Sacramento, California

:For other places with the same name, see Sacramento.

History

The lost frontier

Miwok, Shonommey and Maidu Indians lived in this area for perhaps thousands of years. Unlike the settlers that would eventually make Sacramento their home, these Indians would leave little evidence of their existence. Their diet was dominated with acorns taken from the plentiful oak trees in the region and by eating fruits, bulbs, seeds, and roots throughout the year.

Related Topics:
Miwok - Shonommey - Maidu - Acorn - Oak

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In either 1806 or 1808 the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga discovered and named the Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento River after the Spanish term for 'sacrament', specifically, after "the Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ," referring to the Roman Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist.

Related Topics:
1806 - 1808 - Gabriel Moraga - Spanish

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From pioneers to gold fever

The pioneer John Sutter arrived from Liestal, Switzerland in the Sacramento area with other settlers in August 1839 and established the trading colony and stockade Sutter's Fort (as New Helvetia or "New Switzerland") in 1840. In 1848, when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma (located some 50 miles northeast of the fort), a large number of gold-seekers came to the area, increasing the population. John Sutter, Jr. then planned the City of Sacramento, against the wishes of his father, naming the city after the Sacramento River for commercial reasons. He hired topographical engineer William H. Warner to draft the official layout of the city, which included 26 lettered and 31 numbered streets (today's grid from C to Broadway and from Front to Alhambra). However, a bitterness grew between the elder Sutter and his son as Sacramento became an overnight commercial success (Sutter's Fort, Mill and the town of Sutterville, all founded by John Sutter, Sr., would eventually fail).

Related Topics:
John Sutter - Liestal - Switzerland - 1839 - Sutter's Fort - New Helvetia - 1840 - 1848 - James W. Marshall - Sutter's Mill - Coloma - Sacramento River - William H. Warner - Sutterville

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The part of Sacramento originally laid out by William Warner is situated just east and south of where the American River meets the Sacramento River (though over time it has grown to extend significantly north, south, and east of there). A number of directly adjacent towns or cities, such as Carmichael, Florin and Citrus Heights, extend the greater Sacramento area.

Related Topics:
American River - Sacramento River - Carmichael - Florin - Citrus Heights

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The citizens of Sacramento adopted a city charter in 1849, which was recognized by the state legislature in 1850. Sacramento is the oldest incorporated city in California. During the early 1850s the Sacramento valley was devastated by floods, fires and cholera epidemics. Despite this, because of its position just downstream from the Mother Lode in the Sierra Nevada, the newly founded city grew, quickly reaching a population of 10,000.

Related Topics:
1849 - 1850 - 1850s - Mother Lode - Sierra Nevada

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Capital city

The California State Legislature named Sacramento as the permanent home of the state capital in 1854 by law, but did not physically hold that honor until January 1, 1855. Previously, the capital was located in San Jose, Vallejo, and Benicia successively.

Related Topics:
California State Legislature - 1854 - January 1 - 1855 - San Jose - Vallejo - Benicia

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Begun in 1869 to be reminiscent of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, the Renaissance Revival style California State Capitol was completed in 1874.

Related Topics:
1869 - United States Capitol - Washington, DC - Renaissance Revival - California State Capitol - 1874

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With its new status and strategic location, Sacramento quickly prospered and became the western end of the Pony Express, and later the First Transcontinental Railroad (which began construction in Sacramento in 1863 and was financed by "The Big Four" — Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker, Collis P. Huntington, and Leland Stanford).

Related Topics:
First Transcontinental Railroad - 1863 - The Big Four - Mark Hopkins - Charles Crocker - Collis P. Huntington - Leland Stanford

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The same rivers that earlier brought death and destruction began to provide increasing levels of transportation and commerce. Both the American and especially Sacramento rivers would be key elements in the economic success of the city. In fact, Sacramento effectively controlled commerce on these rivers, and public works projects were funded though taxes levied on goods unloaded from boats and loaded onto rail cars in the historic Sacramento Rail Yards.

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Sacramentans raised the level of the city by landfill. The previous first floors of buildings became the basements, in an effort to control the flooding. Now both rivers are used extensively for recreation. The American River is a 5 mile-per-hour waterway for all power boats (including jet-ski and similar craft) (Source Sacramento County Parks & Recreation) and has become an international attraction for rafters and kayakers. The Sacramento River sees many boaters, who can make day trips to nearby sloughs or continue along the Delta to the Bay Area and San Francisco. The Delta King, a paddlewheel steamboat which for a long time lay on the bottom of the river, was refurbished and is now a hotel and restaurant.

Related Topics:
Basement - Flood - Recreation - Rafters - Bay Area - San Francisco - Paddlewheel steamboat

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The modern era

Major Paul Norboe, assistant state engineer for California, saw Sacramento's potential as a port in 1916, and he campaigned for a deeper harbor. Norboe's efforts convinced the state and the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce to make a feasibility study for a deep-water channel and harbor. At the end of World War II, William G. "Bill" Stone (later considered "The Father of the Port of Sacramento") convinced the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to re-study the deep-water project. The Corps' study proposed a 43-mile channel cut to Lake Washington in Yolo County, in what is now the City of West Sacramento. The channel would begin at the Sacramento River near Rio Vista, California.

Related Topics:
1916 - World War II - U.S. Army Corp of Engineers - Yolo County - West Sacramento - Rio Vista, California

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The US Congress authorized the Sacramento port construction project in July 1946, approved by President Harry S. Truman. Roy Deary, president of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, appointed a port district organization committee, with meetings held with the County and the City. The Sacramento-Yolo Port District was created in 1947, and ground was broken on the Port of Sacramento in 1949.

Related Topics:
US Congress - July - 1946 - Harry S. Truman - 1947 - 1949

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The first major storage facility at the port was a 500,000 bushel (18,000 m³) capacity grain elevator. This was later expanded to 875,000 bushels (31,000 cubic meters) and received its first truckloads of wheat in 1950. On June 29, 1963, with 5,000 spectators waiting to welcome her, the Motor Vessel Taipei Victory arrived. The port was open for business. The Nationalist Chinese flag ship, freshly painted for the historic event, was loaded with 5,000 tons of bagged rice for Mitsui Trading Co. bound for Okinawa and 1,000 tons of logs for Japan. She was the first ocean-going vessel in Sacramento since the steamship Harpoon in 1934.

Related Topics:
1950 - June 29 - 1963 - Okinawa - Japan - 1934

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The city's current charter was adopted by voters in 1920, establishing a city council and city manager form of government, still used today.

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The city of North Sacramento incorporated in 1924, and merged into the city of Sacramento in 1964.

Related Topics:
1924 - 1964

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