Historic Sacramento

On the last day of my mini-adventure in Northern California beyond the bay, I visited some of Sacramento’s most important historic sites.  Doing so helped me gain an appreciation for the important place Sacramento has in the history of California.  This broadened my appreciation for the history of Northern California that began back in 2016 when I set out on the Barbary Coast Trail in San Francisco.  I couldn’t remain the New England snob I started out as, thumbing my nose at the notion of California history.

Sutter’s Fort

My first stop of the day was Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park.  So, who was Sutter and what was the deal with his fort?  John Sutter was a German-Swiss immigrant to what was then Mexican territory.  Sutter established his outpost as a trading and agricultural colony.  It was the first non-indigenous settlement in California’s Central Valley.

In addition to his fort, Sutter owned a sawmill on the American River in Coloma, northeast of Sacramento, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.  Sutter’s Mill was operated by Sutter’s business partner, James Marshall.  One morning in January 1848, Marshall noticed something shiny in the water beyond the mill.  A few days later, he met up with Sutter at Sutter’s Fort to show him his golden discovery.  Sutter wanted to keep things quiet because he was afraid that news of the discovery would ruin his plans for an agricultural empire.  But the news quickly got out.  The California Gold Rush was on!

State Indian Museum

The California State Indian Museum is located right behind Sutter’s Fort.  It’s common knowledge that European settlers treated Native Americans atrociously, and John Sutter was no exception.  The California Gold Rush only made things worse as prospectors drove out the natives from the longtime land.  The State Indian Museum aims to preserve the culture of California’s first inhabitants.  I didn’t take any pictures inside, but I did buy an arrowhead as a souvenir.

Sacramento Chinatown

From Sutter’s Fort and the State Indian Museum, I took a bus across town to the area close to Sacramento’s waterfront along the Sacramento River.  My first stop there was what’s left of Sacramento’s Chinatown.  In years past, it was California’s second biggest Chinatown.  There’s little left of it now.  Partly this is due to the success of the Chinese in Sacramento.  San Francisco was much more discriminatory to its Chinese population, restricting where they could live to Chinatown.  Sacramento was somewhat less restrictive and discriminatory, allowing the Chinese to assimilate and have success in the city beyond Chinatown.

And as is often the case, “urban renewal” in the mid-20th century often meant that minority neighborhoods were razed in the name of progress.

Old Sacramento

After exploring the remains of Sacramento’s Chinatown, I continued toward the Sacramento River waterfront to the Old Sacramento Historic District.  Here you can really get a feel for how important Sacramento was in the development of California–first as the western terminus of the Pony Express, then the western terminus of the first transcontinental railroad and the first transcontinental telegraph.

Much of the Old Sacramento Historic District is made up of Old Sacramento State Historic Park.  Old Sacramento has more historic buildings than anywhere else in the western U.S. of similar size.

The Delta King is a great illustration of the relationship between Sacramento and San Francisco.  Steamboats were the main method of transportation between the 2 cities before modern highways and bridges were built.  The Delta King ran the route between 1927 and 1940.  It’s now a hotel permanently moored at the Sacramento waterfront.

Those Big Four are showing up again.  3 of the future Big Four had shops in the building.  You can see the names of 2 of the Big Four, Collis Huntington and Mark Hopkins, on the central section.  Leland Stanford had a shop in 1 of the other sections.  Together with Charles Crocker, they collaborated on the 2nd floor to plan and create their railroad empire.

California State Railroad Museum

I saved the best for last.  The California State Railway Museum was the grand finale of my day exploring the history of Sacramento, and it’s probably Sacramento’s most popular attraction.  It highlights the importance of Sacramento in the history of the transcontinental railroad as its western terminus.

And that wraps up my pre-pandemic travel (except, of course, for the Day 5 Food Diary).  Stay tuned for a way-off-the-beaten-path, covid-inclusive 2022 mini-adventure.

[Factual information is primarily gathered from Wikipedia, so you know it must be true.]