The Huntington is among the nation’s most important centers for the study of the American West with an unsurpassed collection of materials that spans the full range of American western settlement, including the overland pioneer experience, the Gold Rush, and the development of Southern California. Diverse in scope and range, the collection attracts scholars of the early California missions as well as the aerospace industry. The Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West brings together historians and other scholars, students, writers, journalists, and policymakers to investigate and debate the rich history of California and the American West.