A history of Sacramento,
since 1849
Postcards, papers and photographs of Sacramento from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Nisenan (Southern Maidu), Modoc, and Plains Miwok American Indians have lived in the area for perhaps thousands of years. Until Spanish settlers arrived in Sacramento, these tribes left little evidence of their existence. Acorns harvested from the plentiful oak trees in the region made up the bulk of their diets, in addition to fruits, bulbs, seeds, and roots gathered throughout the year. Animal protein included salmon, other fish, deer, and elk.
In 1808, the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga encountered and named the Sacramento Valley and the Sacramento River. A Spanish writer with the Moraga expedition wrote:
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Sacramento’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewSacramento ; First frame house er…, 1852: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Sacramento
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Sacramento, decade by decade
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as CAM Taber, Sacramento in October 1848 (1848) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.