2025 Placer County History award recipient named

The Placer County Historical Foundation and Placer County Historical Society, co-sponsors of the annual Placer County History Award, announced the honoring of Ralph Gibson as the 2025 recipient. The award recognizes someone who has made significant contributions to Placer County history. As the County Administrator of Museums, Gibson has made contributions to the preservation and presentation of history, including the collection and preservation of a wide variety of historical artifacts that relate either to Placer County or an aspect of county history, and vastly improving upon an existing archive center using standard archival principles. Placer County Historial Society President April McDonald-Loomis said, "Ralph Gibson is a well-deserving person for this honor through several important accomplishments," including: * The moving and upgrading of a museum that tells the story of the Gold Rush as part of the county's Gold Rush Museum. * The development of new museums: one to tell the story of early Fruitvale education in Placer County and another regarding World War II at the DeWitt History Museum. * The creation, upgrade or expansion of various educational opportunities for children and adults: Bernhard Living History, Gold Rush Program, Courthouse Tours, Annual Cemetery Tour, Walking Tours, Heritage Trail, Stories & S'Mores, Courthouse Country Christmas, Fruitvale Fall Festival, Fruitvale Living History and establishing the county's museum department webpage. * The upgrades of exhibits and maintenance improvement of eight county museums: Bernhard Museum Complex, Placer County Courthouse Museum, Dutch Flat's Golden Drift Museum, Fruitvale School Museum, Forest Hill Divide Museum, DeWitt History Museum, Griffith Quarry Museum and Gold Rush Museum. * The transfer of artifacts from a closed private medical museum to the Collection Facility. * The technical upgrades and projects of Archives and Research Center and the Museum Collections Management Facility. * The authoring of a weekly article highlighting a historical person or event for the Placer County Newsletter. "Ralph has been an outstanding County Administrator of Museums for over 13 years and is credited with bringing the archives into a usable and functional department of the museums," McDonald-Loomis said. Gibson is retiring from the county in October after 21 years in the museum department.