Category: Info

Walnut Grove is a legacy town in the middle of the Sacramento River Delta, known in its early years for commercial and cultural establishments, including canneries, a theatre, and several European-style hotels. Founded in 1850 by John W. Sharp of Ohio, Walnut Grove was one of the earliest settlements along the Sacramento River. Sharp chose the site because the area was abundant in walnut and oak forests. Eventually, these were used to fuel steamboats. The town became a major shipping port for agriculture products and fishing, with Bartlett pears and asparagus the primary produce. After Sharp died in 1880, his heirs sold much of his estate to Agnes Brown and her son Alex, who opened a general store, hotel, and asparagus packing house, along with the Bank of Alex Brown.…

The original settlement of Rio Vista was established in 1853 by Col. Nathan H. Davis, and was located at the mouth of Cache Slough, where it meets the Sacramento River, approximately two miles from its present location. The settlement grew rapidly, and fishing became the primary industry. Robert C. Carter and his son established a cannery, which shipped salmon daily to San Francisco and, from there, internationally. During the first couple of years the settlement’s name changed several times: Los Brazos del Rio, Vista del Rio, and Winds End. Eventually the wife of the Postmaster Charles Kirkpatrick re-named it Rio Vista. In December of 1861 the unruly Sacramento River rose, and on January 9, 1862, Rio Vista was destroyed when 12 feet of water covered the settlement. Fortunately, not one…

The “Castle City,” Ione offers the perfect blend of small-town charm and quality living. Its quaint character and convenient location just 30 miles south east of Sacramento make it the perfect place to work, live, and play. Incorporated in 1953 and located in Amador County the Town comprises 4.7 square miles with a population of approximately 7703. Ione is known for its small-town atmosphere and its outstanding quality of life. Ione Ione is located in the fertile Ione Valley, which in believed to be named by Thomas Brown around 1849 after one of the heroines in Edward Bulwer Lytton’s drama “The Last Days of Pompeii.” During the days of the Gold Rush, the miners knew the town by the names of “Bedbug” and “Freezeout.” Unlike other communities in Amador County,…

Hood was built in the early 29th century on the remnants of Richland, a town that began in 1860 as a shipping site for grain and at its peak it boasted a warehouse, hotel, grocery store, church, school, and post office. Within 20 years, however, Delta crops shifted from grain to fruit, and Richland experienced a slow and steady decline. The post office closed in 1888. Enter Edward Harriman, who owned the Southern Pacific and several other railroads. Harrison envisioned a picturesque “Netherlands Route” that would connect Sacramento to San Francisco by rail and steamboat. In 1909, Southern Pacific developed a new town at the site of the former Richland post office, naming it after William Hood, Southern Pacific’s Chief Construction Engineer. Within a few years, Southern Pacific built a…