California Room Receives $37,000 from the Craemer Family towards the Digitization of its Historic Marin County Newspaper Collection
by Laurie Thompson, October 11, 2013
The Anne T. Kent California Room wishes to extend its deepest gratitude to Jean and Jeff Craemer who have collectively donated $37,000. towards the creation of a digital archive of our historic Marin County newspaper collection, consisting of The Marin Journal and The Marin County Tocsin, 1861–1922.
Jean Craemer is the wife, and Jeff, the son, of the late Independent Journal publisher, Jack Craemer. Jack’s father was Justus Craemer, who, together with Roy A. Brown and William Hart, purchased the San Rafael Daily Independent in 1937. Ten years later, in 1947, Jack Craemer joined his father at the Independent and in 1948 the San Rafael Independent merged with the Marin Journal to form the Marin Independent Journal. Jack Cramer became managing editor of the Marin I.J. in 1949 and co-publisher in 1966. We are honored to have the Craemer family’s support as we take our historic newspaper collection into the 21st century, by digitizing it and making it freely accessible to all.
Historic newspapers are an important primary source for researching Marin County history and Marin’s pioneer residents. Currently, the Library’s historic newspaper archive exists only on microfilm and is not indexed or searchable.
With the Craemer family’s generous donation of $37,000, plus $23,000 more which we are working to raise, Marin’s early history will be a click away via the California Room’s Digital Archive.
The Marin Journal and The Marin County Tocsin, 1861–1922, document a key period in our county’s history when Marin’s original land grants were being sub-divided and becoming the towns we are familiar with today. These newspapers also shed light on important political, business and cultural leaders; the development of local railroads and roads; early resorts and hotels; Marin’s involvement in World War I; the creation of Muir Woods National monument; fires, shipwrecks and other disasters; hiking clubs and cultural organizations; and local agriculture.
Help us make the full collection of The Marin Journal and The Marin County Tocsin, 1861–1922, freely available by donating any amount towards our goal of $60,500. We are more than half way there and with your help, can shed new light on Marin’s rich history.
To make a donation, contact Laurie Thompson at: ljthompson@marincounty.org
Thank you!
Originally published at https://annetkent.kontribune.com.
