YEAR |
NOTES |
1839 |
Commissioned by Mexico, John Sutter arrives at uncolonized land to establish New Helvetia |
1840 |
John Sutter builds Sutter's Fort |
1846 |
United States goes to war with Mexico |
1848 |
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo awards California to the United States |
1848 |
James Marshall strikes gold at Sutter's Mill near Coloma |
1848 |
SF journalist Sam Brannan reports on gold discovery, which attracts people from around the world |
1848 |
John Sutter Jr. begins to transform New Helvetia into Sacramento |
1849 |
Original Eagle Theatre is constructed |
1850 |
California is officially admitted to the United States |
1850 |
The new city of Sacramento is devastated by massive flooding |
1850 |
Hardin Bigelow elected first mayor of Sacramento |
1850 |
James Hardenberg becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1851 |
The Daily Union is founded as the first daily newspaper west of the Mississippi |
1852 |
C.I. Hutchinson becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1852 |
Patterson's American Folk House established in the Bradshaw area, marks the start of area farms |
1853 |
James Hardenberg returns as mayor of Sacramento |
1853 |
1st telegraph line in California, connecting Sacramento to SF, Marysville, San Jose and Stockton |
1854 |
The state legislature moves from Monterey to Sacramento with support of CA governor John Bigler |
1854 |
R.P. Johnson becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1854 |
Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) forms |
1855 |
Future CA State Treasurer James Lawrence English becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1855 |
Sacramento becomes known as the "City of Trees" |
1855 |
After purchasing land, Captain Joseph Folsom founds the town of Folsom |
1856 |
Benjamin Bernard Redding becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1856 |
J. Neely Johnson becomes governor of California |
1854 |
Sacramento High School opens as the city's first high school, governed by SCUSD |
1857 |
The Sacramento Bee launches, originally as the Daily Bee |
1858 |
Future CA Secretary of State Henry Lambard Nichols becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1858 |
John Weller becomes governor of California |
1859 |
Capitol Park becomes the site of the state fair |
1859 |
William Shattuck becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1860 |
Pony Express begins as a mail delivery service from Sacramento to St. Joseph, MO |
1860 |
Construction on the State Capitol begins |
1860 |
Milton Latham becomes CA governor, resigns and is succeeded by John Downey |
1861 |
Another massive flood strikes the downtown area |
1861 |
Civil War breaks out and Sacramento is heavily pro-Union |
1861 |
Sacramento is linked to the First Transcontinental Telegraph, ending the Pony Express |
1862 |
Downtown construction begins on raising buildings above flood level |
1862 |
Leland Stanford becomes governor of California, operates from his mansion |
1862 |
Western Pacific Railroad forms to connect Sacramento and the SF Bay Area as part of the First Transcontinental Railroad |
1863 |
Charles Heman becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1863 |
Construction begins on First Transcontinental Railroad |
1863 |
Frederick Low becomes governor of California |
1866 |
The Sacramento Daily Union commissions Mark Twain to write 4 articles from Hawaii |
1867 |
Henry Huntly Haight becomes governor of California |
1867 |
The Hyers Sisters, who transformed musical plays, debut at Sacramento's Metropolitan Theater |
1869 |
First Transcontinental Rail from Sacramento to Omaha opens, as well as rail from Sacramento to Oakland |
1870 |
Central Pacific Railroad takes over routes built by bankrupt Western Pacific Railroad |
1871 |
East Park (now McKinley Park) opens as city's largest private recreation area |
1871 |
Newton Booth becomes governor of California |
1871 |
Routier Station established in the area later called Rancho Cordova |
1872 |
Construction of Crocker Art Museum is completed |
1872 |
Christopher Green becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1874 |
Construction of the State Capitol is completed |
1875 |
Sacramento Publishing Company acquires the Daily Union |
1875 |
CA governor Booth resigns, Romualdo Pacheco briefly serves, then William Irwin elected |
1878 |
Jabez Turner of the State Workingmen's Party becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1879 |
Sacramento is declared the permanent capital of California |
1879 |
Central Pacific route from Sacramento to the SF Bay Area is reduced to Benicia, continuing to Berkeley and Oakland |
1880 |
George Perkins becomes governor of California |
1881 |
John Q. Brown, son of earlier mayor, becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1883 |
George Stoneman becomes governor of California |
1883 |
James McClatchy dies then his sons Charles (C.K.) and Valentine take control of the Sacramento Bee |
1886 |
Construction begins on what will be the largest cathedral west of the Mississippi River at 11th & K |
1887 |
Eugene Gregory becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1887 |
Washington Bartlett becomes governor of California then dies in office, succeeded by Robert Waterman |
1889 |
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is built at 11th & K, becomes city's tallest structure |
1889 |
William Comstock becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1891 |
Henry Markham becomes governor of California |
1893 |
Bernard Steinman becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1895 |
James Budd becomes governor of California |
1896 |
Cyrus Hubbard becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1898 |
William Land becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1899 |
Henry Gage becomes governor of California |
1900 |
George Clark becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1902 |
City of Sacramento purchases East Park for $12,500 and renames it after President William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901 |
1903 |
President Theodore Roosevelt speaks at the Capitol 5/19 on his national tour |
1903 |
George Pardee becomes governor of California |
1903 |
New version of Western Pacific Railroad launches to compete with Southern Pacific Railroad, running through Sacramento |
1904 |
William Hassett becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1906 |
William Bechtel, superintendent of the Western Pacific Railroad, wins contract for Oroville-Sacramento-Oakland rail |
1906 |
About 30,000 Sacramentans felt mild effects of the major San Francisco earthquake (magnitude 7.9) |
1906 |
Marshall Beard becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1907 |
James Gillett becomes governor of California |
1908 |
Clinton White becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1909 |
The state fair moves from Capitol Park to Stockton Blvd |
1910 |
10-story California Fruit Building at 4th & J is built |
1910 |
Marshall Beard returns as mayor of Sacramento |
1910 |
Northern Railway bridge (later replaced by Tower Bridge) is completed |
1911 |
Former mayor/developer William Land dies, leaving $250,000 to create public park named after him |
1911 |
John Studarus builds Mills Station |
1911 |
Hiram Johnson becomes governor of California |
1912 |
Crest Theatre on K Street opens |
1912 |
Michael Burke becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1915 |
Gustavaus Simmons becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1916 |
Sacramento City College opens |
1916 |
David Carmichael becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1917 |
William Stephens becomes governor of California |
1918 |
Mather AFB is built and opens during WWI |
1918 |
John Q. Brown becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1919 |
A&W co-founder Roy W. Allen opens roadside root beer stands in Lodi and Sacramento |
1919 |
Future President Dwight Eisenhower visits Sacramento 9/3 with military convoy that inspires US highway system |
1920 |
Roy Allen partners with Frank Wright to create the A&W brand |
1920 |
Voters adopt the city's current charter |
1920 |
Charles Bliss becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1921 |
Albert Elkus becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1922 |
Clunie Hall is built at McKinley Park |
1922 |
KVQ (now KFBK) debuts as Sacramento's first commercial radio station |
1923 |
Voters approve the creation of Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD) |
1923 |
Friend Richardson becomes governor of California |
1923 |
City of North Sacramento is incorporated |
1924 |
William Land Park Golf Course opens as the city's first golf course |
1924 |
McGeorge School of Law is established |
1924 |
Weinstock & Lubin department store opens at 12th & K |
1924 |
Senator Hotel opens across from the Capitol |
1925 |
City's first skyscraper is built: 14-story Cal-West Insurance building opens in 1926 at 10th & J (today's Citizen Hotel) |
1926 |
US Routes 40 and 50 open |
1926 |
Alexander Goddard becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1926 |
Elks Tower is completed at 11th & J as city's new tallest building (becomes home of radio station KZAP in 1968) |
1927 |
Memorial Auditorium opens |
1927 |
Ryde Hotel built at height of Prohibition era; speakeasy attracts celebrities |
1927 |
Sacramento Zoo opens initially as "William Land Park Zoo" |
1927 |
C.C. Young becomes governor of California |
1927 |
Alhambra Theatre opens on Alhambra Blvd for movies and eventually music concerts (rebuilt as Safeway in 1973) |
1928 |
Herbert Hoover announces his candidacy for U.S. President at the Ryde Hotel |
1928 |
US 99 highway opens |
1928 |
Ralph Conley becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1930 |
C.H.S. becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1931 |
James Rolph becomes governor of California |
1934 |
Thomas Scollan becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1934 |
Lt. Gov Frank Merriam becomes CA governor, defeats progressive author Upton Sinclair in election |
1934 |
Old Ironsides becomes city's first legal bar following the repeal of prohibition |
1934 |
Sugar Mill opens as beet sugar refinery that hosts wineries |
1935 |
Thomas Raley founds family store "Raley's Drive-In Market" in Placerville |
1935 |
Tower Bridge is completed at a cost of just under $1 million |
1935 |
The Sacramento Bee is awarded its first Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for public service |
1936 |
Arthur Ferguson becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1936 |
Following the death of C.K. McClatchy, daughter Eleanor takes over the Sacramento Bee |
1938 |
Thomas Monk becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1938 |
Tower Theatre at 16th & Broadway is built |
1938 |
McClellan AFB is completed and opens |
1939 |
Culbert Olson becomes governor of California |
1941 |
Russ Solomon opens Tower Record Mart in the back of the Tower Theatre on 16th & Broadway |
1942 |
Rocket manufacturer Aeroject is founded in Rancho Cordova |
1942 |
Grant Union Junior College opens in Del Paso Heights |
1943 |
Disney creates logo for the Sacramento Bee |
1943 |
Earl Warren becomes governor of California |
1942 |
Grant Union Junior College becomes Grant Technical College |
1946 |
Court orders PG&E to transfer title of local electric utility system to SMUD |
1946 |
George Klumpp becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1946 |
Arden Park neighborhood established |
1947 |
Camp Kohler, where Japanese internment is held, burns down in a fire |
1947 |
Sacramento State University opens |
1948 |
Belle Cooledge becomes first woman mayor of Sacramento |
1948 |
President Harry Truman campaigns for re-election in Sacramento on a train stop June 12 |
1950 |
City Council approves establishment of Sacramento Redevelopment Agency |
1950 |
Bert Geisreiter becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1952 |
Leslie Wood becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1953 |
Goodwin Knight becomes governor of California |
1954 |
Sherwood Johnson and El Plummer launch Shakey's Pizza in Sacramento |
1954 |
H.H. Henren briefly becomes mayor of Sacramento after William Hicks resigns |
1954 |
Grant Technical College closes after 13 years |
1955 |
American River Junior College at the former Grant Tech High site opens |
1956 |
Clarence Azevedo becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1956 |
Tom Raley purchases Mills Station |
1957 |
Arden Fair opens as a single-level mall |
1957 |
Construction begins on West End renovation plan, marking end of Japantown |
1958 |
American River Junior College moves to its current location on College Oak Drive |
1959 |
Stan Atkinson becomes news anchor at KCRA-TV Channel 3 |
1959 |
Fairytale Town opens in William Land Park |
1959 |
Pat Brown becomes governor of California |
1959 |
Boxing champ/film star/local radio host Max Baer dies - his son plays "Jethro" on Beverly Hillbillies in the 1960s |
1960 |
James B. McKenney becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1960 |
Russ Solomon forms MTS Inc and opens 1st Tower Records at 16th & Broadway |
1960 |
Country Club Lanes opens at Watt & El Camino opens |
1961 |
Tower Records' 2nd store at Watt & El Camino opens as international chain forms |
1961 |
Redevelopment of West End culminates in new Capitol Mall |
1961 |
Construction of Watt Avenue Bridge is completed and opens |
1961 |
Hale's, which later becomes Weinstock's, opens at Arden Fair |
1962 |
Much of Sac State construction completed, including erection of Guy West Bridge |
1962 |
Bee president Eleanor McClatchy convinces President Kennedy to postpone I-5 construction to preserve Old Sac |
1962 |
Pat Brown defeats ex-VP Richard Nixon for governor of California |
1963 |
Macy's opens Downtown as the largest department store in the region |
1963 |
Construction begins on Cal Expo |
1963 |
Port of Sacramento opens |
1964 |
I-80 and Highway 160 replace U.S. Route 40 as part of state renumbering plan |
1964 |
CalTrans begins planning I-5 construction |
1964 |
Sacramento and North Sacramento merge to become a much larger city |
1964 |
President Lyndon Johnson visits Sacramento on 9/17 |
1965 |
Tower Records moves across the street from Tower Theatre at 16th & Broadway |
1965 |
Los Rios Junior College District forms based on 1964 election |
1965 |
Ancil Hoffman Golf Club established |
1965 |
American River Junior College joins the Los Rios Community College District |
1966 |
SMUD purchases land to build Rancho Seco nuclear power plant |
1966 |
Walter Christensen becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1967 |
Ronald Reagan becomes governor of California |
1967 |
Black Panthers group, armed, storms the State Capitol to protest stricter gun bill |
1967 |
Sherwood Johnson sells his interest in Shakey's Pizza, which consists of 272 US parlors |
1967 |
Florin Center opens |
1967 |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at Sac State 10/16 |
1968 |
The state fair moves from Stockton Blvd to Cal Expo with commencement by Gov. Reagan |
1968 |
Richard Marriott becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1968 |
Freeform FM station KZAP signs on the air in November |
1969 |
Russ Solomon expands Tower Records beyond Sac, opening store in SF |
1969 |
K Street discontinues traffic to become a pedestrian mall |
1970 |
Tower Records expands to Southern California with store in Los Angeles |
1970 |
Consumnes River College opens |
1971 |
Downtown Plaza opens |
1972 |
Plane crashes into Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour on Freeport, killing 22 people |
1973 |
Roseville rail car explodes, making national headlines |
1973 |
Alhambra Theatre closes then construction begins on new Safeway store |
1973 |
Regional Transit bus service begins |
1973 |
Skip's Music opens on Auburn Blvd |
1974 |
Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Jubilee launches Memorial Day Weekend |
1975 |
Phil Isenberg becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1975 |
Jerry Brown becomes governor of California |
1975 |
A year after being kidnapped, Patty Hearst is involved in a Carmichael bank robbery |
1975 |
Southbound I-5 is completed in the Sacramento area |
1975 |
Rancho Seco nuclear power plant begins commercial operation |
1975 |
President Ford escapes an assassination attempt by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme in front of the Capitol |
1976 |
The "East Area Rapist" begins a series of homicides and rapes over the next few years |
1976 |
Stan Atkinson returns as news anchor at KCRA-TV Channel 3 |
1978 |
President Carter makes campaign speech for Gov. Brown near the Capitol at K Street Mall |
1979 |
Toxic chemicals are found in water wells near Aeroject |
1979 |
KSFM (Earth Radio) drops freeform/rock format, changes to contemporary hits |
1980 |
Tower Records expands to Southern California with store in Los Angeles |
1980 |
Rose Marks open-air pavilion built at American River College |
1980 |
News team Dave Walker & Lois Hart from KCRA then KOVR advance to new national cable TV network CNN |
1981 |
Railroad History Museum is completed |
1982 |
R. Burnett Miller briefly serves as mayor of Sacramento |
1983 |
George Deukmejian becomes governor of California |
1983 |
Anne Rudin becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1985 |
Computer store owner Hugh Scrutton is killed by "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski |
1985 |
With efforts from investor Gregg Lukenbill, the Kansas City Kings relocate to Sacramento, becoming the city's first major pro sports team |
1986 |
Memorial Auditorium closes |
1986 |
Biba Carggiano opens midtown Italian restaurant Biba |
1986 |
Scenes from Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore movie Wisdom (20th Century Fox) filmed at American River College |
1987 |
RT light rail operations begin |
1988 |
Dorothea Puente is arrested and charged with 9 murders |
1988 |
Arco Arena opens as home of the Kings |
1989 |
Mather Center, owned by American River College, opens at Mather Field Air Base in Rancho Cordova |
1989 |
Voters approve closure of Rancho Seco nuclear power plant due to mismanagement |
1990 |
Dave Walker & Lois Hart return to KCRA-TV after working at CNN and CNBC |
1991 |
Raley's founder Thomas Raley dies at 88 then Joyce Raley Teel becomes owner |
1991 |
Top 40 radio station KWOD (106.5 FM) shifts to a modern rock sound, evolves into alternative format |
1991 |
Pete Wilson becomes governor of California |
1992 |
KZAP (98.5 FM) flips from rock to country, changes call letters |
1993 |
Folsom Lake Center opens; it becomes Folsom Lake College 11 years later |
1993 |
Joe Serna becomes mayor of Sacramento |
1993 |
Raley's purchases Bel Air Markets |
1993 |
Second level of Downtown Plaza opens |
1993 |
President Clinton visits McClellan AFB then Pentagon selects it for closure |
1993 |
Mather AFB is decommissioned |
1994 |
The Sacramento Union discontinues after 143 years |
1994 |
News anchor Stan Atkinson switches from KCRA to KOVR |
1995 |
In a network swap on March 6, KXTV becomes an ABC affiliate and KOVR picks up CBS |
1995 |
Timber lobbyist Gilbert Brent Murray is killed by "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski |
1996 |
Weinstock's is converted to Macy's after being acquired by Federated |
1996 |
America Live! closes on the Downtown Plaza |
1996 |
Memorial Auditorium reopens after renovation |
1997 |
Hard Rock Cafe opens on the Downtown Plaza, replacing America Live! |
1997 |
Raley's purchases Nob Hill Foods |
1998 |
RT light rail expands with the opening of Mather Field/Mills station |
1998 |
Westfield America, Inc. purchases the Downtown Plaza |
1998 |
Tower Records parent company MTS sells $110M in notes to invest in international growth. |
1999 |
Gray Davis becomes governor of California |
1999 |
Jimmie Yee appointed by City Council as mayor of Sacramento following the death of Joe Serna |
1999 |
News anchor Stan Atkinson retires from KOVR |
1999 |
Raley's ranks 38th largest supermarket chain in America |
2000 |
Heather Fargo becomes mayor of Sacramento |
2002 |
Kings have the best NBA record at 61-21, but lose to the Lakers in the playoffs |
2003 |
Groundwater sampling in Carmichael finds contamination from Aeroject |
2003 |
Gray Davis recalled, Arnold Schwarzeneggar becomes governor of California |
2004 |
Investigative journalist Gary Webb is found dead of gunshot wounds in his Carmichael home |
2004 |
Folsom Lake College is established |
2006 |
Tower Records closes all its stores due to bankruptcy |
2006 |
The McClatchy Company becomes the biggest newspaper chain in the US after acquiring Knight Ridder |
2007 |
KDND (107.9 The End) makes national news when contestant Jennifer Strange dies of water intoxication |
2007 |
Russ Solomon opens R5 Records at old 16th & Broadway Tower location |
2008 |
NBA star Kevin Johnson becomes mayor of Sacramento |
2008 |
Goethe Park is renamed River Bend Park due to controversy about C.M Goethe being a eugenicist |
2008 |
KCRA-TV news anchor team Dave Walker and Lois Hart retire |
2009 |
Butler Amusements takes over running state fair rides and games |
2009 |
Jury orders KDND owner to pay $16 million to the family of Jennifer Strange for on-air water drinking death |
2010 |
Expanded Crocker Art Museum reopens as one of the largest art museums in America |
2010 |
Hard Rock Cafe closes on the Downtown Plaza |
2010 |
R5 Records after 3 years in business, sells to Dimple Records |
2011 |
UC Davis police pepper spray demonstrators, creating national controversy |
2011 |
Jerry Brown returns as governor of California |
2012 |
Jazz Jubilee held every Memorial Day Weekend in Old Sac becomes the Sacramento Music Festival |
2012 |
Westfield sells the Downtown Plaza to JMA Ventures, LLC |
2012 |
Power Balance Arena (formerly Arco) becomes Sleep Train Arena |
2012 |
K Street Mall is rebranded as "The Kay" |
2013 |
Vivek Ranadive purchases Kings from the Maloof brothers |
2015 |
Downtown Plaza becomes Downtown Commons |
2015 |
The Sacramento Bee reports that McClellan Airfield is a Superfund site |
2015 |
Joyce Raley Teel as Sac's highest net worth person at $1.4B, ranks 1,386 on Forbes' annual wealthiest list |
2015 |
Majority ownership of Raley's transfers from Joyce Raley Teel to son Michael Teel |
2016 |
Golden 1 Center, new home of the Kings, opens with Paul McCartney |
2016 |
Darrell Steinberg becomes mayor of Sacramento |
2017 |
Sacramento becomes one of the first U.S. cities to test 5G |
2018 |
Tower Records founder Russ Solomon dies 03/04 at 92 |
2018 |
Raley's purchases Scolari's Food & Drug Company |
2019 |
Gavin Newsom becomes governor of California |
2019 |
Citizen Hotel is purchased by Miami investment firm Cambridge Landmark |
2020 |
Biba restaurant closes in May due to the pandemic |
2020 |
Sacramento becomes test market for electric vehicle leasing |
2020 |
Local and statewide mask mandates due to Covid-19 pandemic |
2020 |
President Trump visits Sacramento |
2021 |
President Biden visits Sacramento |
2021 |
Ex-mayor Anne Rudin (1983-1992) dies at 97 on 11/27 |
2021 |
Sacramento-born internationally-acclaimed writer Joan Didion dies at 87 |
2021 |
Sac Police appoints 1st woman chief, Kathy Lester in December |
2022 |
Joyce Raley Teel, ex-owner of Raley's, dies at 91 on 02/25 |
2022 |
Teachers strike closes 75 SCUSD schools for 2 weeks, affecting over 40,000 students, leading to higher pay |
2022 |
Downtown Sacramento gang shooting kills 6, making national news |
2022 |
Owners of Sacramento's oldest bar Old Ironsides, Bordisso/Kanelos family, sells to Bair-Rushing-Paganelli |
2022 |
Jim Cooper elected Sacramento County Sheriff |