Sac History Happenings: Folsom group seeks to transform home into a museum

Sac History Happenings

News and developments in Sacramento and California history

April 27, 2012

Folsom group seeks to transform home into a museum

Chan House rendering.jpg Historic redevelopment is flourishing in Folsom. Recently the city celebrated the opening of an amphitheater and public plaza that comprise the centerpiece of the ambitious Historic Folsom Station project.

But Folsom Station isn't the only historical effort currently underway. The Folsom Historical Society and the Heritage Preservation League of Folsom have been working to save from demolition a 1910 home that's one of last vestiges of the town's Chinese heritage.

Chan House (917 Sutter St.) was once home to Oak Chan, considered the first mayor of Folsom's Chinatown, the second largest Chinese community in California in the 1880s. The Chan family lived in the residence until 1971. Now preservationists want to restore the house and transform it into a museum to display local Chinese artifacts and commemorate the role Asian immigrants played in the development of the region and state.

The partnership aims to raise $300,000 to purchase and convert the property. You can help by making a donation to the Heritage Preservation League, Chan House Fund, c/o the Folsom Historical Society, 823 Sutter St., Folsom CA 95630.

For more information, call (916) 985-2707 or email: Candy Miller, folsomcandy@sbcglobal.net, Barbara Leary, barbaraleary@comcast.net or Jeff Ferreira-Pro, ferreirapro@earthlink.net.

IMAGE CREDIT: Artist rendering of the proposed Howard Sr. and Mabel Chan House Museum. Courtesy Folsom Historical Society

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California and Sacramento have a long, rich, vibrant history. And our region is blessed with an abundance of historical resources maintained by museums, libraries, archives and societies. This blog aims to alert readers to the latest developments in local/state historical education and research.

Send tips concerning upcoming exhibits, tours, lectures and meetings, as well as new books, magazine articles and online collections to the blog's contributors.

The Contributors:

Michael Dolgushkin

Michael Dolgushkin is Manuscript Librarian at the California State Library History Section. He is co-author of San Francisco's California Street Cable Cars and is a frequent contributor to the California State Library Foundation Bulletin. Contact him at mdolgushkin@library.ca.gov.

Amanda Graham is a Certified Archivist working in the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Public Library. She earned a BS in History from Southern Oregon University and a MS in Information Studies with an emphasis in archives from The University of Texas at Austin. Contact her at agraham@saclibrary.org.

Pete Basofin is Director of Editorial Research at The Sacramento Bee. He previously worked at The St. Petersburg Times and Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune. Contact him at pbasofin@sacbee.com.

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