Yolo County Local News: History


All Local History News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

Image caption: The 1965 law known as the Williamson Act has been responsible for keeping about half of California's farmland out of the hands of developers.
The Williamson Act: How the Law That Protects California’s Farmland Works

The Williamson Act, passed in 1965, now keeps more than 16 million acres of farmland out of the hands of developers. Here's how the law puts the brakes on the development of California agricultural properties.

Image caption: The Woodland Opera House—George M. Cohan played there, as did John Philip Sousa.
Harvesting Information

Want to learn more about Yolo County’s history? Here are some good places to visit and sites to browse.

Image caption: The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land

How California’s 10 state conservancies buy up open land and shield it from developers to preserve the natural environment for public use.

Image caption: Translated from the Greek, “Democracy” means “people power.” How much power do the people have in California?
People Power! What Is Democracy, and How Does It Work in California?

Democracy is a 2,500-year-old system of government still looked on today as the best system, because under a democratic system, the people govern themselves. But is that all there is to it? What is democracy? And how does it work …

Image caption: Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation has cost California 90 percent of its wetlands.
How Land Reclamation Hurts California’s Environment

Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation projects have helped to build California, but they are also damaging the state’s environment for people, plants and animals by eliminating essential wetlands.

Image caption: How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

Image caption: The California Supreme Court has defined the state’s legal and political agenda for more than 170 years.
How the California Supreme Court Blazes Legal Trails

The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.

Image caption: From nitrates to arsenic to “forever chemicals,” California’s water supply faces a serious pollution threat.
Dirty Water: California Faces a Water Contamination Crisis

Almost one million California residents are forced to drink from contaminated water supplies, or pay for bottled water. Economic inequality makes the crisis worse. What is the state doing to fix it?

Image caption: Moss Landing in Monterey Bay is the world’s largest battery storage facility for solar and other renewable energy.
Solar Power and California’s Clean Energy Goals

Solar power, and a network of giant battery storage facilities, are playing an essential role in moving California toward its goal of exclusive reliance on renewable energy sources.

Image caption: California transportation history runs from railroads to today’s car culture.
California’s History of Transportation: From Railroads to Highways

The history of transportation in California has shaped the state, from the railroads to today’s highways, making the need for planning increasingly urgent. Here’s how it all happened, and where we stand today.

Image caption: Over two weekends last October, residents of Santa Cruz and Watsonville  participated in demonstration rides aboard an electric streetcar on rails.
The ‘Rail Trail’ Movement, Explained

Thousands of miles of railroad track, including some in Santa Cruz County, now sit idle. The fate of those largely abandoned tracks has become a burning controversy.

Image caption: California continues to work on legislation that would make voting easier.
Voting Rites

California keeps on taking legislative steps that will keep it ranked in the top 10 of voter-friendly states.

Image caption: Access to abortion in California is limited in many areas, though state laws protect a woman’s right to choose.
Abortion Rights in California, Explained

California has historically been ahead of the rest of the country in expanding the legal right to abortion services. Here’s what state laws say today, and how we got here.

Image caption: Old Sacramento Historic District Sacramento is an open-air museum of historic buildings.
Capital Collections

Sacramento’s rich past can be explored by visiting its many and varied historical museums.

California Local Pin Marker From The California Aggie...

03/10/2025
Read on to learn more about the fundraisers being held by Soroptimist International of Davis to honor Women’s History Month, and consider donating to support their work.

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02/19/2025
Image for display with article titled Yolo County Celebrating Black History Month With Quilt Exhibits, Community Activities, & Special Events

Yolo County is celebrating Black History Month throughout February with a month-long series of events and activities designed to engage, educate and inspire the community. This year’s celebration is a collaboration between local agencies, schools, and organizations, featuring quilt exhibits, a special launch event, and other community activities.

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02/19/2025
Over 20 Sacramento area museums are participating in the 27th annual Free Museum Weekend on March 1 and 2. Read on for details.

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02/05/2025
Image for display with article titled Black History Month Discussed

Black History Month is an annually observed month-long celebration of African American life, history, and culture.

Founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in February 1926, what was formerly known as Negro History Week became a month-long celebration as a way to promote, research, preserve, interpret, and disseminate information about Black life, History, and culture to the global community.

California Local Pin Marker From The Sacramento Observer...

02/04/2025
A look at 14 places in California where Black businesses and culture thrived.

California Local Pin Marker From Daily Democrat...

02/03/2025
Read on for more information about how local governments, schools and others are celebrating Black History Month in Yolo County.

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01/08/2025
Image for display with article titled City of Davis’ 2025 MLK Celebration

The City of Davis and the Human Relations Commission invite the public to attend the 31st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Veterans Memorial Theatre, located at 203 East 14th Street in Davis.

West Sacramento News Ledger logo From West Sacramento News Ledger...

12/02/2024
Image for display with article titled Dinos Alive Roars Into West Sacramento

Have you ever wished you could step back in time and explore the power, majesty and magic of a world filled with dinosaurs? Now you can at Dinos Alive: An Immersive Experience in the heart of West Sacramento that opened in November and runs through January.

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11/05/2024
Image for display with article titled Celebrating Native American Heritage at the Gorman Museum

In Yolo County, we acknowledge the land we exist on has been the home of the Patwin people for thousands of years. There are three federally recognized Patwin tribes: Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.

Yolo County is also home to the Gorman Museum of Native American Art, one of the few university museums in the country—and the only one in California—with a focus on contemporary Native American and Indigenous art.

The Dirt logo From The Dirt...

06/03/2024
Image for display with article titled Bob Dunning & Wendy Weitzel Bestsellers on Substack

Long-time Davis Enterprise columnists now publishing on Substack.

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03/05/2024
Image for display with article titled Reading List: Women’s History Month

The team at Avid Reader Bookstore rounded up more than a dozen non-fiction books on notable women in history, or that focus on women’s struggles.

California Local Pin Marker From Daily Democrat...

03/01/2024
In a gesture intended to rectify historical injustices, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution to rescind a regrettable decision made during World War II.

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02/21/2024
Image for display with article titled ‘Reflecting Lenses’ Exhibit Opens March 6 at the Gorman Museum

“Reflecting Lenses: Twenty Years of Photography at the Gorman Museum” presents highlights from the Gorman Museums collection by more than two dozen Indigenous artists from North America, Aotearoa, and Australia.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

02/16/2024
Members of the board gathered to put forward a resolution that takes responsibility for the history of discrimination against Black San Franciscans.

California Local Pin Marker From Daily Democrat...

02/15/2024
The Yolo County Women’s History Month celebration will take place at the Gibson House with the theme of “Women Who Advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”

California Local Pin Marker From Daily Democrat...

02/06/2024
In the heart of Dunnigan, the Union Church stands as a symbol of the town's history, with a legacy spanning over 130 years.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

02/05/2024
She toured the world wowing audiences, and she captured the public’s imagination for decades. No, not Taylor Swift; Ellen Beach Yaw, also known as Lark Ellen.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

02/01/2024
James Dean’s last stop before he died in a car crash was at Blackwell’s Corner, a gas station in rural Kern County. His memory isn’t the draw it once was.

California Local Pin Marker From SF Gate...

02/01/2024
An extinct species of walrus was unearthed in Santa Cruz County, evoking a time when California was teeming with odd creatures that feel closer to fantasy than reality, researchers said.