About 250 formally and historically dressed guests gathered at the L Street Dock on Front Street in support of the preservation and exploration of Sacramento’s historical legacy Friday evening. Under the guidance of the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation, party-goers traveled through the 1850s, 1960s and back to the present on the Empress Hornblower along the Sacramento River for the hour-long cruise Casino Royale on the River: Where Old Sacramento Meets Monte Carlo. This was the second year HOSF had hosted the event to raise funds for its educational and interpretive programs, including the historical exhibitions in the Sacramento History Museum on I Street. Last year the event was held

Unsuspecting visitors to Old Sacramento this weekend were confronted with a man named Dr. Cornelius Poindexter claiming to sell miracle elixirs saying that they cure everything from measles to hair loss. “The cream, when applied to the skin, removes unwanted freckles, warts, boils, blemishes, carbuncles, what-cha-ma-goofers and thing-ma-bobs…whatever you wish to remove,” Poindexter said. “It’s a remedy for alcoholism, and it also cures terminal illnesses.” “It even cures baldness!” Poindexter shouted to a bald shopper. “I can grow hair on a rock!” Poindexter quickly disappeared, however, when an older man in a yellow scarf and wide-brimmed hat appeared, claiming to be Charles Crocker hi

The largest storm in California's recorded history peaked in January 1862, turning the Sacramento Valley into a 250- to 300-mile-long inland sea. Since the previous winter, Sacramento had received 400 percent of its annual average rainfall. The storm moved as far inland as Tennessee, slowing down troop movements in the Civil War. After 10 inches of rain in December 1861, Sacramento newspapers declared Christmas canceled. By January 1862, steamboats sailed through what is now Old Sacramento, rescuing people from their homes, and boat-makers charged inflated prices to capitalize on the new demand. On Jan. 10, newly elected Governor Leland Stanford had to travel to the Capitol via boat for

A local foundation wants to create a program to allow public guided tours of Old Sacramento’s underground sidewalks. The Historic Old Sacramento Foundation is pitching the idea to the City Council Tuesday. The City Council will decide whether the city should loan the foundation $185,000 to start the program. “The tours will be high-quality presentations drawn from extensive original historic research,” according to a report from the Center for Sacramento History. “No two tours will be identical.” The tour program, which would be held on summer weekends, would be a tourist attraction and a boon for Old Sacramento, the report says. Read the proposal for the tour program here.   Kathlee

On June 5, the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation will host a Riverboat Casino Night on board the Delta King Riverboat, providing a colorful look at the world of the riverboat gambler. This event will feature authentic 1850s games of chance, including Chuck-A-Luck, Faro and Shut the Box, as well as more familiar games like poker and roulette. Also featured are a silent auction, live music and entertainment, and food and drink, all appropriate to the Gold Rush era. Re-enactors in period attire will add to the atmosphere of the event. While period attire is not required for those who attend, it is encouraged. Several stores in Old Sacramento, including Sacramento Dry Goods on Second and I St