen individual collections that form the Peoples Temple Collection:

Manuscript Collections
Peoples Temple Records, 1941-1983 (MS 3800); 139 boxes
FBI Collection of Peoples Temple Papers from Jonestown, Guyana: photocopies, 1931-1978 (MS 3801); 35 boxes
Moore Family Papers (MS 3802), 1968-1988; 28 boxes
John R. Hall research materials on Peoples Temple, 1954-2003; 38 boxes (MS 3803)
Ross E. Case Collection pertaining to Peoples Temple, 1961-1984 (MS 4062); 2 boxes
Margaret T. Singer Materials on Peoples Temple, 1956-1998 (MS 4123); 29 boxes
Peoples Temple Ephemera and Publications, 1959-1979 (MS 4124); 2 boxes
Newspaper Clippings on Peoples Temple: photocopies, 1953-1978 (MS 4125); 1 box
Peoples Temple Miscellany Collection, 1951-[ongoing] (MS 4126); 12 boxes
Peoples Temple Theater Project Collection, 2001-[ongoing] (MS 4127)); 5 boxes

Photography Collections
Photographs from Peoples Temple Records, [1959]-1980 (MSP 3800); 7 boxes, 25 albums
Photographs from Moore Family Papers, 1968-1979 (MSP 3802); 1 box
Photographs from John R. Hall Research Materials on Peoples Temple, 1935-2003 (MSP 3803); 1 box
Photographs from Ross E. Case Collection pertaining to Peoples Temple, 1966-1978 (MSP 4062); 1 box
Photographs from Margaret T. Singer Materials on Peoples Temple, 1970-1978 (MSP 4123); 2 boxes, 1 album
Photographs from Peoples Temple Miscellany Collection, 1966-1978 (MSP 4126); 1 box
Photographs of Peoples Temple in U.S. and Guyana, 1967-1978 (PC 010); 8 albums

The California Historical Society ( http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org ) is located in downtown San Francisco at 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. The North Baker Research Library is open to the public Wednesday through Friday from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Researchers are encouraged to email or call ahead if they would like to discuss their research prior to visiting. Contact the Library by email at reference@calhist.org or call 415-357-1848 ext. 220.  

Researchers can search for materials related to Peoples Temple at http://melvyl.cdlib.org , the online catalog of the University of California libraries, which includes records of the California Historical Society. More detailed guides or finding aids to larger collections can be found through the Online Archive of California ( http://www.oac.cdlib.org ).