Ulysses S. Grant was the first president to visit Sacramento nearly 150 years ago

(FOX40.COM) — As the capital city of one of the largest states in the country (California is 1st by population and 3rd by area), Sacramento is no stranger to presidential or even vice-presidential visits.

In fact, the city’s first presidential visit was around 150 years ago in 1879 when President Ulysses S. Grant visited Sacramento after returning to the United States from his post-presidential world tour, according to the Center for Sacramento History (CSH).

“On October 22, 1879, former President Ulysses S. Grant visited Sacramento and was greeted with a parade in his honor,” the Center for Sacramento History said on Facebook.

Hiram Johnson, the only governor of California who was born in Sacramento

It continued, “Departing Philadelphia on May 16, 1877, for England, the former president and his wife, Julia, toured the capitals of Europe and Asia before returning to the United States by way of San Francisco on September 20, 1879.”

The image shared by the Center for Sacramento History shows what appears to be the streets of Old Sacramento filled with paradegoers and soldiers less than 15 years after the end of the Civil War, which came in 1865.

The CSH adds that President Grant’s visit was a two-day visit, which is accompanied by a photo that is said to have been taken at the corner of 4th and J Streets during his visit.

The photo shows a group of men known as the “Union Boy Squad,” who were supposedly responsible for operating a “Union Boy” cannon intended for Union salutes and other special events during and after the war. The cannon used for these events can also be seen in the photo.

“The Union Boy was purchased and brought to the city by William M. Siddons of Sacramento during the Civil War,” the Center for Sacramento History said. “Siddons formed a company with other men to operate the cannon, calling themselves the Union Boy Squad.”

30 years of presidential visits to California

That isn’t Grant’s only connection to Sacramento, however. According to professor of history Joan Waugh, Grant, who was a “great supporter” of transcontinental railroads, oversaw the completion of one that ran from Sacramento to Omaha in 1869, his first year as president.

According to Britannica, the railroad, named the Central Pacific Railroad, was built by thousands of Chinese workers recruited from farms in Canton. The workers laid the track of the Central Pacific that crossed the Sierra Nevada, which required blasting nine tunnels.

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