R Street Layout

When I went to American River College back in 1990...

2021-11-15T15:41:13.051-08:00

When I went to American River College back in 1990 or so I had a part-time job at Thompson-Diggs. I got the job off of a bulletin board at ARC. I was a clerk and would manually update inventory numbers in a file cabinet in each sales persons office. Nice people and a nice place to work. I was in the new building in Natomas. It's now owned by PoolMaster, Inc.

Times started to change and TD started to suffer. ...

2021-04-23T13:59:06.489-07:00

Times started to change and TD started to suffer. share holders voted to close the bussiness.

My grandfather was Charles Mason. Both my father a...

2021-04-23T13:58:13.116-07:00

My grandfather was Charles Mason. Both my father and uncle worked with him at TD for several years. TD company was a huge part of my childhood.

The Thomson Diggs Company was dissolved in January...

2021-01-07T15:10:38.636-08:00

The Thomson Diggs Company was dissolved in January 1997. At the time of the Dissolution of the company there were five directors.

Every big Thomson Diggs catalog I've seen has ...

2019-10-13T21:53:31.735-07:00

Every big Thomson Diggs catalog I've seen has a two digit catalog number. My assumption has been that the number represents the year published. The company was founded in 1900 so that number scheme works if they published a big catalog every year. I have a copy of catalog number 61. I think it was published in 1961, and the products contained in the catalog seem to fit that year. The Center for Sacramento History has a TD catalog with a number in the 20s and, again the products seem to fit that era. So, without seeing the copy you have, I'm not sure. Maybe you have a supplemental catalog that used a different numbering scheme or maybe they had a different numbering scheme in general at some point in their history. My wild guess is that you have a supplemental catalog from October 1919- but it's just that- a wild guess.

I have a very old 7lb. hardbound catalog mailed to...

2019-10-12T10:15:00.467-07:00

I have a very old 7lb. hardbound catalog mailed to a F.A. McIntyre in Sacramento, Number 1019. Is there any way to know what year this wonderful old catalog was printed? It is fabulous! Thank you, Evie Cunnincham.

I cover the end of TD sort of. “Thomson-Diggs rema...

2019-09-30T09:56:12.412-07:00

I cover the end of TD sort of.
“Thomson-Diggs remained on R Street until 1986 when they moved to a new warehouse in Natomas. The 'Main Plant' building was then refurbished as office space. Plant No. 2 is gone the space currently occupied by a parking lot. They were the second to last independent wholesale hardware company in California in 1991 - the recession and changing market forces cleared out all businesses of its type in California by 1997. The Thomson-Diggs Co left the wholesale hardware business in the early 1990s and entered the commercial real estate market. By 1997 even this venture wound down and Thomson-Diggs ceased to exist three years shy of their 100th anniversary. ”

Does anyone know what happened at the end? Did it...

2019-08-14T14:12:48.411-07:00

Does anyone know what happened at the end? Did it shut down, or go bankrupt? Seems like it was a great place.

I have a savage 1907 32 acp pistol that Was shippe...

2019-06-29T12:44:29.214-07:00

I have a savage 1907 32 acp pistol that Was shipped to thompson diggs company in 1918.

2019-05-18T14:29:40.045-07:00

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I’ve gone to an Estate Sale over this past weekend...

2018-10-05T23:33:09.164-07:00

I’ve gone to an Estate Sale over this past weekend in Southern California and was quite pleased to come across a couple of very cool, quite old Machinery Supply company “catalogues” &, upon doing research about them, I’ve come across this here thread/article (FANTASTIC WRITE UP AT THAT! VERY DETAILED!). The older of the two of these books is from just 3 years from the time of the above mentioned scandal, Yes, it’s “THE THOMSON-DIGGS COMPANY” catalogue from the year of 1916! It offers a great artists engraving/etching/print (?) depiction of how the two above mentioned buildings would’ve appeared to look like at the time of publication of this catalogue, with several motorized vehicles along with trolley cars and freight cars in and around the proximity of either of the two buildings and, of course, merchants and horses. It leaves one to assume that these two buildings were the LARGEST structures in their respective locations, at that time. This page includes the inscription along the bottom section, CLASS “A” RE-INFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION THROUGHOUT[,] EQUIPPED WITH SPRINKLER SYSTEM[,] 320 FEET OF TRACKAGE[,] 142,860 SQUARE FEET OF FLOOR SPACE. This catalogue is definitely worth the price I’ve paid for it at the hefty sum of $10.00! It’s not in “mint” condition but, it does have every page intact AND legible. About 9”Wide X 12”Long X 2”Thick. It’s absolutely LOADED WITH FANTASTIC IMAGES OF JUST ABOUT ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE from that timeframe! On to the 2nd book. It’s of a company that is STILL IN BUSINESS TO THIS DAY! I haven’t contacted anyone of this company yet but, intend on do so. It’s front cover says along its uppermost heading, GLOBE RED BOOK, within a boxed line. Below-left of this box is an engraving/drawing of the globe with written/embossed words in it. These same words are then repeated in a larger font, within another boxed line, diagonally across the middle portion of the cover that reads, Globe Machinery and Supply Co. DES MOINES, IOWA. Then, along the bottom portion is read, MILL MINE & FACTORY[,] MACHINERY & SUPPLIES[,] CATALOGUE NO.9... This one is from the year of 1917! Also, $10.00. About 6 inches THICK! Smaller width and length then the T-B but, not substantially smaller. It’s absolutely fantastic to look through! If you, Tom Campbell, are interested in acquiring the above mentioned image in the T-B catalogue or, ANY other images of the MANY pages of either of these two books, just let me know and I’ll get them sent to you! I wanted to at least include the image of the above described page but, can’t seem to figure out how to connect this said image to this comment.

I have a Smith and Wesson Military and Police 38 S...

2017-10-31T14:37:32.250-07:00

I have a Smith and Wesson Military and Police 38 Special revolver that was shipped to Thomson Diggs on March 21,1951. Wish I knew who they sold it to. Its been in Missouri for the past 30 years.

Thomson Diggs Building (1800 3rd Street) May 31 –...

2017-05-31T15:09:25.734-07:00

Thomson Diggs Building (1800 3rd Street)
May 31 – June 1
7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) will be using the interior floors of the Thomson Diggs Building for an “active shooter” training exercise for the CHP. This building is located across the street from the 1801 3rd Street open parking lot.

My dad worked for Thompson Diggs for about 10 year...

2016-09-06T14:46:08.445-07:00

My dad worked for Thompson Diggs for about 10 years until we moved in 1989. His name was Jerry Johnson. He loved T-D. I loved coming to work with him...I thought it was fun!

Thanks Bruce!

2016-08-01T09:59:49.962-07:00

Thanks Bruce!

I worked the night R Street job in the early 1970&...

2016-07-31T19:06:59.702-07:00

I worked the night R Street job in the early 1970's. On duty at at SP's Sacramento Yard at 11:00 pm. Gathered our cars and lined them up and usually were headed down the river between midnight and 1:00 am. Proceeded to the runaround track at Miller Park where we cut off our spot cars to go under I-5 and switch Dolans and occasionally a car of news print for the Greensheets. Coupled our pull cars to our drag then ran around everything to head back up the river to R street. We would leave our cars on the levee to pull and spot Thompson-Diggs after which to get the cars on the other end of us we would leave the engine on R St over I-5 and allow the cars on the levee to roll by us where we then coupled onto what was the rear car and which now had become the head car. Proceed down R St to switch Martin Gear and Sprocket, Crystal Creamery, Sacto Bee, the R St Team track and lastly Libby McNeal and Libby cannery. Then it was a long jaunt to 65th St (with an occasional stop to deliver a flat car of poles to SMUD)and the various industries at that end, Dorris Moulding, Market Wholesale, Superior Door, a tank farm (Unicol I think, not sure) and a couple other lumber mills usually heading back to Sacramento Yard via Brighton and Elvas by 7:00 am. I'm sure I left a few industries out.

I am related to Diggs by my grandmother who's ...

2016-06-29T14:29:14.506-07:00

I am related to Diggs by my grandmother who's grandmother was married to him in the early 1900's. Trying to find out more info about my family history...

Great info! Fills a huge void in my R-street knowl...

2016-02-09T02:02:06.689-08:00

Great info! Fills a huge void in my R-street knowledge... :-)

Cheers!
Nalle

I've seen a 1920's era version of the cata...

2015-12-29T21:00:39.355-08:00

I've seen a 1920's era version of the catalog at the Center for Sacramento History. And occasionally one that old goes up for bid at eBay.

I have a T-D catalog that looks like the latest up...

2015-12-25T11:10:47.238-08:00

I have a T-D catalog that looks like the latest update was 1936. I'm thinking of scanning it sometime in 2016. Love to see one older.

2015-09-24T15:46:42.644-07:00

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2015-09-18T16:08:07.416-07:00

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One possible reason for the refrigerator cars, suc...

2015-07-08T21:06:09.618-07:00

One possible reason for the refrigerator cars, such as the ones from Reinbeck: in winter, canned goods could freeze in regular boxcars. A San Jose canner declared that he used refrigerator cars for any canned goods heading east starting in fall. This quote came out of the debates over whether to loosen the restrictions banning the meat packers from selling canned goods as well.

https://books.google.com/books?id=TVqWSyl8QS0C&lpg=PA703&ots=Uoc9ZpSbhV&dq=packers%20decree&pg=PA738#v=onepage&q=refrigerator&f=false

I worked there as a stock clerk from 1973 to 1986,...

2014-10-31T09:59:14.045-07:00

I worked there as a stock clerk from 1973 to 1986, shortly after they moved to natomas. As a stock clerk, I ran the sporting goods/electrical dept. I unloaded a few boxcars and even ran the overhead cranes a few times in the steel warehouse. Some of the riverboat pallets and wood carts that we used are displayed in Old Sac. There were four large freight elevators in the main building. I would like to clarify one fact about the main warehouse building. It had overhead heaters, but no air conditioning. The main office on the fourth floor was the only place with a/c. I spent my last few years working as assistant building maintenance worker. That was so interesting. We would wash down the silver painted roof while draining down the main sprinkler system water tank. There was also a cooling tower on the roof as part of the a/c system. We regularly added chlorine to prevent algae growth in the water. I do remember Bob Irvine as a nice guy who was much friendlier than the other execs. That company has a lot of history, and had some great employees.

Maury Diggs was my great-great grandfather. My gra...

2014-06-11T16:41:34.533-07:00

Maury Diggs was my great-great grandfather. My grandmother didn't know him well but I'd certainly heard the story about him spending time in San Quentin... I go to concerts at the Fox Theater about once a year and it's kind of cool to think that part of my own history is connected to that awesome place.