SOC 905 • California History
Historic Sacramento:
Through the Years
Explore Sacramento through its Native history, Sutter's Fort, the Gold Rush, Old Sacramento, the Transcontinental Railroad, the State Capitol, historic people and places, and the growth of California's capital city.
Discover the Story of California's Capital
Explore how people, migration, commerce, transportation, government, geography, and historical events transformed Sacramento from an early settlement into California's capital city.
SOC 905 examines Sacramento's rich history through Native Californians, John Sutter and Sutter's Fort, the Gold Rush, Old Sacramento, the Transcontinental Railroad, Theodore Judah and the Big Four, the State Capitol, the Port of Sacramento, and the continued growth of the city.
Historical readings, primary sources, oral histories, videos, websites, historic places, photographs, and digital resources are combined with practical instructional applications. Throughout the course, you will create a digital Book Creator project that brings your learning together in a resource that can extend beyond the course.
Explore Historic Sacramento
Sacramento's historic places provide tangible connections to California's Native history, settlement, Gold Rush, transportation, government, and urban development.
Sutter's Fort
Examine John Sutter, early settlement, Native experiences, trade, agriculture, and the community that developed around the fort.
Old Sacramento
Explore Sacramento's Gold Rush-era commercial district, the raising of the city, and its preservation as a historic district.
State Capitol
Investigate California government, the development of Sacramento as the state capital, and the history represented within the Capitol.
Port of Sacramento
Consider Sacramento's rivers, transportation, commerce, and the ways geography contributed to the city's growth.
What You'll Explore
Examine Sacramento through multiple historical perspectives while connecting local history to larger developments throughout California and the nation.
Native Californians
Explore Nisenan history and perspective, including life before and after the arrival of John Sutter and other settlers.
Gold Rush & Growth
Examine how the Gold Rush accelerated migration, commerce, population growth, and Sacramento's development.
Railroad & Innovation
Investigate Theodore Judah, the Big Four, primary sources, and Sacramento's connection to the Transcontinental Railroad.
Government & Community
Explore the State Capitol, historic preservation, transportation, civic growth, and Sacramento's changing identity.
A Six-Module Journey Through Sacramento
Each module adds historical content while helping you build the digital book that becomes your culminating course project.
Module 1
Social Studies & Book Creator
Explore national social studies standards, investigate the C3 Framework, learn Book Creator, and design the cover for your course project.
Module 2
Native Californians & Sutter's Fort
Study Nisenan history and Sutter's Fort while creating historical perspective journal entries from different points of view.
Module 3
Theodore Judah & the Big Four
Investigate railroad history, curate websites, use historical newspapers, and work with primary sources connected to the Transcontinental Railroad.
Module 4
Old Sacramento
Explore Old Sacramento and Underground Sacramento while selecting grade-level literature and creating booktalks connected to course topics.
Module 5
Sacramento & the State Capitol
Study the city, State Capitol, and Port of Sacramento while creating a standards-based lesson about a Sacramento person or place.
Module 6
Sacramento Visitor's Guide
Create a visitor's guide for a Sacramento historic site, add standards and a table of contents, and complete your final digital book.
Build a Digital Sacramento History Book
Instead of completing disconnected assignments, you build one digital Book Creator project throughout the course, adding new historical content and instructional resources as you progress.
Perspective Writing
Write historically informed journal entries representing different experiences and points of view.
Primary Sources
Locate historical newspaper articles and integrate evidence from original sources into your project.
Resource Curation
Evaluate and curate grade-appropriate websites connected to Theodore Judah, the Big Four, and railroad history.
Booktalks
Select literature connected to course topics and create booktalks that can encourage student interest and reading.
Standards-Based Lesson
Design a lesson around a Sacramento historical person or place and incorporate it into your digital book.
Historic Site Visitor's Guide
Finish your project by creating a visitor's guide highlighting one Sacramento historic site.
Learn Through History, Perspective & Primary Sources
Course learning combines historical reading with videos, oral histories, historic sites, primary sources, newspaper archives, websites, literature, and digital tools.
These resources help you examine Sacramento from multiple perspectives while developing materials that connect historical content with student engagement and classroom instruction.
Required Course Text
Sacramento:
Indomitable City
The required text must be acquired separately. Additional videos, online resources, oral histories, primary sources, and digital materials are incorporated throughout the course.
California History Certificate
This Course Can Be Part of Something Bigger
SOC 905 is one of the Fresno Pacific University courses applicable toward the California History Certificate. Educators can combine this course with other qualifying California history courses to work toward completion of the certificate.
Deepen your understanding of Sacramento and the people, events, and developments that shaped California's capital.
Engage with historic sites, Native perspectives, primary sources, oral histories, literature, railroads, government, and local history.
Bring your learning together in a digital book filled with historical content and resources that can support classroom instruction.
Ready to Begin?
Discover Historic Sacramento.
Enroll through Fresno Pacific University's Center for Professional Development and explore Sacramento's people, places, stories, transportation, government, and remarkable role in California history.