History

Important exhibits from California's treasured State Historic Parks are on view at two Sacramento museums this spring, both within easy walking distance of the Sacramento Hostel.

Each November, locals and travelers alike gather on the sandy bluffs surrounding the Pigeon Point Lighthouse to take part in a yearly tradition that has been going strong for well over a decade. The annual lighting of the lighthouse's original first-order Fresnel lens draws thousands of people out to Pigeon Point to commemorate the anniversary of the first lighting 135 years ago. The celebration, instituted by Hostelling International, has become so popular that the California State Parks department now acts as master of ceremonies by inviting the U.S. Coast Guard to fire up the lights, and local community and environmental organizations also come down to take part in the festivities.

More than 200 tons of dirt will be dumped onto the streets of Old Sacramento as the annual Gold Rush Days festival "turns back the clock," transforming Sacramento's historic district into a scene straight out of the 1850s. Costumed re-enactors, Wild West gun fights, musicians playing period instruments, and many aspects of life during the Gold Rush will be highlighted during the four-day event, August 31-September 3. Only horse-drawn vehicles and pedestrians are allowed in the National Landmark District and State Historic Park during the festivities!

On July 21, the Redwood National Park Hostel celebrates 20 years welcoming travelers to the rugged north coast of California, and the 100th anniversary of the historic DeMartin home where the hostel is based. Please join us from 2 p.m. to sunset for an anniversary party featuring live music, tasty food, and honored guests and speakers. Bring a sweater, a friend, and stories or photos for the Redwood Hostel Oral History Project.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, September 8, and join us for a big 25th anniversary celebration at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel!

Mark your calendar for July 21, and join us for a special celebration marking the 20th anniversary of the Redwood National Park Hostel!

Hostelling International USA is pleased to welcome the HI-Eagle Home Hostel in Wisconsin as the newest site to join our network of nearly 80 quality hostel accommodations throughout the United States.

The story is familiar to every school child in the San Francisco Bay Area. On April 18, 1906, at 5:12 a.m. the city of San Francisco and the surrounding countryside were shaken by a powerful earthquake. Buildings toppled, streets buckled, and a train was thrown from its tracks. Fires quickly broke out, and the ensuing conflagration grew into a firestorm that destroyed much of the city, killed thousands of people, displaced tens of thousands more, and dramatically altered the lives of Northern Californians.

By Georgia I. Hesse