About us

During the 1960’s the population of Sacramento, experiencing rapid growth, began to move to the outskirts of the city. Property values continued to rise and as they rose, so did the taxation valuation. This rise in taxes began to impact the small farmers, not only of the Riverside-Pocket but throughout Sacramento County, forcing many of the original residents to sell portions of their property.  The Riverside-Pocket was rapidly becoming an area of homes, apartments, parks, and schools.

The Portuguese Historical and Cultural Society, originally, was formed in late 1979 as the Sacramento Portuguese-American Historical Committee – the brainchild of Lorraine Perry D’Alessandro, her son Joe D’Alessandro, and Lorraine’s sister Evelyn Perry Nordeste, as a means to preserve, promote and make known, the Portuguese–American contribution to the history of Sacramento and the Greenhaven-Riverside-Pocket.