Special Collections
(760) 750-4312
archives@csusm.edu
Hours: by appointment
The Ecke collection consists primarily of the business and administrative records documenting the operations, sales, strategic planning, correspondence and marketing efforts of The Paul Ecke Ranch, Inc., from its origin in the early 1900s to its eventual sale to the Dutch-based Agribio Group in 2012. The bulk of the records reflect business operations from 1923 (when the business moved from Los Angeles to Encinitas, CA) to 2012, and cover business operations across the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia and South America.
Types of records include: business records; marketing and publicity material; research material; trade magazines; prints and photographs; artifacts; aerial pictures and maps; and family papers.
Subjects include: business growth and development; trends and developments in the floriculture and horticulture industry; employee-worker relations, including impact of the Bracero program; impact of World War II on business; real estate developments in Encinitas and the local region; Ecke family history.
Resources related to the Ecke Ranch records and family papers:
- Finding aid for The Paul Ecke Ranch, Inc. business records and family papers
- Ecke records and family papers digital collections
- The Paul Ecke Ranch Working Community (research guide)
Related Materials
Oral history of Lizbeth Ecke (video | written transcription).
The Dan Rios papers (finding aid) contain imagery of Ecke Ranch, poinsettia farming, and other agricultural and floricultural subjects.
CSUSM also contains oral histories related to agriculture in San Diego County including:
- Susan Cupaiuolo, owner of Primavera Orchard (video | written transcript)
- Carol Graham, master gardener (video | written transcript)
- George and Alethea Nagata, family farmers (video | written transcript)
- Lucy Wheeler, oral historian (video | written transcript)