For about a year, I’ve been working on a project in the Central Valley, specifically focusing

on small towns surrounding Sacramento. Their identities go mostly unnoticed and are oftentimes

swallowed up by the flood of homebuilding that has found its niche in Sacramento and Yolo Counties.

Towns like Zamora and Courtland have been around nearly as long as Sacramento and are as much a

part of its history as Sutter’s Fort and the Capitol Building. They are a testament to the ongoing

agricultural identity of the Central Valley, but are rarely noticed because of their size.

I’ve grown up in Sacramento, and spent countless teenage afternoons exploring a world that

was exotic yet familiar throughout Sacramento and Yolo Counties. Investigating these scenes again

creates a link between a history that is particular to Sacramento and the history that is specifically my

own. Exploring the general history of the Sacramento area is a way for me to better understand my

particular history, especially interests and ideas of mine that seem singularly Sacramentan.