Welcome to the website of the annual
Riverside County History Symposium
presented by the
Riverside County Heritage Association
The 2022 Riverside County History Symposium will be held virtually.
Join us Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.
(please log in early to ensure you can get in)
Last year's event was an overwhelming success and 2022 will be better!
Join us Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.
(please log in early to ensure you can get in)
Last year's event was an overwhelming success and 2022 will be better!
Registration - Will be in February. Check back for the Zoom link
10:00 a.m. - "Early Riverside Photographers"
Leigh Gleason
Riverside's first photographer operated on the speculation that they could drum up enough business to sustain themselves, and most did not. Hear stories and see images from Riverside's many short-lived photography studios and the photographers that ran them.
11:00 a.m. – “Rock Art of Riverside County”
Steven Freers
Southern California is rich in pictograph and petroglyph evidence of spiritual interactions by Native Americans with their cultural landscape. This important cultural heritage is often collectively termed “Rock Art,” and has been intriguing anthropologists and the general public for well-over a century. Modern advancements in computer and camera digital technology have greatly improved our ability to visualize, appreciate, and understand southern California rock art—especially pictographs (paintings). This is a visually rich presentation designed for the general public, and will display rock art from both Riverside and Northern San Diego Counties.
Leigh Gleason
Riverside's first photographer operated on the speculation that they could drum up enough business to sustain themselves, and most did not. Hear stories and see images from Riverside's many short-lived photography studios and the photographers that ran them.
11:00 a.m. – “Rock Art of Riverside County”
Steven Freers
Southern California is rich in pictograph and petroglyph evidence of spiritual interactions by Native Americans with their cultural landscape. This important cultural heritage is often collectively termed “Rock Art,” and has been intriguing anthropologists and the general public for well-over a century. Modern advancements in computer and camera digital technology have greatly improved our ability to visualize, appreciate, and understand southern California rock art—especially pictographs (paintings). This is a visually rich presentation designed for the general public, and will display rock art from both Riverside and Northern San Diego Counties.
Speaker Bios:
Leigh Gleason, PhD, is the Director of Collections at UCR ARTS where she oversees the collections of UCR's California Museum of Photography. Trained as a photo historian and archivist, Gleason has researched and curated exhibitions on topics ranging from stereoscopic images, color photography, and the topic at hand, early Riverside photographers. Gleason is not from Riverside County, but got here as fast as she could. She arrived in 2005 for graduate school at UCR and never looked back.
Steve Freers has spent over thirty-five years researching Native American rock art in southern California, as well as concentrated studies in the Grand Canyon region. In 1994, he co-authored the book Fading Images on rock art in western Riverside County and served for five years as the senior editor for the American Rock Art Research Association (ARARA). In 2013, he co- authored the book Rock Art of the Grand Canyon Region with Don Christensen and Jerry Dickey. Steve’s specialty is using pictograph handprint data to predict the physical stature, and sometimes gender, of those who made the rock art. The Arizona Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission awarded Mr. Freers and his co-authors the 2014 Arizona Governor’s Award for Special Achievement in Public Archaeology. In 2016, Mr. Freers was awarded the Crabtree Award by the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) for his contributions to the field of archaeology, cultural heritage preservation, and public education. Steve was honored to receive ARARA’s Klaus Wellmann Memorial Award in 2020 for his distinguished service in the field of rock art research. Steve Freers serves as the program and conservation chair for the San Diego Rock Art Association (SDRAA), and is currently conducting several in-depth rock art research projects in southern California.
Leigh Gleason, PhD, is the Director of Collections at UCR ARTS where she oversees the collections of UCR's California Museum of Photography. Trained as a photo historian and archivist, Gleason has researched and curated exhibitions on topics ranging from stereoscopic images, color photography, and the topic at hand, early Riverside photographers. Gleason is not from Riverside County, but got here as fast as she could. She arrived in 2005 for graduate school at UCR and never looked back.
Steve Freers has spent over thirty-five years researching Native American rock art in southern California, as well as concentrated studies in the Grand Canyon region. In 1994, he co-authored the book Fading Images on rock art in western Riverside County and served for five years as the senior editor for the American Rock Art Research Association (ARARA). In 2013, he co- authored the book Rock Art of the Grand Canyon Region with Don Christensen and Jerry Dickey. Steve’s specialty is using pictograph handprint data to predict the physical stature, and sometimes gender, of those who made the rock art. The Arizona Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission awarded Mr. Freers and his co-authors the 2014 Arizona Governor’s Award for Special Achievement in Public Archaeology. In 2016, Mr. Freers was awarded the Crabtree Award by the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) for his contributions to the field of archaeology, cultural heritage preservation, and public education. Steve was honored to receive ARARA’s Klaus Wellmann Memorial Award in 2020 for his distinguished service in the field of rock art research. Steve Freers serves as the program and conservation chair for the San Diego Rock Art Association (SDRAA), and is currently conducting several in-depth rock art research projects in southern California.