How small towns transformed California into an American place is topic on September 10

On Wednesday, September 10, 2025 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm, come to the Menlo Park Library (800 Alma St.) to find out “How Small Towns Transformed California into an American Place.”

California is celebrating 175 years of statehood.  Speaker Kyle Livie PhD will share how small towns transformed this place from “Feathered Kingdoms” to “Cities of Homes.”

People in California’s small towns — through campaigns, festivals, pageants, and parades —have built cultures that shaped our economy and ordered the world around them in complex ways, ways that continue to impact our ideas about the Golden State and its people today.

Photo courtesy of Menlo Park Library