Home Visitor Information Other California State Parks Attractions in Old Sacramento Huntington, Hopkins and Company Hardware Store
Huntington, Hopkins and Company Hardware Store

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One of the most charming spots in Old Sacramento is the Huntington, Hopkins & Company Hardware exhibit and retail store, located at street level in the Big Four Building, adjacent to the California State Railroad Museum's 100,000-square foot Railroad History Museum. Developed as an exhibit in 1981, the Hardware Store re-creates a small town hardware business of the 19th century although most likely not true to the original: By the 1860s, Huntington, Hopkins & Company Hardware was a sprawling, wholesale brokerage supplying Northern California with all kinds of goods from the East.

The first thing you notice upon entering the Huntington, Hopkins & Company Hardware Store are the Dietz lanterns hanging from ceiling rafters, and the crates and baskets piled on the floor. The west wall holds displays of 19th-century tools and hardware. A devoted group of docents gladly explains the store's history, and the use of historic tools.

The store's east-side is a working retail operation, where visitors can purchase such items as blue speckle-ware, cast iron cookware, old-fashioned wooden toys and games, oil lamps of every description, and an eclectic selection of unique books about 19th century tools, Gold Rush history and cooking, and more. The store's "back room" contains exhibits of 19th-century tools and machinery.

The Huntington & Hopkins Hardware Store is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day). The store is often - but not always - also open Monday through Wednesdays during the same hours.

If you are interested in seeing the Huntington, Hopkins & Company Hardware Store on your next visit to Old Sacramento, please call (916) 323-7234 during Store business hours for updated schedule information and additional details.