Sacramento County History Digest

Tribes like the Muwekma Ohlone have been asking UC Berkeley for decades to give back ancestral remains from burial sites around the Bay Area. The school is in the process of repatriating 4,400 remains and 25,000 tribal items.

Robert Irwin, an artist and MacArthur genius grant recipient, died in San Diego at 95 on Oct. 25. Michael Govan, who heads the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, offers a colorful retrospective on Irwin's work.

Camille Dixon, the announcer for Disney California Adventure, and her husband, Bill Rogers, the voice of Disneyland, are moving on from this work. They have been at the parks for more than 40 years combined.

The Sacramento City Council unanimously approved the final draft of the African American Historical Project Context Statement, documenting over 150 years of African American history and contributions to the city of Sacramento.

Given the critically important role agriculture continues to play in the region, many local museums offer special exhibits, experiences and activations that highlight ever-enduring farm-to-fork connections.

California wildfires every year emit as much carbon as almost 2 million cars, posing a threat to efforts to battle climate change.

Esther Pelkey started working for See’s Candies in the 1950s, long before the company's now-shuttered location at Sunrise Mall ever opened.

The city of Placerville is looking for ways to attract more visitors. Councilmember John Clerici came up with the idea to transform the Bell Tower Plaza, located on Historic Main Street, into a wedding venue.

In a new study published Aug. 17 in the journal Science, fossil records at La Brea Tar Pits indicate that the disappearance of California’s sabertooth cats, dire wolves and other large mammals nearly 13,000 years ago was linked to rising temperatures and fire activity spurred by people.

The Galt City Council approved a request to demolish a historic but run-down house. Since it is on the city’s list of historic structures, special permission is needed to demolish it. The council also made an appointment to the Commission on Aging.

Sacramento’s African American Historic Context Statement is part of the city’s African American Experience History Project, an initiative to codify local Black history from 1839-1980 and recognize historic properties.

The American Association for State and Local History bestowed the Leadership in History Award of Excellence to the Center for Sacramento History for its short film series “Unlocking the Past: A History of Prejudice and Racism in Sacramento.”

The Sacramento History Museum located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park has debuted an exhibit titled Mómtim Péwinan, River People curated by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Exhibits and Collections Center.

The Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education voted to rename three schools: Miwok Middle School (formerly Sutter Middle), Suy:u Elementary School (formerly Peter Burnett Elementary), and Umoja International Academy (formerly Kit Carson).

Rhoads Schoolhouse, a one-room school structure in Elk Grove Regional Park, is gradually undergoing repairs following vandalism this spring. The school is part of a living history program to introduce children to educational life in the 1890s.

The first-in-the-nation measure to add caste to state anti-discrimination laws, which passed the state Senate, survives the Assembly judiciary committee. The bill’s author refused to water down the measure further.

Next year, pink cherry blossom petals in Robert T. Matsui Park—a grove called the Hanami Line—will blanket the Sacramento waterfront. They’ll fulfill the promise of Japanese Sacramentans’ nickname for the city: Sakuramento, after the cherry blossom.

An obscure 1910s-era labor board once regulated everything from canneries to film sets to sheep farms. Why is California trying to bring it back now?

The professor emeritus of government and ethnic studies at Sacramento State is being remembered for his many contributions to the university and the wider community. He passed away June 3 at age 82.

Mail enthusiasts, horseback riders and onlookers will celebrate the Pony Express’ 163rd anniversary with a nearly 2,000-mile trek from Old Sacramento to St. Joseph, Missouri. The National Pony Express Association and the U.S. Postal Service will host the annual ride.

A founding member of the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce, who served as president from 1996 to 1998, Clarence Williams held a bachelor’s degree from Sacramento State in economics.

With a conservative Supreme Court expected to rule this summer in favor of ending or restricting affirmative action in college admissions, California’s private universities are worried about the potential impact on campus diversity. College administrators are revamping admissions and doing more high school outreach, while student activists are campaigning against a potential ban.

The Sacramento Observer has been a pillar in the community for six decades. Publisher Larry Lee joins Studio Sacramento TV host Scott Syphax for a conversation about the periodical’s history in Black journalism and its future.

Gregory Bradley Sr. founded Loyalty Riderz in 2019 with his wife Phyllis Bradley and three other couples. The group meets monthly and sponsors rodeos and riders in events in the Bay Area and Southern California.

Dick and Mac McDonald came to California to seek opportunities in the movie business and wound up owning a drive-in BBQ restaurant in San Bernardino. On May 15, 1948, they opened their revamped restaurant with a Speedee Service System featuring hamburgers.

Economic models calculate reparations to eligible Black residents to address past racial inequities. The task force also voted to recommend California apologize for “gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity and African slaves and their descendants.”

Early on a Saturday morning exactly 50 years ago, the quiet of the small towns of Citrus Heights, Antelope, and Roseville was shattered by a massive explosion coming from the nearby Roseville rail yard.

A handful of residents supported by the Sacramento NAACP voiced opposition to a Civil War reenactment before the Elk Grove City Council. The event is being presented by the Elk Grove Historical Society, the Linda Mae Mahon Lema Foundation and the Native Sons of the Golden West the first weekend in May.

From Stairway to Stardom and Weekend Warriors to the emergence of Quarry Park, Skip Maggiora’s impact left ripples throughout the region.

Community leaders joined friends and family to celebrate the life of former Steve Miller, following his unexpected death last month. Among the speakers was former councilwoman Jeannie Bruins who spoke of Miller’s 17 years as a Citrus Heights councilmember and mayor.

A Folsom city contractor presented to the council earlier this month, highlighting the repair work required on the Pacific Railroad Depot Building and the Southern Pacific Railroad Superintendent House.

Few assembly members have pledged their support for monetary reparations for the descendants of formerly enslaved people. Public response is split.