Sacramento History Museum

Some deaths are tragic. Some are mysterious. And some are just... strange.

This October, the “ghosts” of early Sacramento come to life to tell their stories once again for our annual Ghost Tours! Join us for an eerie evening of baffling, unusual, and bizarre deaths that really happened in Sacramento’s past. You may come away with a few chills, a few laughs, and a whole new appreciation for just how strange life—and death—can be.

Tours run Fridays and Saturdays October 16, 17, 23, 24, and 30. Tickets are $35 and recommended for ages 8 and up. Don’t make a grave mistake by waiting until it’s too late!

shopsachistorymuseum.org/Events.aspx

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Sacramento History Museum

Forging a pencil holder at Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento, California.

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Sacramento History Museum

On August 31, 1851, the “Flying Cloud” clipper ship arrived in San Francisco, California. The clipper left New York on June 2nd, traveled around the southern tip of South America (Cape Horn), and arrived in San Francisco 89 days and 21 hours later, setting a world record. Although Josiah Perkins Creesy is credited with captaining the ship, his wife, Eleanor Creesy, helped chart the voyage.

The Flying Cloud beat its own record (by 13 hours) 3 years later, but the record was not broken again until 1989. During the early days of the Gold Rush (and travel by ship before 1849), a typical voyage for that route would take 4-6 months.

Advertisement for the arrival of the Flying Cloud ship from the Sacramento Daily Union newspaper, published on September 9, 1851.

#OnThisDay #TodayInHistory #Sacramento #sanfrancisco #sachistorymuseum

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Sacramento History Museum

The main source of news in early Sacramento was, of course, the newspaper: a single sheet of paper folded, creating a 4-page paper. It was estimated to take roughly 100 hours of labor to set the individual type (6 point for the text) for the paper, which was published daily at some printing offices. This meant at least 15-20 compositors were employed to set the type and also to clean and redistribute the type back into the typecase at the end of the day after printing.

Two pressmen working a hand press could print 4 copies a minute (one side of the paper). The Daily Union was publishing about 1,000 newspapers a day, in August 1852. This would not be the only work done in the newspaper’s printing office, however.

There was always jobbing work to be done, not only to keep the printers and typesetters busy, but also to help keep a printing office afloat. As shown in this newspaper advertisement, from August 30, 1852, the Union published their wide range of fonts and also the work they can provide for customers. Some examples of jobbing work includes printing menus, receipts, checks, deeds, tickets, cards, invitations, etc.

Jobbing presses certainly allowed for more efficiency printing smaller impressions than printing the newspaper on a hand press. To see examples of the operations of both a hand press and a jobbing press that would be contemporary for the 1850s and 1860s, check out our YouTube channel.

youtube.com/c/SacramentoHistoryMuseum

Newspaper clipping from The Daily Union, published on August 30, 1852. Photograph of the reconstructed Daily Union building in Old Sacramento on J Street between Front and Second Streets.

#TodayInHistory #OnThisDay #sacramento #oldsacramento #sachistorymuseum

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Sacramento History Museum

New to genealogy? Curious to find out more about your family tree? Here is your opportunity to meet with several experienced genealogy groups from the Sacramento region.

Join us at the Sacramento History Museum on Saturday, September 12th, from 11am to 2pm and learn how you can discover your roots!

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Sacramento History Museum

In the August 24, 1896 edition of the Sacramento Daily Record-Union newspaper, this small advertisement appeared on the bottom of the sixth page. This advertisement was for Joe Poheim’s tailor business at 603-605 J Street in Sacramento, California.

What connects this advertisement to the Sacramento History Museum, especially our print shop exhibit, is that the image of the individual in the nice suit was printed from an electrotype (copy of a woodcut) that was made by Lewis Winter.

Lewis Winter had a wood and photo engraving business at 627 J Street (right down the block from the business in this ad) in Sacramento from 1888 to 1910. We have the electrotype in box 18 of the Lewis Winter Collection in our print shop. It is advertisements like this that help us understand not only when a letterpress cut was made, but what it was used for.

#OnThisDay #todayinhistory #sacramento #letterpress #sachistorymuseum

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Sacramento History Museum

Have you seen Sacramento’s Community Quilt on display currently at the Sacramento History Museum? Sewn to celebrate the nation’s Centennial, this quilt has been out of public view for nearly 150 years…until now!

The quilt was found at the First United Methodist Church on J and 21st in a recent cleaning. It had been stored in a small white box for over 40 years with a small note attached. The quilt has over 500 names written on the squares and was made to celebrate the nation’s centennial anniversary. We have highlighted several names and shared their contributions to the city of Sacramento in 1876. There is also a book of images enlarging the written names and QR codes coordinating to each block. We encourage people to dive into more research and their own genealogy.

This exhibition runs through January 24, 2027.

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Sacramento History Museum

On August 21, 1910, passenger service began for the Western Pacific Railroad from San Francisco, California to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Western Pacific passenger depot, located on J Street between 19th and 20th Streets in Sacramento, opened on this day as well.

The Western Pacific Depot was considered more convenient than the Southern Pacific Depot for residents living east of Downtown. The Mission Revival style building housing the depot was designed by Willis Polk.
Passenger service continued to use this building until March 1970. The building remained empty for 8 years until it was sold, remodeled, and opened as an Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant, which is still housed the building today.

Photograph of the Western Pacific passenger depot at J and 19th Streets c.1920 looking southwest by the McCurry Foto Company, courtesy of the California State Library.

#OnThisDay #TodayInHistory #sacramento #sacramentohistory #oldspaghettifactory #sachistorymuseum

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Sacramento History Museum

Join the Sacramento History Museum for a special series of the West End Blues, where Sacramento’s musical heritage meets the next generation of local talent. Set against the backdrop of Old Sacramento’s historic waterfront, this concert series celebrates the rich traditions of blues, jazz, and American music while showcasing some of the region’s most inspiring young musicians.

The next concert in the series September 9th at 6pm with the Sacramento Youth Band. Hosted by William Burg at the Sacramento History Museum and featuring the musical direction of Harley White Jr., this series highlights the incredible talent being cultivated right here in Sacramento while connecting audiences to the stories and sounds that have shaped our city.

Come support local youth musicians, celebrate Sacramento’s vibrant music community, and enjoy an evening where history and music come alive.

Tickets may be purchased at our website below or by calling the Museum at 916-808-7059.

shopsachistorymuseum.org/Events.aspx

#westend #thingstodoinsacramento #SacHistoryMuseum #sacramento #museum

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Sacramento History Museum

On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald newspaper published a two-column report on the findings of gold on the American River at Sutter’s Mill, making it the first newspaper on the East Coast of the United States to report of gold in California. President James K. Polk confirmed the reports of gold in an address to Congress on December 5, 1848. Around 90,000 people arrived in California in 1849 by land and by sea. By 1855, over 300,000 people came to California for the Gold Rush.

How did the New York Herald get the news to publish? Well Nathan Hawk was hired by Sam Brannan to carry 2,000 copies of the April 1, 1848 edition of Brannan’s The California Star newspaper that was published in San Francisco. The newspaper included an article written by Dr. Victor Fourgeaud titled “Prospects of California.” This article discussed agricultural opportunities in California and the territory’s rich mineral wealth, especially gold. It also noted about the gold found at Sutter’s Mill on the south fork of the American River.

Hawk and the 10 men, who traveled with him east to Salt Lake City to notify Brigham Young of the gold, were responsible for notifying wagon parties along the overland trail to head to California instead of Oregon. One of the copies of that newspaper reached New York in July 1848. Word successfully spread from coast to coast, it just took 4 months to travel.

Front page of the August 19, 1848 edition of the New York Herald newspaper.

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