Collection Guide
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Center for Sacramento History
Title: Sacramento Union newspaper collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS0167
Physical Description:
150.55 Linear Feet
(249 volumes, 16 card catalog drawers, 271 pamphlet boxes, 1 manuscript box, several loose single issues)
Date (inclusive): 1852-1965
The collection is open for research.
All requests to publish or quote from private manuscripts held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted
in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron.
No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.
[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number/issue date and page], Sacramento Union newspaper collection,
MS0167, Center for Sacramento History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Material in this collection was received from Argus Books in 1972 (accession 1972/247), the Sacramento Union Library in 1979
(1979/091), the Sacramento Public Library (1980/117), Eleanor McClatchy in 1982 (1982/004), Oakland Public Library (2003/042),
and Jim Henley in 2004 (2004/079).
The collection was processed by Kim Hayden, 2023.
The Center has a card catalog index created during the Great Depression that indexes the Sacramento Bee and the Union by subject
from around 1900-1937. Artifacts related to the Union can be found in the following collections at the Center:
- Reporter's badge (1987/023)
- Sacramento Union sales bin and newspaper mailbox (2003/023)
- Newspaper delivery bag (2003/039)
- News carrier receipt books (2008/049)
- Honor roll carrier bag (2022/048)
The Sacramento Daily Union was founded in 1851 in Sacramento at 21 J Street, with its first issue published March 19, 1851.
Its first editor was Dr. John F. Morse. In 1852, the newspaper moved to 121 J Street. Several newspapers were published in
Sacramento during the Gold Rush, but the conservative Daily Union and its rival the progressive Sacramento Bee (founded in
1857) were the only two to survive into the next century.
In 1875, Sacramento Publishing Co. purchased the Daily Union and its rival the Daily Record, merging them together; for a
short time the newspaper was called the Sacramento Daily Record-Union before being renamed the Union. Notably, Mark Twain
wrote for the Union in 1866.
In 1967, the Union moved to its final building at 301 Capitol Mall. The newspaper was unable to compete with the Bee's circulation,
and in the latter half of the 20th century, it went through several ownership changes. It was purchased by Copley Press in
1967, Richard Mellon Scaife in 1977, Daniel Benvenuti Jr. and David Kassis in 1989, and Ralph Danel Jr. in 1992. The newspaper
folded in 1994, with its last issue published January 14. At that time, it had been the oldest newspaper West of the Mississippi.
The collection contains issues of the Sacramento Daily Union newspaper in bound volumes from 1857 through 1904, and from May
1937 through October 1948. There are also a small number of single issues of the newspaper from 1852 to 1870. The collection
also includes a card catalog subject index of the newspaper from ca. 1910 to 1965 and associated research files that include
photographs and clippings kept by the Union's library.
The collection is arranged into 2 series:
- Series 1. Newspapers, 1852-1904; 1937-1948
- Series 2. Indexes and research files, ca. 1910-1965
Series 1. Newspapers, 1852-1904; 1937-1948.
The majority of this series consists of bound volumes of the Sacramento Daily Union from 1852 to 1904 and 1937 to 1948. There
are also a small number of single issues of the newspaper from 1852 to 1870
Series 2. Index and research files, ca. 1910-1965.
This series is made up of a card catalog index and associated research files covering subjects from around 1910 to 1965. The
card catalog index is arranged alphabetically by subject, and each card contains an identifying number. Those numbers correspond
to the associated research files, which are arranged by those numbers. The research files contain photographs, clippings,
and etched printing plates related to the subject. One of the research files boxes is unprocessed.