Sacramento History Museum
101 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 - United States
The Sacramento History Museum is a reproduction of the 1854 City Hall and Waterworks building, which sat on our current site. The original building was completed in the spring of 1854 and was the city’s first municipal structure. It housed the City Waterworks, City Offices – including the Mayor’s office and Fire Department – the City Jail, and Police Court.
The Museum focuses on the history of early Sacramento with an emphasis of the California Gold Rush and the men and women who built and shaped the city which was to become the capital of the Golden State.
Exhibits
Gold, Greed, & Speculation: The Beginnings of Sacramento City - The museum’s lobby gallery presents the first fifty years of Sacramento City. Through historic artifacts and an interactive image collage mural, the drama of Sacramento’s beginnings unfolds.
Historic Print Shop - Learn about newspaper production and job printing and even get your own “Wanted” poster printed at this working 19th century print shop.
Coming to California and The Lure of Gold - The Gold Rush altered the course of history, and Sacramento was at the heart of it all! These two exhibits recount the discovery of gold in the American River and the experiences of those who risked everything for a chance to strike it rich.
R. Burnett Miller Gallery - California in Print: Highlights from the Eleanor McClatchy Collection, reflecting the ways Californians chose to document their lives through printed media. This collection recounts stories of adventure, hardship, discovery, and triumph, and highlights how perceptions of this new paradise evolved over time. Items include first-edition rare books printed in California, letter sheets from 1850s miners, a page from the Gutenberg Bible, and dime novels from the 1870s and 1880s.
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