This postcard shows perhaps the most familiar painting of California's Gold Rush, "Sunday Morning in the Mines." Done with oil on canvas, it was done in 1872 by Charles Christian Nahl, a native of the Hesse-Kassel region of Germany. Nahl would go...
Shown at the southwest corner of Seventh and K Streets is the Capital Hotel. In 1887, the 100-unit property underwent a 20,000 dollar rennovation that included marked expansion, giving the Capital a 100-foot frontage on K Street and 120-foot...
K Street in downtown Sacramento as pictured on this penny postcard bustles with activity and traffic, more specifically pedestrian, horse-drawn and electric rail traffic. Posted in Roseville at noon, the hand-written note on the back of this...
Franciscan missionaries planted the first olive trees in California in 1769, where they thrived in the rich soil and moderate climate. By the mid 1880s California olive oil had earned a reputation of quality comparable to any European import, and...
“Wheat farming dominated the life and economy of the Sacramento Valley from 1867 until 1893.” Acreage of wheat planted increase from 200,000 in 1866 to 400,000 in 1873, increasing to 1,000,000 in 1882. By 1865 the price paid for California...
This 1866 photograph shows a busy main drag in the city of Cisco, California. Several Calistoga-style wagons crowd the frame of the photograph, making their way through a temporary city of saloons, hotels and livery stables. In the background are...
This circa 1880 postcard shows the Neubourg and Lages milling and malting business, also known as the Star Mills and Malt House, located on the west side of Fifth Street, between J and K Streets. Founded in 1866, by Christopher Lages and Leonard...
Shown in circa 1890 is the Southern Pacific Railroad's depot, located on G Street, between Second and Third streets. One of the largest depots in the American West, the Gothic-style structure was built in 1879 along the margin of China Slough and...
Shown in circa 1890 is the Georgiana School. The Georgiana School District was formed in 1866, with the school house standing along the Sacramento River, halfway between Isleton and Walnut Grove. At around the time this images was captured, between...
This circa 1900 photograph captures an omnibus from Sacramento’s Western Hotel. The Western was first built in 1854, but felled by fire in 1875. It was rebuilt that same year by Sacramento hostelling luminary William Land who went on to found...
This circa 1900 photograph shows a man, vintner James Frasinetti, delivering barrels of wine. He is doing so with a wagon, pulled by two horses. A native of Italy, Frasinetti founded his self-styled winery in 1897. It covered 400 acres of land...
A carriage, shrouded in feathers and flowers and pulled by two white horses, and coached by a parasol-toting woman is the focus of this May 1902 photograph. The shot was taken during the city’s Street Fair festivities.
This circa 1907 postcard shows a portion of N Street, looking east near Capitol Park. Visible to the right of the frame is a carriage and horse near a series of carriage steps. To the left of the frame is the palm-lined edge of Capitol Park.
This July 4, 1910, photograph shows horse-drawn fire engines parading along K Street, between Fourth and Fifth Streets. 30,000 Sacramentans witnessed the Independence Day parade which featured horses. Several awards were given for the fittest and...
This circa 1910 postcard offers a rendering of N Street, looking west toward the California State Capitol building. In the foreground, notice hitching post to accomodate several residences along the south side of N Street. Several infant fan...
Shown in 1919 is the intersection of Ninth and K Streets. In the immediate foreground is the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Temple. Just beyond, and on the south side of K Street, is the Forum Building. In the background is the Siller Building...