Day 24 - Sacramento, CA

As we boarded the bus and headed to Old Sacramento, the wind was blowing and throughout the day it got very windy. We picked up Neal, our guide for most of the day.













 


We headed over the beautiful Tower Bridge to continue on our tour. This bridge raises and lowers as needed for boats to go under.

Many of the buildings in Old Sacramento are the original ones that have been restored. Because the Sacramento River was always flooding, the buildings were raised to keep the basements from getting water in them.  One of the buildings that housed the daily newspaper, The Daily Union, was where Samuel Clemens once worked. We know him as Mark Twain.

The 1856 Leland Stanford mansion has been beautifully restored. Stanford tried to donate money to Harvard but, being from the west, they ignored him.  So he came back home and started a school in California, and named it Stanford. We all know what a great and prestigious school it is.

Until 1849 nobody was in this area, and then 125,000 people came looking to get rich by finding gold.  Not many got rich from gold, but many did in business. In 1850 California was made a state and in 1854 Sacramento was made the capitol. After many floods and delays in construction, finally in 1874 the building was declared complete. 

The statue under the rotunda is of Christopher Columbus holding a ball representing the world being round and Queen Isabella of England who loaned the money to build the building. 

Over the next years they outgrew the building and with new earthquake laws in effect, they tore out much of the interior and re-built. In doing this they removed linoleum and discovered beautiful tile underneath. The newly restored floor has a very discreet signature in one of the tiles.

On down the hall we went into the Assembly room and past the grizzly bear outside the Governor's chamber. The grizzly bear is the California state animal. 







To our amazement, Miss California and Miss Teen California were just coming out of the room from visiting the governor. The men in our group got very excited.

Back on the bus, we traveled to Capitol Park where we visited the Peace and Freedom Rose Garden and Vietnam Memorial. 














Then passed Sutter's Fort before heading back to Old Town for lunch. Virginia and I ate on the deck of the Rio City Cafe overlooking the Sacramento River where we once again had one of our favorites, seafood.

Being re-energized for our afternoon tours, we headed down the street to the Railroad History Museum and the Discovery Museum. The railroad played a very important part in the history of the west.

In 1862 Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act which started the planning and construction of the railway. The Central Pacific Railroad started in Sacramento and went east. The Union Pacific Railroad started in Omaha and went west. The crews faced harsh weather, problems with Native Americans and many delays. There was always competition from both sides to complete the 1777 miles the fastest. It took six years to complete and on May10, 1869 they drove the last spike, which was made of gold. 

The Transcontinental Railroad was complete and began service in five days. This opened a whole new world of transportation to settlers who could start new town and cities and ship machinery and agricultural products back and forth. Life was good!!

What do you suppose this guy is saying?

Submitted by:  Carol Gosline #8