Publications
The Center is proud to offer a growing number of historical publications, reproductions, and educational items to the public. All product sales help CSH in its mission to preserve, exhibit, and make accessible the history of the Sacramento region. Please visit the Center during research hours to purchase items or use the printable order form link below. CSH currently accepts cash, checks or all major credit cards for payment.
A printable Order Form can be found here (pdf).
Old Sacramento and Downtown
by Center for Sacramento History and HOSF
Arcadia Publishing: 2006
$20.00, paperback
The discovery of gold in 1848 launched an unprecedented and epic rush of humanity to California's Sierra foothills. Many of those miners and minerals flowed as naturally
as the rivers into a settlement that grew near the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers. Soon the Sacramento River, once the main traffic artery between the
mines and San Francisco Bay, was flanked by a rapidly growing Embarcadero, prompting John Sutter Jr. to authorize the surveying of Sacramento City in 1849. A large
commercial district quickly developed, later requiring the streets to be raised 12 feet to avoid the rivers' deadly recurring floodwaters. Paddlewheel riverboats, like
the New World and the Delta King, plied the waters, carrying goods, passengers, and great wealth. Besting all jealous rivals, Sacramento became the state capital, and
fittingly, a merchant's residence was transformed into the governor's mansion. Today Old Sacramento, a 28-acre state historic district, and downtown are thriving, graced
by such treasures as the restored State Capitol Building and the art deco-style Tower Bridge. The area features scores of historic structures and such attractions as the
Leland Stanford Mansion, the Crocker Art Gallery, the Discovery Museum, and the California State Railroad Museum.
Private Thinks by C.K.
by Charles K. McClatchy
Scribner Press: 1936
$5.00, hardback
Charles Kinney McClatchy was the editor and publisher of the Sacramento Bee newspaper from 1883 until his death in 1936. During that time he penned a regular column,
originally known as "Notes" and later changed to "Private Thinks by C.K." The column offered strong opinions and this volume collects the best of his published work.
Edited by his daughter Eleanor (President of McClatchy Publishing) and Roy Bailey, it also includes a forward by Senator Hiram W. Johnson, a close friend and confidant
of C.K's.
Rush For Riches: Gold Fever and the Making of California
by J. S. Holliday
Oakland Museum of California and University of California Press: 1999
$20.00, paperback
Holliday's book is considered by many to be the definitive account of the California gold rush and the state's explosive growth through 1884. During this period,
California was an entrepreneurial free-for-all, with the Silver Barons of the Comstock Lode, the timber barons of the Sierra, the Big Four who built the
transcontinental railroad, and countless smaller businessmen looking for their share. The book features over 225 images from the major collections in
California, including the Center for Sacramento History.
Sacramento's Elmhurst, Tahoe Park, and Colonial Heights
by Center for Sacramento History
Arcadia Publishing, 2007
$20.00, paperback
Originally named "Fruitvale" in the 1890s, the Sacramento suburbs now known as Elmhurst, Tahoe Park, and Colonial Heights were once home to the California State Fair,
the Sacramento County Hospital, and the Sacramento Army Depot. On May 8, 1910 the Central California Traction Company opened interurban passenger service to Colonial
Heights, connecting the neighborhoods to the rest of Sacramento. Today, the region is home to the Coca Cola Bottling Company, the University of California, Davis
Medical Center, and Proctor and Gamble. These neighborhoods began to thrive after 1945 as many wartime workers remained in Sacramento and looked for affordable housing.
Bounded by Highway 50, Stockton Boulevard, Fruitridge Road, and Florin-Perkins Road, the area today is a mixture of mature housing tracts, a sprawling medical campus, a
converted military facility, commercial service centers, and light industrial operations. The area's recent resurgence, led by groups like the Tahoe Park Neighborhood
Association and numerous community leaders, has made the district a true success story.
Sacramento's Midtown
by Center for Sacramento History and HOSF
Arcadia Publishing: 2006
$20.00, paperback
As Sacramento's neighborhoods grew eastward from Fifteenth Street to Thirty-first Street (later Alhambra Boulevard), the area evolved into a complex mix of housing and
businesses known as Midtown. Sutter's Fort was still popular, and community groups like the Native Sons of the Golden West restored its last remnants for future
generations. In 1927, the city built Memorial Auditorium, a tribute to fallen soldiers, as a large central venue that continues to serve as an important setting for
graduations, concerts, and conventions. The J and K Street business corridors expanded from downtown, and identifiable neighborhoods such as Poverty Ridge, Boulevard
Park, and New Era Park developed as people settled and established businesses in these growing areas. Today's Midtown supports numerous Victorian mansions and Craftsman
bungalows, as well as the legacies of such employers as the California Almond Grower's Exchange, California Packing Corporation, Buffalo Brewery, Sutter Hospital, and
the Sacramento Bee newspaper.
