History heads to the Net

Anyone interested in Solano County's history will no longer have to dig through the Vacaville Heritage Council's considerable collection of binders and boxes of old photos and manuscripts.

The Heritage Council and the Solano County Historical Society have launched a new Web site and interactive database at http://www.solanohistory.org that makes thousands of documents, photos, columns and books available online.

“We have so many artifacts here. We want people to have access to them all,” Heritage Council member Brian Irwin said. “We are bringing history out of the boxes.”

For years, the council has diligently collected massive amounts of archival materials dating back to the countys birth and stored them in the Old Vacaville City Hall building which the council calls home.

Until now, anyone interested in local historical research had to go to the old City Hall and work with a volunteer to track down whatever they needed.

The council has only a few volunteers, and it has been difficult to keep up with so many research requests.

“This (Web) site allows people to better know what they are looking for. We have more than 7,000 records on it now,” Heritage Council member Jerry Bowen said.

For example, residents using the Web site can find and examine photos of Vacaville in the 1890’s, a 1934 brochure handed out at the dedication of the Chief Solano statue or columns written by Vallejo historian Ernie Wichels in the 1960s.

The plan is to add much more. Bowen hopes to add all of the county’s federal land records and video clips of oral histories of longtime residents whom council members have recorded.

The group also wants to work with Solano County’s museums to establish links and put their online collections on the Web site.

“When we get this done, it will be a vast collection of Solano County’s history,” Bowen said.

Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).