Greetings, marhaba & welcome! While my family and I took a walk on the West Sacramento River Walk, I realized many who do not live in the area would be surprised to know that West Sacramento, California, over the river from Old Sacramento, is located in Yolo County, instead of Sacramento County. To some this is a meaningless distinction. To a genealogist researching a family member, it can be a big deal.
West Sacramento, like most of the area, was the home of the indigenous Patwin tribe before white settlers arrived. According to West Sacramento, The Roots of a New City by Shipley Walters, it changed names over the years, initially settled as part of Rancho Belamy or Rancho Nueva Flandria. The town of Washington (1849) was carved out of it, along with the community of Riverbank, later renamed Bryte. The town of Washington was renamed Broderick in the late 1800s. The West Sacramento Company also established the town of West Sacramento. This area in total was referred to as East Yolo. The county of Yolo, in which this area sits, was established in February 1850, several months before the State of California was added to the United States the same year.
I recently had the pleasure of listening to the Yolo County Archives, Archives and Records Center Coordinator, Heather Lanctot share how individuals can access the collection, and what materials the Archives have that would be helpful for genealogical research. The Yolo County Archives is definitely the place to look if you are researching the area.