SACRAMENTO, Calif. — While most long-time residents are naturally curious about the history of their neighborhoods, not all of them are avid genealogists.
But just like so many other people at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of ladies living in Sacramento's Curtis Park neighborhood picked up a new pet project.
It all started when one resident walked by a lamp post on Highland Avenue that was stamped "1923," and they let their neighbors know about the discovery.
Word eventually reached Nancy Shea and Jeanne Baldwin, both of whom are genealogists.
They dubbed the project 'Ladies of Highland Avenue Research'.
"We're both retired, including a number of other ladies on the block, and we made it a habit during COVID to get together and not feel too isolated," said Shea. "So we decided to try and research Highland Avenue."
Ladies of Highland Avenue Research
According to the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association, many of the houses around Highland Avenue are period revival styles of the 1920s.
The area was seen as an escape from Sacramento city life, Shea told ABC10, where people can better appreciate the scenery.
Since launching Ladies of Highland Avenue, she said they have researched more than 20 houses on the block, and it all started by learning the age of the house.
"The first thing we settled is where the streetcar came from downtown Sacramento and went to about Second Avenue — we think those houses were built first, they're just a bit older than ours," said Baldwin.
Trips to the Sacramento Public Library and other local research institutions turned up books and newspaper clippings from 1923 that residents say are a capsule into the past.
"50-Foot Lots; $700 and up; $50 Down; $10 per Month," read a portion of a promotional pamphlet and map from Sacramento's Heilbron Oaks neighborhood. "No taxes to be paid by lot buyers until November, 1924."
Shea said she and the other ladies hope to put together a picture book featuring each of the historical houses in Curtis Park along with a description of their history.
"We're planning on going to the Sac State Library (to) look at all phone books and see if we can fill in the holes," she said. "We all have 10 houses to research — two houses I can tell you all the presidents from when the house were built. Eight houses that I'm still trying to fill in all the models."
Contact Nancy Shea at nancyrshea@gmail.com for more information on joining the Ladies of Highland Avenue Research.
