author
Phebe Estelle Spalding
1859–1937
A pioneering teacher and writer, she helped shape the early character of Pomona College while also turning local California history and legend into fiction. Her work blends a scholar’s curiosity with a storyteller’s feel for place.
1 Audiobook
The Tahquitch Maiden: A Tale of the San Jacintos
by Phebe Estelle Spalding
About the author
Born in 1859, Phebe Estelle Spalding was an American writer, educator, and librarian whose career became closely tied to the early growth of Pomona College in Claremont, California. She joined the college faculty in the late 19th century as a professor of English and later also served as dean of women and librarian, taking on several important roles as the young school developed.
Alongside her academic work, she wrote fiction and nonfiction. She is especially remembered for The Tahquitch Maiden: A Tale of the San Jacintos (1911), a story shaped by Southern California landscape and regional legend. Her writing reflects both her interest in literature and her connection to the cultural history of the American West.
Spalding died in 1937, but her name remained part of Pomona College history, including through a professorship named in her honor. She stands out as one of those early literary figures whose life joined teaching, books, and the building of institutions.