History

About the Department of California

DEPARTMENT of CALIFORNIA HEADQUARTERS

Street Address: 1601 7^th Street, Sanger, CA 93657-2801

Phone: 559-875-8387    Office Hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.

In 1919, many American Legion departments across the United States were holding conventions for the very first time. The Department of California held its first organizational gathering at Post 1 in San Francisco on October 10-12, 1919, where H. G. Mathewson was chosen as the first Department Commander. A year later, the first official Department Convention was held in San Diego on August 23-26, 1920, with David P. Barrow (Berkeley Post 7), elected as the second Department Commander.

Focusing on service to veterans and their families, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential non-partisan and veteran, non-profit organizations in America.

The state headquarters was located at the Veterans War Memorial Building on Van Ness Avenue, across the street from San Francisco City Hall. The building is under the administration of the American Legion War Memorial Commission, https://alwmcsf.org/ .  But in 2014, when the headquarters rent was raised from $1 a year to $2,500 a month, the Department decided to look for a new home.

As it was in 1919 and continues to the present day, California has the largest veteran population of any state in the United States, at approximately 1.8 million veterans (as of 2022). San Francisco was our headquarters until 2015 and was home to the first American Legion post in California. That post was named as American Legion San Francisco Post 1 (within District 8) and was also located in the Veterans Memorial building, but now meets at the First Lutheran Church on 2^nd Avenue SW.

In 2015, after approval from a majority of the state Legion membership, the Department of California bought an 8,000 square foot former bank building in Sanger, CA, sixteen miles east of Fresno (Janet Wilson Department Commander).

In March of 2015, the Department of California headquarters officially moved to Central California. Conveniently located in downtown Sanger, our new headquarters has ample parking and provides offices for the Department Commander, the Department Adjutant, meeting rooms, storage for records, as well as offices for our administration and support staff.

California – American Legion National Conventions

The American Legion’s largest annual meeting is the national convention. Over 100 national conventions have been held at different cities across the nation. California has hosted six of our national conventions, they are:

Convention #5
October 16-19, 1923 San Francisco, CA
Convention Program – Proceeding of Convention

Convention #20
September 19-22, 1938 Los Angeles, CA
Convention Program – Proceedings of Convention

Convention #28
September 30-October 4, 1946 San Francisco, CA
Convention Program – Proceedings of Convention

Convention #32
October 9-12, 1950 Los Angeles, CA
Convention Program – Proceedings of Convention

Convention #38
September 3-6, 1956 Los Angeles, CA
Convention Program –  Proceedings of Convention

Convention #81
September 3-9, 1999 Anaheim, CA
Convention Program – Proceedings of Convention

Our national convention delegates alone have the authority to approve changes to the Legion’s constitution and bylaws. The group is also responsible for passing programs that determine the course of the Legion, setting membership dues for the upcoming year, and electing a national commander and five national vice commanders to serve until the next convention.

• National Convention Cities – Alphabetical
• National Convention Dates & Cities