Category: History

The Ancient Greeks considered fire to be a divine element, and they maintained perpetual fires in front of their principal temples. This was the case in the sanctuary of Olympia, where the Ancient Olympic Games took place. The flame was lit using the rays of the sun, to ensure purity, and a Skaphia, the ancestor of the parabolic mirror used today for lighting the Olympic flame. The 1960 Winter Olympics were held in Squaw Valley (now Olympic Valley), California, in the United States, from January 31 to February 18, 1960. It was the first torch relay in the Americas, although a flame had previously been lit at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. For the final time, the Olympic flame was not lit in the Greek city of Olympia.…

Jared Dixon Sheldon (1813-1851) Jared Dixon Sheldon (1813-1851) owned all the land from Grantline Road to the Cosumnes River as part of the Omuchumnes Land Grant that he was awarded from the Mexican government. Sheldon built the first house on the slough. It was later called “the slough house.” Sheldon gave half of his grant to his friend and partner, William Daylor (1810-1851). Later the two friends married the Rhoads sisters, Catherine (1832-1905) and Sarah (1830-1898) both in 1847. Jared was 34 and Catherine was 15 and William was 37 and Sarah 17, and so it was in those days. The two families were the first settlers on the Cosumnes River, other than the migrating Miwoks of course, living in the present day Sloughhouse area. Most of the history of…