Mission
As one of California's most important historical figures, John Muir (1838-1914) was a regional naturalist with global impact. The John Muir Center was established in 1989 to encourage greater use of John Muir’s archival collections by the scholarly community and to promote the study of California and its impact upon the global community through seminars and semester-long courses on these topics.
Muir's Legacy at Pacific
Several of Muir's descendants attended Pacific. In 1970, the heirs of Muir's two daughters, Wanda Hanna and Helen Funk, entrusted University of the Pacific with his manuscripts and personal papers. Additional materials have, and continue to, come to Pacific over the years including Muir's personal library and furniture from his Martinez home.
The Muir Center is focused on examining and presenting John Muir through a semester long course, class seminars, and a quadrennial symposium.
Throughout his life John Muir created manuscripts, correspondence, journals, drawings and other documents. The University encourages students, faculty, and researchers from around the world to use and interpret Muir's works for themselves.
The Muir Experience is designed to follow Muir’s ideas from germination to dissemination. The front room represents where he got his inspiration including his personal 1000-volume library in his original bookcases, two paintings from his friend and artist William Keith, and walls adorned in photographs of Yosemite Valley. The room also includes one of his writing desks where he recorded his ideas. Items from his collections are exhibited as well.
