Sutter County Museum

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Sutter County Museum The Sutter County Museum shares local stories to strengthen community bonds and inspire the celebration of our diverse cultural heritage. Admission is FREE!

We are open Wednesdays-Fridays from 9am-5pm and Saturdays from 12-4pm. The Sutter County Museum shares local stories to strengthen community bonds, to inspire celebration of our diverse cultural heritage, and to demonstrate how understanding the past prepares us for the future. The Sutter County Museum tells the story of the Yuba-Sutter community, from the Native Americans who lived here pre-contact to the present. This is done through a combination of exhibits, both permanent and temporary, and public programs. Permanent exhibits include the Nisenan people, John Sutter, the history of agriculture in the area, and our multi-cultural wing, which tells the stories of diverse ethnic communities with sizable populations in Yuba-Sutter. The Museum hosts 5-6 temporary exhibits per year and over 30 free educational public programs annually. The Museum Gift Shop offers a selection of one-of-a-kind gifts and a comprehensive selection of books on local and California history.

We are happy to share that the Sutter County Museum's Gift Shop is restocked (while supplies last) with Cavallini Pape...
10/10/2026



We are happy to share that the Sutter County Museum's Gift Shop is restocked (while supplies last) with Cavallini Papers & Co., Inc. merchandise as well as some of their newly-released products! These great gifts come highly recommended to you by Amber, who volunteers as the director of the Artisan Community Garden and as the treasurer for our nonprofit Museum Association.

Amber says, “These Cavallini & Co wildflower gifts are some of my favorites! The imagery is beautiful on the puzzles, mugs, bags, and notepads. And I especially love that the wildflowers are labeled so you can identify them and learn more!”

Thank you to Amber for your shopping recommendations! The SCM team hopes to have you visit soon! Our Gift Shop and Museum hours are Wednesdays-Fridays from 9am-5pm and Saturdays from 12-4pm.

Thank you to the community for voting the Sutter County Museum The Appeal-Democrat's Best Museum/Art Gallery of Yuba-Sut...
10/08/2026

Thank you to the community for voting the Sutter County Museum The Appeal-Democrat's Best Museum/Art Gallery of Yuba-Sutter-Colusa 2026! We were so honored to receive your support. Thank you so much to all of our visitors, volunteers, Museum Association Board members, community partners, and staff who help make our work possible.

We love bringing free exhibits, public programs, field trips, and more to Yuba-Sutter-Colusa and beyond! If you haven’t checked us out for a while, stop by for a visit! We are open for FREE Wednesdays-Fridays from 9am-5pm and Saturdays from 12-4pm. We look forward to seeing you at the Museum!

We have had a busy couple of weeks at the Museum! In late September, we kicked off our Speaker Series for the fall with ...
10/07/2026

We have had a busy couple of weeks at the Museum! In late September, we kicked off our Speaker Series for the fall with archaeologist Nick Lashway, who provided an informative presentation about wildland fire incidents and protecting cultural resources. Next, our temporary exhibit “Abuelita’s Kitchen” opened with a fun potluck reception, where guests brought unique, treasured family recipes to share. Visitors had lots of fun trying different recipes and sharing what makes these foods special to them.

Then, we hosted our next Drop-In Research Hours, where staff and volunteers are available to assist attendees with local history and family genealogy research. Over the weekend, we held our annual Volunteer Appreciation event, inspired by the “Abuelita’s Kitchen” exhibit with delicious food from La Unica's restaurant and dessert from La Superior Mercados. Our volunteers shared favorite food memories as we celebrated their many contributions to the Museum! Lastly, Dr. Sarah Portnoy visited from Southern California for an interesting and engaging discussion about the “Abuelita’s Kitchen” documentary project, behind-the-scenes facts about the exhibit, and a special screening of the film.

To get updates about all the great events happening at the Sutter County Museum, follow us on Facebook or Instagram, or subscribe to our monthly e-Newsletter! Visit our website at www.suttercountymuseum.org and scroll to the bottom of the page to subscribe.

For our October Book of the Month, Leslie, one of our Museum volunteers, recommends “Migrant Daughter: Coming of Age as ...
10/03/2026

For our October Book of the Month, Leslie, one of our Museum volunteers, recommends “Migrant Daughter: Coming of Age as a Mexican American Woman,” a memoir and oral history co-authored by Frances 'Fran' Esquibel Tywoniak and UCSB Professor of History and Chicano Studies Mario T. García. The book is described by publisher University of California Press as “the coming-of-age story of Frances Esquibel Tywoniak, who was born in Spanish-speaking New Mexico, moved with her family to California during the Depression to attend school and work as a farm laborer, and subsequently won a university scholarship, becoming one of the few Mexican Americans to attend the University of California, Berkeley, at that time.”

Leslie tells us: "The book is as much about identity as achievement: Fran had to reconcile her home, where her father allowed only Spanish, with a larger society that pushed English only. This book is worth reading because it gives an intimate, unpolished view of a working-class Mexican American girl's life in mid-century California, and it shows how education could open a path out of the cycle of Farm Labor, at a real cost to family ties and cultural belonging. It is also a good pick if you like memoirs or want to understand the history of migrant labor and Chicano experience through one person's story rather than a textbook."

This book is available in our Gift Shop (while supplies last)! The SCM is open Wednesdays-Fridays from 9am-5pm and Saturdays from 12-4pm. Admission is FREE!

Don’t forget to join us this Saturday, October 3rd at 12:00pm for a special FREE presentation! Dr. Sarah Portnoy is a do...
10/02/2026

Don’t forget to join us this Saturday, October 3rd at 12:00pm for a special FREE presentation! Dr. Sarah Portnoy is a documentary filmmaker, food justice advocate, and a Food Studies professor at the University of Southern California. She produced the documentary “Abuelita’s Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories” and accompanying exhibit, on display at the Sutter County Museum.

The exhibit and documentary feature ten Mexican grandmothers in Southern California and their unique food histories. Enjoy a screening of the 27-minute documentary and learn more about the project and the research behind it in this fascinating talk. Light refreshments will be served.

¡No olviden acompañarnos este sábado 3 de octubre a las 12:00 pm para una presentación especial y GRATUITA! La Dra. Sarah Portnoy es documentalista, defensora de la justicia alimentaria y profesora de Estudios Alimentarios en la Universidad del Sur de California. Ella hizo el documental “La Cocina de mi Abuelita: Historias Culinarias Mexicanas” y la exposición complementaria, en exhibición en el Museo del Condado de Sutter.

La exposición y el documental presentan a diez abuelas mexicanas del sur de California y sus historias culinarias únicas. Disfrute de la proyección de este documental de 27 minutos y conozca más sobre el proyecto y la investigación que lo respalda en esta plática fascinante. Se servirán aperitivos.

Photos: Elsa Chan with her grandchildren.
Blanca Matías making tamales with her daughters and granddaughters.
Photographer: Jessica Magaña -Sandoval.

We are pleased to share that the Sutter County Museum is the proud recipient of a 2026 Award of Excellence from the Amer...
10/01/2026

We are pleased to share that the Sutter County Museum is the proud recipient of a 2026 Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for our permanent exhibit “From Barbers’ Row to Beale Air Force Base: Black History in Yuba-Sutter.” This incredible achievement would not have been possible without our many partners, advisors, and community members who contributed to this project. Thank you!

Museum director and curator Molly Bloom and assistant curator Caty McKinin were honored to attend the AASLH and National Council on Public History Joint Conference and accept the award on behalf of the Museum. While there, they also had the opportunity to participate in educational sessions designed to further professional growth and provide new ideas for our Museum! Thank you to the nonprofit Museum Association for funding staff travel costs to make this possible.

We are incredibly thankful for the recognition by the AASLH. Our staff are excited to bring back what they learned to help make the SCM the best it can be!

If there’s one thing we know about our community, it’s that people have always been hardworking, but they also know how ...
09/29/2026

If there’s one thing we know about our community, it’s that people have always been hardworking, but they also know how to play hard and have fun! Enjoy this photograph of John and Shirley Dean with two horses, taken in September 1925.

The photograph is labeled, “Monkey Shines, John and Shirley on Beauty and Peaches.” For those who may not know, “monkey shines” or “monkeyshines” is a phrase like “monkey business” – a mischievous or playful activity, prank, or joke.

Shirley is standing on the backs of the two horses, while John hangs upside down around Beauty’s neck! Did you spot him in the picture?

As the saying goes: “Work hard, play hard!”

Don’t forget to join us TONIGHT from 5:00-7:00pm for the “Abuelita’s Kitchen” Potluck Reception!Celebrate the temporary ...
09/25/2026

Don’t forget to join us TONIGHT from 5:00-7:00pm for the “Abuelita’s Kitchen” Potluck Reception!

Celebrate the temporary exhibit “Abuelita’s Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories” at a free potluck reception. You are welcome to bring your own treasured family recipe and list of ingredients to share!

The exhibit highlights ten Indigenous, mestiza, Mexican American, and Afro-Mexican grandmothers who have cooked, preserved, and passed on Mexican food culture while creating communities and cultures that are unique to Southern California. Through a documentary film, audio stories, photographs, kitchen artifacts, and family recipes, explore each abuela's unique relationship to Mexican cuisine, their birthplaces in Mexico, and their current homes in California.

“Abuelita's Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories” was developed by USC professor Sarah Portnoy with support from California Humanities and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. The exhibition tours through Exhibit Envoy.

The exhibit will be on display at the Sutter County Museum through November 21st. Admission is free!

Don't forget to join us TONIGHT for our first Speaker Series this fall!How does an archaeologist review cultural heritag...
09/24/2026

Don't forget to join us TONIGHT for our first Speaker Series this fall!

How does an archaeologist review cultural heritage resources, protect sites during an active fire incident, and mitigate loss after a wildland fire? Nick Lashway is an archaeologist who has experience on projects in 15 states and has worked in the National Park Service and National Forest Service. Learn about cultural resource management during wildfires and how resource advisors work to protect California's cultural heritage when time is of the essence.

Doors open at 5:30pm. Talk begins at 5:45pm.

Artifact and Exhibit Series Caty, our Assistant Curator, is showcasing the listening station in our permanent exhibit ...
09/21/2026

Artifact and Exhibit Series

Caty, our Assistant Curator, is showcasing the listening station in our permanent exhibit on Yuba-Sutter Floods. This interactive resource is super interesting and educational for everyone wanting to learn more about the 1955 Flood. In early 1956, Lloyd "Dutch" Klemp ran a radio interview program called: "What About The Flood?" All you have to do is pick up the receiver and listen to some of Mr. Klemp's conversations with people in who share their very moving, personal stories about what they saw and experienced during evacuation attempts.

Additionally, transcripts of many of these interviews and more can be found in the book "Coping With Disaster: Voices from the 1955 Flood," available to read in the exhibit, for sale in the Museum's Gift Shop, and for free at the Sutter County Library.

The Museum is open Wednesdays-Fridays from 9am-5pm and Saturdays from 12-4pm. Admission is FREE!

Address

1333 Butte House Road
Yuba City, CA
95993

Opening Hours

Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

+15308227141

Website

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