Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Sacramento (city)

SACRAMENTO, a city, capital of the State of California, and county-seat of Sacramento co.; at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers, at the head of low water navigation, 96 miles N. E. of San Francisco. It is built on a broad, low plain and has strong levees as a protection against floods. It has a semi-tropical climate, and vegetation is most luxuriant. The city has about 200 manufacturing establishments, and the combined annual output exceeds $75,000,000 in value. There is a large variety of industries, the most important including the manufacture of agricultural implements, carriages and wagons, pottery, woolen goods, machinery, furniture, etc. Here are also the Southern Pacific railroad shops which cover 25 acres of ground and employ about 4,000 men. The convenient location of Sacramento in the center of a rich agricultural region gives it a large trade with the interior of the State. There are a number of National and State banks, and numerous daily and weekly periodicals. The assessed property valuation is nearly $136,400,000.

Public Interests.—The streets are well laid out, and mostly lighted by electricity. The State capitol, which stands in a beautiful plaza covering 30 acres, was finished in 1869 at a cost of about $2,500,000. Within the plaza are the State Printing office and the Exposition Building of the State Agricultural Society. In the latter the resources of the State are annually exhibited. There are over 1,000 acres of parks, and 98 miles of paved streets. The thirteen banks in 1920 had deposits of $66,000,000. The clearings in 1919 were for $300,000,000. There are thirty-six school buildings, with an enrollment of over 13,000 pupils. The other noteworthy buildings include the court house, United States Government building, city hall, Hall of Justice, Agricultural Pavilion, City Library, Crocker Art Gallery, the California State bank, Fort Sutter (re-built), the Sacramento Institute, Christian Brothers' College, California State Library, Mater Misericordia and Southern Pacific Railroad Hospitals, Children's Day Home, and many charitable homes.

History.—Capt. John A. Sutter built a fort here in 1839, but the city was not settled till 1848, after the discovery of gold. The first house was built in 1849.

Sacramento was made the State capital in 1854, and received its city charter in 1863. It has suffered severely twice from fire and twice from inundation. Pop. (1910) 44,696; (1920) 65,908.