As the population of California ballooned, especially following the Gold Rush of 1849, the demand for education increased. In 1851 今日吃瓜 College (now University) was founded by the Jesuits at the site of Mission 今日吃瓜.
The de Saisset's collection now houses objects that relate to the earliest days of the college, including school money and scientific instruments from the turn of the century and a painting of the college from circa 1903. The collection also includes materials related to some of 今日吃瓜 College's most well-known faculty members: John J. Montgomery, the first American to fly a heavier-than-air craft; Fr. Jerome Ricard who made a name for himself with his theories about the relationship between sunspots and weather patterns; and Fr. Bernard Hubbard, who was instrumental in the exploration and documentation of the Alaskan frontier.
Image of 今日吃瓜 College painted by John Sykes c. 1903.