Locality Research and Preservation

John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland April 21, 1838. In 1883 Muir arrived in Martinez, California, where he married his wife, Louisa Strentzel, daughter of Dr. John Strentzel, a pioneer of California agriculture. After Strentzel’s death in 1890, John and Louisa moved into the house and lived their until their deaths. Today, in the Bay Area’s Alhambra Valley, the house still stands as the John Muir National Historic Site. The house features exhibits detailing the life of Muir, who founded the Sierra Club and as president worked for the conservation and establishment of the National Park System (as well as being instrumental in the founding of Yosemite National Park among others). Celebrate Muir’s birthday by visiting either the Historic Site in Martinez or Yosemite National Park.

For more information, check out the John Muir Historic Site on our Resources page:
http://www.archlocality.org/resources.html

In 1931, William Randolph Hearst purchased stones from the Santa Maria de Ovila Monastery in Spain with a plan to build a castle with them in California. The Great Depression curtailed those plans and the 10,000 stones from Spain are now featured in different projects around California, including the former church portal being installed on the grounds of University of San Francisco and the former chapter house being rebuilt in Tehama county at the Abbey of New Clairvaux. John Freeman will deliver a presentation on the fantastic odyssey of these stones at 7.30 PM, April 10th, at Roosevelt Middle School in San Francisco. John teaches at the Fromm Institute and presents programs for other historical venues.

For full information visit our website and follow the link to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society:
http://archlocality.org/resources.html

If you’re looking for an alternative way to celebrate the Easter weekend, the custom exhibit “Crafting a Rebellion” opens March 30 at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento (sneak peak on March 29). From the 1940s to the 1960s Harry Westergard, Dick Bertolucci, and Sam Barris were doing extraordinary work in Sacramento. The museum will have interactive exhibits, as well as demonstrations during the exhibit’s run, which ends Labor Day.

Lookup California Automobile Museum on our website for visiting information:
http://archlocality.org/resources.html

Curious about some local “celebrities”? After having served on the staff of future President Zachary Taylor during the Mexican-American War, Joseph Ho**er settled in Sonoma County during the early days of California statehood. He later made his way back east to fight in the American Civil War, but some of his friends and enemies influenced how he commanded his soldiers as a Major General. Dr. Peter Meyerhof, the historian at the Sonoma League for Historic Preservation, will be giving a lecture on this ambitious man at Mission San Francisco Solano on March 15, at 7:00pm.

More information, including admission, can be found at http://www.sonomaparks.org/pub/cal_ev/324

“Buffalo Soldiers” was the nickname given to the African American regiments of the United States Army by Native Americans during the American Civil War and to the first peacetime all-African American regiments by Congress. But did you know that the Buffalo Soldiers were briefly park rangers in California National Parks before the National Park Service was formed? In celebration of Black History Month learn about the Buffalo Soldiers’ contributions to the United States during a time of overt racism and segregation. Join the San Francisco Presidio on a walking tour of the Main Post February 4th, 10:30-12.

For full information visit:
https://www.presidio.gov/events/buffalo-soldiers-gone-but-not-forgotten-2018-02-11