Big Fresno Fair’s new museum offers glimpse into the past

Tucked between souvenir stands checkered with bags of pink cotton candy and inflated Spider-Men at the Big Fresno Fair, two small doors serve as a gateway into centuries of Fresno County history.

On Wednesday, the fair opened the first phase of the Fresno County Historical Museum, a $2.8 million project designed to showcase the diverse communities that shaped Fresno County into what it is today. Fair organizers joined with many local businesses and groups, including The Bee, the Fresno Historical Society, Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame and area law enforcement agencies, to create a variety of exhibits.

Visitors’ eyes are immediately drawn to the center of the exhibit space populated with artifacts from the Fresno Fire Department. A restored fire engine, originally purchased by the department in 1917 for $10,500, sits front and center. An 1870s pump house, a horse-drawn trailer that would carry water to fires throughout the city, sits adjacent to the engine.

Pete Dern, the Fresno fire captain who suffered major burns when he fell through the roof of a burning house in March, was among the museum’s inaugural visitors. His wife, daughter and a small group of firefighters walked with Dern, who is now moving under his own power after a lengthy and intensive rehabilitation process.

“They’re giving me some kind of award,” Dern said as he circled the fire engine with his family. “Man, this (the exhibit) all looks great.”

The first floor also included exhibits from the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame and the Fresno Police Department, as well as a re-creation of an early 1900s general store.

A cross-section of the largest sugar pine tree in the world, which fell in October 2014, dominates an environmental exhibit. Rings on the tree are labeled with historical events that happened during its growth. Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas when the tree was in its infancy, and rings mark the American Revolution, Civil War and World War II.

An exhibit chronicling the county’s Japanese-American culture drew the most spectators, including a delegation from Kochi, Japan – one of the seven sister cities Fresno has throughout the world.

Kerry Yo Nakagawa, author of “Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball,” helped put together much of the exhibit.

Nakagawa pointed to several spots on a Depression-era map of Fresno’s Japantown community.

“This was my grandmother’s restaurant there on Kern and E Street,” he said. “My grandfather’s general store was across the street, and I got my first bike from the Maruko Cyclery.”

Much of the exhibit centers on the Nisei Baseball League, a group of local Japanese-American baseball players – including Nakagawa’s uncle – who once played in an exhibition game with Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.

The exhibit’s location is bittersweet for some Japanese-Americans, as the fairgrounds were once the Fresno Assembly Center – the first stop for local Japanese-American families before being sent to internment camps throughout the country during World War II.

On the top floor, a restored version of a 130-year-old Fresno County Courthouse is the centerpiece of another exhibit. Two statues that used to adorn the old county courthouse before the turn of the 20th century sit to the right.

Richard Caglia and Danielle Rodgers are the grandchildren of Frank Caglia, a longtime Fresno businessman who spent more than 70 years collecting local artifacts – many of which are now on display.

“This was a hobby of his – he hated throwing stuff away,” Rodgers said. “He preserved what others threw away.”

Wednesday’s opening was only the first stage of the museum’s life cycle. The fair hopes to raise an additional $1 million to fund expansion, the acquisition of more artifacts and the establishment of additional permanent exhibits. It has established a Go Fund Me account for public donations.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 7:38 PM with the headline "Big Fresno Fair’s new museum offers glimpse into the past."