Elk Grove fundraiser aims to preserve city's history amid rapid growth

ELK GROVE — A community fundraiser is being held to help show off the rich history of Elk Grove.

While the city is working to bring a new zoo to town and thousands of new homes are being built, other efforts are now underway to preserve the past.

Jim Entrican is one of the people working to save Elk Grove's history. It starts right along Highway 99 with Elk Grove's first building, which was originally built in 1850—the same year California became a state.

"We try to preserve the history as best we can," Enrican said. "It's a shame that some of the older buildings have been taken down."

The site is now known as Heritage Park and includes a blacksmith shop, a pioneer home, and even an outhouse. However, Entrican's biggest ambition is going to be built on a vacant spot, recreating an old wooden barn that was once here.

"It will be 75 feet wide and 100 feet long, and 3 stores high," he said.

But a modern-day barn raising isn't cheap. That's why the historical society is holding a series of fundraising events to help with the estimated million-dollar cost.

"People need to learn their history, and they need to learn from their history," said Laurajean Lawrence, an Elk Grove resident.

The barn will help preserve a collection of historic carriages and wagons and can also be used for community events. It will be built from old redwood beams that are part of a bridge along Franklin Boulevard that is being decommissioned.

"The inside will be polished wood," Entrican said. "The outside will be rough cut."

The preservation effort comes at a time when Elk Grove is rapidly growing with the population expected to reach 300,000 in less than 20 years.

"It was a small town and now it's a good-sized city," Lawrence said.

Entrican added that it's important to save Elk Grove's history for future generations, saying that "50 or 100 years from now, all the people that are here now will be old and their stuff will be preserved in there."

Tours of Elk Grove's Heritage Park are free and are available the first Saturday of each month and by appointment.