Susie Van Kirk was a well-known local historian and advocate for the homeless. Her research and knowledge of architecture buildings, sites and institutions played a key role in historic preservation efforts. She also fought to preserve the environment through her work with the Sierra Club and Audubon Society. Van Kirk helped establish the Arcata House Partnership and was a founding member of the Humboldt All Faith Partnership. She also volunteered in many capacities throughout the community. For more information on Van Kirk’s life, see her obituary in the Mad River Union and North Coast Journal.

The Susie Van Kirk collection chronicles the history of Humboldt County from the 1880s through 2014. The collection is comprised of research notebooks, historical reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other materials that Van Kirk collected in her role as a professional historian. An overview of her life’s work can be found online, as well as a sample of digitized photos that she used in her research.  Some of her research and reports are availble online in a digital repository for the Susie Van Kirk Papers.

Support for this collection and Library Scholar Interns is provided through generous donations to the Cal Poly Humboldt Library Vinyard and Van Kirk Trust. Portions of this collection were processed by Library Scholar Interns: Allie Jones, Meghan Ueland, Albert Bernales, Christine Emerson, Victoria Bruner, Melitta Jackson, Olivia McDowell.

The Susie Van Kirk Collection is unprocessed. Access to the collection may be granted by contacting the Special Collections Librarian.