What's Happening at the Society
Placer County Historical Society Dinner Meetings
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Next General Dinner Meeting Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026
Speakers: The History Expedition team, a group of endurance athletes bringing history to life through expeditions that combine historical research and adventure.
Meeting at 6:00, Dinner at 6:15, Speaker begins at 6:45
Reservations required for the dinner. See below.
​This is likely to be a full house, so get your RSVP in as soon as possible to make sure you have a seat!
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Please RSVP no later than February 2nd to: rsvp.pchs@gmail.com
We need to know how many will attend
Note any special meals requested (Vegetarian or gluten free only)
State how you are paying- either cash at the door or through Venmo
Venmo: placer-historical-society
Dinner: $30.00 per person. Remember you are always welcome to come for the speaker only at no charge. The speaker generally starts about 6:45.
Non-members are very welcome
Location:
Veterans Memorial Hall
100 East Street, Auburn, CA
Cost for dinner: $30.00 per person - please note the price increase
Dinner Catered by Catering by Design
Non-members always welcome! If you would like to come just for the speaker, there is no admission charge.
We have a new reservation policy for dinner! Please read below.
Short version:
Please RSVP no later than February 2nd if you want dinner
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RSVP to rsvp.pchs@gmail.com
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Note if you are requesting a special meal - vegetarian or gluten free.
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Indicate how many people
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State how you are paying – Venmo or cash/check at the meeting
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Pay through Venmo at placer-historical-society
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Include name and number of people on Venmo
Dinner is 30.00 per person. You are always welcome to come for the speaker only, no admission charge.
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Longer version:
Please RSVP no later than February 2nd if you want dinner, to rsvp.pchs@gmail.com
1. We will be setting a firm RSVP date – if you miss the date, you are most welcome to attend for the speaker, but we cannot guarantee that dinner will be available.
2. RSVP’s will now be sent to our new designated email address only. Reply to rsvp.pchs@gmail.com. No phone calls will be accepted. On the email please state how you will be paying. Either Venmo or bring cash or check to the meeting. No checks in the mail please.
3. You can now pay through our Venmo account – at placer-historical-society. When you reply via Venmo – for the reason for the payment - please indicate your name and number of people. For example: Jim and Jill Doe - 2 for February dinner paying by cash at the meeting. If you do not have a Venmo account you can still bring a check or cash to the meeting.
4. Our caterer is able to take into consideration only two kinds of special dietary needs; vegetarian and gluten free. If you need one of these meals, you must note it in your RSVP. Upon arriving please check in with the caterer about how to pick up your meal. The caterer will not deliver it to your table. We are sorry no other special dietary needs can be addressed. You are always welcome to come for the speaker only. No admission charge.
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​2026 Dinner meeting schedule
February 5th - History Expedition Team
April 2nd - Alfred Corral - Standing Guard and Japanese in Placer County
June 4th - Hawver Cave presentation
August - No meetings
Oct. 1st - Phil Sexton and Chinese influence in Placer County
Dec. 3rd - Gus Thomson on Adolph Weber
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2026 Board Meetings
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January 8th
March 5th
May 7th
July 2nd
September 3rd
November 4th​​​​​
​Coming soon! Old Town Post Office History and Welcome Center
The PCHS is taking on a really big project! We are opening the Old Town Post Office as a History and Welcome Center.
The post office has been closed for almost two years and the interior, vintage boxes are still intact. The Society board has been concerned that the landlord would rent out the space for retail and remove those great boxes. So the board decided to take on the project to save them.
Our plan is to have costumed docents greet visitors and share our history and distribute guidebooks and maps. We hope to offer walking tours and classroom visits later on.
Right now we are looking for volunteer docents to help us with this big project. Can you spare 3 hours a month to preserve our local history? You do not need to have any extensive history background nor do you have to wear a costume if you don't want to.
See the form below.
We can also certainly use financial help and that form is also here.
Your help will be what makes this project work and will save Auburn’s history.
Please do what you can, volunteer, donate!!!!!
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Historic Guided Walking Tour of Old Town Auburn
Every Saturday at 10am.
Meet a Placer County Museum Docent at the Courthouse Museum for a 1 hour tour.
Placer County Courthouse, 101 Maple St., Auburn
Info 530-889-6500.
Benton Welty Historic Classroom School Tours
Placer County Historical Society offers FREE one hour visits to the historic 1916 Benton Welty classroom in Auburn. The tours are designed for 2nd thru 4th graders. See more about the tours here.
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The classroom is open to the public Monday-Thursday from 11:00 to 2:00. No appointment necessary.
The Placer newsletter, a publication of the Placer County Museums
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See our publication, The Placer. Our most current newsletter and an archive of past issues.​​​
Placer History Press, a publication of the Placer County Historical Society
and the Placer County Historical Foundation
See our newsletter Placer History Press
Book published by the Placer County Historical Society
Egbert, Sisson, Wallace and Crocker: Merchants, Lumbermen and Chinese Railroad Labor Contractors
by John Knox
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Among the untold chapters in the history of Placer County is the story of the small 49er mercantile company in Illinoistown which supplied the bulk of the Chinese labor when the Central Pacific Railroad began advertising for laborers in 1865. Within two years this small firm, Egbert & Co., acquired a near total monopoly in the Chinese labor market and supplied much of the Chinese railroad labor on the coast over the next two and a half decades. By 1870 they had also become major dealers in groceries, hardware and other provisions, specializing in Chinese goods, with stores located on the lines of the Western Pacific, California and Oregon, and Central Pacific Railroads. In addition, for a number of years they were a major dealer in wood, timber, lumber and charcoal in the Truckee River Basin. These are but several examples of their many successful endeavors, the most unusual perhaps being their opening of the first salmon cannery in Alaska. It was surprising then to learn that they remain, except for a few historians, little known. Egbert, Sisson, Wallace and Crocker: Merchants, Lumbermen and Chinese Railroad Labor Contractors, just published by the Placer County Historical Society and written and compiled by PCHS member and local historian John Knox, aims to remedy that oversight through an abundance of primary source material chronicling the business and partnership of Placer County’s Egbert & Co. Available from the Placer County Historical Society at this time.
Book review by Sue Fawn Chung, Ph.D.
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