Sacramento County History Digest

The Orangevale History Project, which formed last year, has received quite the boost after being offered a building to create a history museum.

Sacramento’s Japanese American community gathered in excitement as the “Uprooted: An American Story” exhibit came to the California Museum.

In 1931, California donated a statue of Father Junipero Serra to the National Statuary Hall Collection in D.C. If the now unpopular missionary were to be replaced, who could take his place? The Sacramento Bee has some suggestions.

Behind the shadow of Sacramento’s downtown is a quiet and mostly vacant square—one that holds a remnant of a once-lively community and hope for renewal.

A state-appointed panel inching toward recommendations for reparations wants a new state agency to handle compensation and services to Black people.

The Sacramento City Council unanimously passed a motion to officially designate the Sacramento Zoo entrance structures as a landmark on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources.

Sierra College professor Gary Noy delves into a sublime, sometimes painful past in “Nature’s Mountain Mansion.”

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt an ordinance establishing Juneteenth as a county holiday, celebrated on June 19.

Avi Kwa Ame National Monument will protect sacred Native American sites, wildlife.

Californians are accustomed to being battered by many of nature's whims. Less familiar are volcanic eruptions like the one currently taking place at Hawaii's Mauna Loa. But California's own volcanoes are capable of violent fury.

State and tribal officials gathered Nov. 14 at the state capitol to break ground on a new monument that will replace the statue of Father Junipero Serra.

Ground has been broken for a monument at Capitol Park, to replace the toppled Junipero Serra statue. The monument, designed by Sacramento sculptor Ronnie Frostad, will be installed by next spring.

Beauty drew Brieanne Mirjah D'Souza to Eureka.

Les Robinson grew up in Sacramento but knew nothing about his great-great-great grandfather Daniel Blue until three years ago. Blue helped establish St. Andrews African Methodist Episcopal, the oldest Black church in California.

There’s a menacing mythos along the edges of Sacramento’s waterfront. But what gave birth to all these legends?

Low-income patients who need specialized cancer treatment often struggle to get it. Advocates say a new law is a small step toward improving services for those patients.

A special event to pay tribute to the life and legacy of the famous Sacramento-born author will be held at the Golden 1 Center on Nov. 10.

At “Go Bulldogs! 100 Years of Folsom High,” an exhibit at Folsom History Museum, visitors (and alumni) can chart the century-long history of this school.

Coinciding with the city’s 25th birthday, a new book details the 12-year battle to make Citrus Heights an incorporated city. The book, “Becoming the City of Citrus Heights: the History of a Unique Incorporation,” was written by Miranda Culp in collaboration with Bill Van Duker, a key player in the incorporation efforts.

In its 34-year life span, the arena in North Natomas became part in Sacramento lore. The WNBA Sacramento Monarchs won a championship there, and the Kings were arguably the best team in the NBA during the 2001-2002 season.

In a video, Colfax-Todds Valley Consolidated Tribe chairman Clyde Prout III and elder Gerri Camp look around the Yo Dokim Pakan-Gerjuoy North Fork Preserve, land they recently acquired in the Tahoe National Forest.

In nine books, preeminent California chronicler Kevin Starr ranges from the state’s pre-Columbian setting to the 21st century. His knowledge, scholarship and exquisite writing are as breathtaking as one’s first view of Yosemite Valley.

The State Park and Recreation Commission voted 7-0 to provisionally change the name of a picturesque stretch of land along Folsom Lake from Negro Bar to Black Miner’s Bar.

Henrietta Lacks’ cells were taken without her knowledge and have been used in medical and scientific advancements for decades. Nevertheless, her family is encouraging African Americans to participate in clinical research.

In 2021 Mayor Steinberg and the City Council presented Sacramento Juneteenth, Inc.(SJI) with a resolution acknowledging the 17 years of producing the festival to celebrate the freeing of those enslaved in the United States of America.

For decades, a stone memorial has stood silently in Rusch Park, with a bronze plaque bearing the names of 272 Citrus Heights residents.

Chris Hunter and former Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo collaborated on a project that honors women who served in Sacramento County.

A century-old unnamed grave marker for a pioneer woman now has a headstone with her name, thanks to her great-great-grandson, a Citrus Heights resident who has researched his mother’s family history for decades.

There are approximately 6 million items in the inventory of the California State Library. Four million of those are books, and nearly 2,000 of those are law books.

A multi-phased renovation project is under way to redesign the California State Railroad Museum lobby. On average, the museum welcomes nearly 300,000 visitors during a typical year.

As part of its Reexamining Our Past Initiative, California State Parks is seeking input on a proposal to change the way history is interpreted at Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park. The effort will provide visitors with more inclusive and historically accurate information.

Sierra-at-Tahoe has announced plans to open for one weekend only, April 9-10, to celebrate 75 years of “history, cherished memories, good times and … tough times too.”