Photograph of plaque commemorating the Vaca Valley Railroad located at the foot of the Vaca Valley Railroad Bridge (Photographs below taken by Peggy B. Perazzo, used with permission). The plaque reads as follows. (The railroad bridge has recently been renovated and turned into a walking/bicycling trail open to the public - January 2006.)

Vaca Valley Railroad

By 1875 the need to easily move grain, livestock, wood and stone from Berryessa Valley and the surrounding area to markets was recognized. In the spring of 1875 work began on a 13 mile extension of the railroad from Vacaville to Theodore Winters' Crossing of Putah Creek. Brothers G. B. and A. B. Stevenson conceived this extension of their railroad as well as plans for the new town of Winters. By May of 1875 a map of the townsite had been recorded and construction on both was progressing as fast as possible. The official opening of the new line took place on August 20, 1875. Plaque dedicated March 20, 1992 Sam Brannan Charter 1004 E. Clampus Vitus

Members of the Winters Concert Band (postcard photograph in the collection of George Leggett of Winters, California. George is the son of Clarence Leggett who is included in this photograph.) According to author Joann Leach Larkey in Winters: A Heritage of Horticulture, A Harmony of Purpose (Yolo County Historical Society, Woodland, CA, 1991, page 50), the original of this photograph is in the Winters Historical Collection, and following is a list of the people in the photograph and the information from the book relating to the band. The quotation below is from the book cited in this paragraph:

“Members of the Winters Concert Band, winners of the second prize of $250 in a statewide band competition held in Sacramento in 1911, posed on the steps of the State Capitol in 1912. They include: Bottom row, left to right, George Doll, Joe Neel, Bob Deacon, Lel Baker, Prof. Graber (bandleader), John Sidwell, Emil Sager, Fred Moody and M. Cook; Second row, Kim Bowman, Clarence Leggett, Walter Doll and Elmer Chester; Third row, Fred Parker, Doc Anderson, Joe Vasey, Everett Fenley and Tom Willard; Fourth row, Perry Thornberry, George Griffin, Ray Baker and Robert Neel. For some forty years, the Winters Concert Band was one of the best known bands in northern California.”

The Winters Cemetery was originally known as the Masonic Cemetery of Winters and was founded in 1876 for members of the Masonic Order and for the public. The first burial in the cemetery was Bert Allen who died on November 22, 1876, age 22. The bodies of people from cemeteries in Buckeye and Wolfskill, who were buried as early as 1860, were exhumed from these cemeteries and reburied in the Masonic Cemetery of Winters. It was also noted that several members of the Donner party were buried in the Masonic Cemetery of Winters including Solomon Hook, his wife Alice M. Hook, and their son Edward. A 12-grave lot cost $12.50. (Photographs taken by Peggy B. Perazzo, used with permission.

The Masonic Cemetery of Winters was enlarged through the years. In December 1941 the Masonic Lodge deeded all of the unsold lots, aisles, streets, and alleys to Yolo County as it was no longer able to finance the cemetery operation. The cemetery then became known as the "Winters Cemetery."