Past Exhibits

Devoted to the Union: Sacramento and the Civil War

Location: CSH Reading Room
Exhibition Dates: January 16, 2014 – July 31, 2014
Cost: Free
Hours: Open during normal business hours

Despite being far removed from the scenes of desolation occurring in the east, Sacramentans took active roles during the Civil War.  Home guards were quickly organized, patriotic torchlight parades were held, and gun salutes announced Union victories.  Sacramento’s Union League campaigned for loyalty oaths while vigilantly watching for secessionist agitation and rebel flag flying.  Orator Thomas Starr King regularly lectured in the city, upholding the union cause and appealing for charitable donations to the soldier aid societies.  Devoted to the Union commemorates the sesquicentennial of the Civil War and Sacramento’s role in the conflict.

This exhibition is presented by the Center for Sacramento History; curated by Rebecca Crowther, Patricia Johnson, and Dylan McDonald.

Old Hats! A History of Headwear

Location: CSH Reading Room
Exhibition Dates: April 16, 2013 – January 10, 2014
Cost: Free
Hours: Open during normal business hours

People wear hats for a variety of reasons. Hats may serve as protective head coverings, sheltering us from the rain and sun. Hats may be worn on the job, like a hardhat or a helmet, keeping us from certain harm. Hats, like a cap, may identify an affiliation with a company or sports team. Hats are sometimes worn for religious and cultural purpose; they may help distinguish a person’s role or rank. More often than not, hats are worn as fashion accessories. They add a dash of style and formality to a wearer’s overall ensemble.

Using images from the Center for Sacramento History’s photographic collections, Old Hats! A History of Headwear provides a chronology of headwear fashions. The exhibit starts with the 1890s, when the bulk of the Center’s portrait collections begin. It finishes with the 1970s, when the practice of hat wearing generally disappears from popular fashion. Old Hats! offers a view of hats and headwear worn by Sacramentans for nearly a century.

This exhibition is presented by the Center for Sacramento History; curated by Rebecca Crowther.