September 13th is International Chocolate Day! Did you chocolate was a quite desired commodity in California by the mid-19th Century? The history of chocolate can be traced to Mesoamerica where the Indigenous population had consumed cocoa for thousands of years for its medicinal qualities. Chocolate was introduced to California by the Spanish and became a major trade good on British and American trade ships. Up through the mid-1800s, chocolate was mainly consumed hot and mixed with either water, whiskey, or brandy. The records kept by Edward Kern at Sutter’s Fort, in present-day Midtown Sacramento, in February 1847 even lists 100 pounds of cocoa and 400 pounds of sugar among the supplies sent with rescuers to the Sierra to rescue the Donner Party. Chocolate and cocoa are listed in many ship’s manifests arriving in San Francisco during the beginning of the Gold Rush. Chocolate was listed at most wholesale and retail businesses in Sacramento in early newspapers. One of the most wel...