The San Joaquin County Historical Society
and Museum
11793 Micke Grove Rd, Lodi, CA 95240, United States
The San Joaquin County Historical Museum presents the rich heritage of the region, from the Miwok and Yokut Indians to Charles Weber and the development of modern agriculture.
The Museum has eight exhibition buildings and four historic buildings, including the Weber House of 1848 and the Calaveras School of 1866. Exhibits include the Weber family furnishings room dioramas, a children’s activity area, and large displays of hand tools and historic agricultural equipment. The 18-acre land includes the Sunshine Trail, a living exhibition of native habitats, and the Delta Water Path. The Critter Corral of farm animals can be enjoyed on weekends from May to August.
- Educational Purposes
The San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum operates a number of programs for students and adults. The pillar of the education department is the Museum Teacher Program, where interested adults take a one-year course in local history and education. Upon graduation, teachers are expected to work as volunteer educators for various museum programs. The museum teachers are organized by the Teachers ‘ Council, which actively fundraises the museum.
The teachers’ museum operates several programs of living history for elementary school students throughout San Joaquin County. These programs help students learn about everyday life in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and provide a context for the contents of state history that they learn in school. The three primary programs in life history are Valley Days, where students learn 19th-century skills such as gold panning, blacksmithing and corn grinding, Pioneer School, where students take a class day at Calaveras School House using the California State Curriculum of 1884, and Farm to Fork, where students simulate the farming industry.
- Tours
The museum teachers are actively giving tours to visitors. Tours must be scheduled in advance and can be tailored to the interests of visitors. Teachers also run the celebrated Grandmother’s / Grandfather’s Trunk program, where teachers visit schools in pioneering clothing with trunks full of artifacts that can help students learn about the life of the 19th century through interpretive explanations.
- About San Joaquin County
San Joaquin County is one of the original 27 counties of California, created in 1850 when California became a state. The county covers 1,426 square miles and has a population of about 710,000. The western third of San Joaquin County consists of a large portion of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which, along with San Francisco and San Pablo Bay, is the largest estuary on the Pacific coast.
Southern border of the county, the Calaveras River at the middle of the county, and the Mokelumne River at the north. These waterways have created the region’s rich peat, alluvial loam and clay soils.