Sacramento, California

United States California Sacramento County  Sacramento  The state capital of California is located where the Sacramento and American Rivers join in California’s central valley. It was the western terminus of the California Trail and where the Pony Express completed its journey. The name comes from an early Spanish explorer who drank water from the river and exclaimed in Spanish “It’s like the Holy Sacrament.”

History
John Sutter established the first European settlement in 1839, calling it New Helvetia or New Switzerland, after his native country. He received numerous Mexican land grants, giving him ownership of a huge area. In 1848 gold was discovered at his sawmill in Columa (now in El Dorado County), and the following year brought the ‘49ers, rushing to find gold.

Archives and Libraries
California State Archives

The California State Archives has county records, such as court records, prison records, wills, deeds, and also military records, state census records, and school records.

California State Archives 1020 "O" Street Sacramento, California, 95814 Reference Desk: (916) 653-2246 website: http://www.ss.ca.gov/archives/archives.htm

California State Library

The California State Library has a history room with excellent resources for genealogy research. This includes: California State Census Records 1852, 1890 Great Register Index, 1880 United States Census, city and county directories, biographical dictionaries, county histories, newspapers, pioneer register and index, vital records indexes, among others.

California State Library California History Room 900 N St., Rm. 200, Sacramento, CA

Phone: (916) 654-0176

website: http://www.library.ca.gov/index.cfm