Sac History Happenings: Lecture explains Russian influence in early California history

Sac History Happenings

News and developments in Sacramento and California history

June 21, 2012

Lecture explains Russian influence in early California history

Among the nations that settled California before it became a state were Russians who came to hunt seal and whale along the northern coast. The focus of this trade was Fort Ross, a long-gone settlement in Sonoma County which flourished between 1812 and 1842. In addition to the Russians, many other groups lived and worked in Fort Ross: Siberians, Alaskan and California Indians, African-Americans, Hawaiians and Japanese.

Fort Ross and Russia's role in the development of early California will be explored in an illustrated lecture sponsored by the Sacramento County Historical Society.

The featured speaker is John Allen, an adjunct history professor at Los Rios Community College, who is a former board member of the Fort Ross Interpretive Association and has served as a consulting historian on Fort Ross State Park projects. He's also been a costumed interpreter for many of the park's Living History Day events.

What: The Russians Are Coming: The Unknown Story of Russian California
Where: Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society, 5380 Elvas Ave., Sacramento
When: June 26, 7 p.m.
Cost: free
For more info: website

PHOTO CREDIT: Fort Ross, built by the Russians when they hunted the Pacific for whales and seals. At one time this was the easternmost extension of czarist Russia. 1997 Scripps Howard News Service photograph by Thomas R. McDonough

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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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