Tracing History Through Postcards and Ephemera – SCV History

A long time ago, in a small town not too far away, there was a post office for Newhall. It was in Campton’s General Store, a gathering place for the locals. It was located on what used to be known as Main Street. By 1900, Campton’s became Lindenfeld and Landell’s General Store, next door to the Oil Exchange, a saloon for oilmen working in the nearby fields. Today, that space – which fronts on the current Main Street and also has an entrance on Railroad Avenue – is Abe’s Pawn Shop, the goods of which could mirror a general store of sorts.
Recently, the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society’s collection gained a bit of that history that may have been mailed from the writer’s own building: a postcard sent by the proprietor of Lindenfeld and Landell’s to a customer in Surrey – the name for Saugus at the time – alerting them that a shipment they’d ordered had arrived. The postcard joins more than a million pieces of ephemera (paper memorabilia) in the collection at the Santa Clarita History Center. Each piece is scanned by archivist Eva Gritz or her volunteers for eventual inclusion in a public, searchable database.
Along with ephemera, the Society collects things that may be considered inexpensive advertising giveaways, but mark the existence of some businesses that are now long gone. A calendar plate from Lindenfeld and Landells, most likely given to their best customers, was recently donated to the Society’s collection by the Haskell family.
Curious about local history? Spend some time perusing scvhistory.com and learn about our community’s quirks and contributions to the development of our state and nation! Want to get more involved? You can sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website, scvhs.org.