Curator Susie Mott with Oakland schoolchildren, c.1927
photo from Camron-Stanford House collections
The Oakland Public Museum (1907–1965) was located in the Camron-Stanford House on the shores of Lake Merritt. The house was purchased from the Wright family by the city of Oakland in 1907 for $40,000. The museum was started three years later in 1910, and Charles P. Wilcomb was hired as the first curator. 1
In its first year of operation, it had 55,589 visitors, and there were 23,117 objects in its collections. 2
The Oakland Public Museum was the first teaching museum west of the Mississippi, and was a regular destination for Oakland student field trips. In 1965 the museum merged with other museums to become the Oakland Museum of California.
Links and References
- Camron-Stanford House website
- After One Year's Existence, Oakland Museum Can Point To A Pleasing Record of Substantial Progress Oakland Enquirer October 21, 1911
