Culture Trip: Must-See Heritage Sites
For perhaps 15,000 years, Native Americans were the lone inhabitants between the Sacramento River and the Sierra Nevada. Then, echoing the title of J.S. Holliday’s book on the California Gold Rush, “the world rushed in.” Once the cries of “gold!” reverberated, fortune seekers from around the globe flocked to California, where the streets, it was rumored, were paved with the shiny metal. Most of the newcomers didn’t strike it rich, but Northern California did—in the diversity that still enriches our region. We’re all Americans now, but our communities have been shaped by the cultures and character of the assorted pioneers who came and stayed. You can meet some of these people and learn about their contributions and lifestyles at local museums and monuments that honor their past. Before you visit, check for Covid-related updates.
Folsom History Museum
Rocklin History Museum
Maidu Museum & Historic Site
Murer House and Learning Center
Wakamatsu Farm
Folsom History Museum
823 Sutter Street, Folsom, 916-985-2707, folsomhistoricalsociety.org
Folsom’s history is a montage of cultures, from the Nisenan to the start of the Gold Rush, and one of the earliest mining camps founded by African Americans (Negro Bar State Park across Lake Natoma recognizes this site). The town later became home to significant populations of Chinese, Italian, and Portuguese people. The museum’s permanent exhibit, currently being updated, takes you through the city’s history via stories and vignettes enhanced with photographs, relics, and artifacts. The rotating exhibit area features vintage toys and is home to an annual antique quilt show. Future plans include a Chinese Heritage Museum in the home of a Chinese pioneer to tell the story of Folsom’s 19th-century Chinese community, California’s second largest at the time; Chung Wah Cemetery on Forrest Street also honors these Chinese pioneers.
Folsom’s history is a montage of cultures, from the Nisenan to the start of the Gold Rush, and one of the earliest mining camps founded by African Americans (Negro Bar State Park across Lake Natoma recognizes this site). The town later became home to significant populations of Chinese, Italian, and Portuguese people. The museum’s permanent exhibit, currently being updated, takes you through the city’s history via stories and vignettes enhanced with photographs, relics, and artifacts. The rotating exhibit area features vintage toys and is home to an annual antique quilt show. Future plans include a Chinese Heritage Museum in the home of a Chinese pioneer to tell the story of Folsom’s 19th-century Chinese community, California’s second largest at the time; Chung Wah Cemetery on Forrest Street also honors these Chinese pioneers.
Folsom History Museum
Wells Fargo & Co Building
Rocklin History Museum
3895 Rocklin Road, Rocklin, 916-624-3464, rocklinhistorical.org
Two prominent features of Rocklin’s history are its influx of Finnish settlers and its renowned, blemish-free granite. Beginning in the late 1800s, Finns owned and operated several quarries here, supplying granite to the State Capitol and Sacramento courthouse and to help rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Finnish history is also recalled at sites like the Old Finnish Picnic Grounds, the Finnish Temperance Hall, and Quarry Park Adventures.
Two prominent features of Rocklin’s history are its influx of Finnish settlers and its renowned, blemish-free granite. Beginning in the late 1800s, Finns owned and operated several quarries here, supplying granite to the State Capitol and Sacramento courthouse and to help rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Finnish history is also recalled at sites like the Old Finnish Picnic Grounds, the Finnish Temperance Hall, and Quarry Park Adventures.
Rocklin History Museum
Maidu Museum & Historic Site
1970 Johnson Ranch Drive, Roseville, 916-774-5934, roseville.ca.us (select “Residents/Maidu Museum”)
Before gold seekers found California, this region was home to the peaceful Nisenan people, who thrived for millennia as hunters, gatherers, and fishermen along the American River. The museum honoring them sits on the site of a one-time Nisenan village. Inside, colorful displays and artifacts introduce visitors to the lifestyle of these ingenious people. Outside, you can walk in their footsteps past hundreds of grinding rocks, 4,000-year-old petroglyphs, and native plants and animals. Coming attractions include a seedball craft (February 12) and kids’ nature photography class (March 26).
Before gold seekers found California, this region was home to the peaceful Nisenan people, who thrived for millennia as hunters, gatherers, and fishermen along the American River. The museum honoring them sits on the site of a one-time Nisenan village. Inside, colorful displays and artifacts introduce visitors to the lifestyle of these ingenious people. Outside, you can walk in their footsteps past hundreds of grinding rocks, 4,000-year-old petroglyphs, and native plants and animals. Coming attractions include a seedball craft (February 12) and kids’ nature photography class (March 26).
Maidu Museum & Historic Site
Maidu Museum & Historic Site
Murer House and Learning Center
1125 Joe Murer Court, Folsom, 916-413-9231, murerhouse.org
Italian native Giuseppe (Joe) Murer brought the culture of his homeland to Folsom early in the last century. His Italianate home, set among fruit and nut trees, a grape arbor, and other native Italian plants, offers Italian language, art, culture, and cooking classes; bocce ball courts; and occasional special events. The home is open once a year for public tours. Murer’s Italian hometown, now named Pieve del Grappa, is Folsom’s sister city. Upcoming events include Camellia Day on February 26 and a trip to Italy in April.
Italian native Giuseppe (Joe) Murer brought the culture of his homeland to Folsom early in the last century. His Italianate home, set among fruit and nut trees, a grape arbor, and other native Italian plants, offers Italian language, art, culture, and cooking classes; bocce ball courts; and occasional special events. The home is open once a year for public tours. Murer’s Italian hometown, now named Pieve del Grappa, is Folsom’s sister city. Upcoming events include Camellia Day on February 26 and a trip to Italy in April.
Murer House and Learning Center
Murer House and Learning Center
Wakamatsu Farm
941 Cold Springs Road, Placerville, 530-621-1224, arcconservancy.org/wakamatsu
Known from 1869-1871 as the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony, the site was the first Japanese colony in the U.S. and the only silk and tea colony. The first Japanese American citizen was born here, and the first Japanese person to die on American soil is buried here. The original farmhouse is restored and shaded by a huge Japanese elm the colonists brought as a sapling. The farm’s 272 acres feature gardens, a native plant nursery, and a traditional Japanese tea house. Operating under the American River Conservancy, the grounds are open to the public for interpretive and relaxing Farm Days the first and third Saturdays of April, May, June, September, October, and November and for private tours; check their website for group tours, classes, and events.
Known from 1869-1871 as the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony, the site was the first Japanese colony in the U.S. and the only silk and tea colony. The first Japanese American citizen was born here, and the first Japanese person to die on American soil is buried here. The original farmhouse is restored and shaded by a huge Japanese elm the colonists brought as a sapling. The farm’s 272 acres feature gardens, a native plant nursery, and a traditional Japanese tea house. Operating under the American River Conservancy, the grounds are open to the public for interpretive and relaxing Farm Days the first and third Saturdays of April, May, June, September, October, and November and for private tours; check their website for group tours, classes, and events.
Wakamatsu Farm
Wakamatsu Farm
>Roseville also honors its Japanese American veterans with a World War II Memorial at 10820 Justice Center Drive. The site, dedicated in 2013, features plaques and a larger-than-life statue.
by Linda Holderness
Photos courtesy of the Folsom History Museum. Bottom left Maidu Museum & Historic Site photo by Lori Nakamura. Bottom Wakamatsu photo by Mark Shigenaga. Top Wakamatsu photo by Melissa Lobach. Other photos courtesy of their respective companies or organizations.