Preservation Commission backs Hackett House nomination to National Park Service 'Network to Freedom'

The Sacramento Preservation Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to support a draft nomination to the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom program recognizing the Hackett House, also known as the Archie Lee escape site.

Sean DeCourcy, preservation director with the community development department, presented the nomination and said the nomination builds on the city’s African American Experience Project and a $14,000 National Park Service grant to prepare the nomination. "We are asking for your comments and recommendations and to consider a motion supporting the nomination," DeCourcy told the commission.

The nomination documents the site’s association with Archie Lee, an enslaved man brought to California in 1857 whose January 1858 arrest and the community response led to a legal case that challenged enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act in California. DeCourcy said the location is significant to the history of resistance to enslavement in the state, even though the original Hackett House building no longer stands.

Commissioners supported the nomination but several raised concerns about the proposed placement of interpretive signage. "What I didn't love was the location and I wonder if there's opportunity to revisit and potentially do somewhere else," said Commissioner Max, who also criticized a nearby mural for depicting historical figures such as Peter Burnett and John Sutter without representing Black residents. "It's like all white guy, there are no black people in that mural," Max said, arguing the Hackett House story deserved a more prominent setting in Old Sacramento.

DeCourcy replied that staff and National Park Service consultants selected a site that balances historical association and public access, noting that the Hackett House’s likely original footprint is partly under the freeway. He told commissioners the nomination requires owner consent and that an alternative site near the Pony Express statue is Caltrans right-of-way; staff were unable to obtain the necessary owner consent after attempting to navigate state-level approvals. "That location is actually a Caltrans right of way," DeCourcy said, adding that the team had hit bureaucratic roadblocks when pursuing Caltrans consent.

Commissioners also discussed plans to improve the tunnel area’s visitor experience. DeCourcy said economic development staff and the Center for Sacramento History are already working on a mural redesign that would use large ceramic tiles, and he invited commissioners to consider including the Hackett House story in that project. One commissioner suggested developing an interpretive master plan for the tunnel to coordinate murals, mosaics and future installations.

After discussion, Commissioner Max moved to support the draft nomination and a fellow commissioner seconded. The commission voted in favor on a roll call; the motion passed unanimously. DeCourcy said staff will incorporate the commission’s comments and that the nomination will continue through the National Park Service review process.

The meeting concluded with the director’s report deferred to a future agenda and the commission adjourned.