On April 6, the cozy, box-shaped museum turned into a television studio filled with bright lights illuminating the glass cabinets that house historical artifacts from the early days of Saratoga, and cameras dollied across the floor.

The scene inside the museum stirred curiosity among those walking past the building, leaving passersby wondering what the cameras were for.

Directors, camera crews, and the host of a New York­based television show described by producer Tony Tacaberry as a cross between Antiques Roadshow and CSI visited Saratoga as part of a three- to four-week investigation researching a possible link between a Sacramento resident and the John Brown family.

Brown was a passionate American abolitionist who started numerous successful crusades on the East Coast to abolish slavery. After staging a raid at Harpers Ferry, Va., Brown was captured and hanged in 1859, leaving behind his wife, Mary Ann Brown, and their two daughters, Sarah and Ellen.

The three, along with Ellen's husband and their three children, migrated from one location to another before settling in Saratoga in 1881.

According to host Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, the Brown family moved to Saratoga because the city they settled in prior to their move was "too hot and malarial." He said that journals and documents written by Sarah revealed that they were very happy and comfortable living in Saratoga, despite encounters with a Ku Klux Klan organization called the Knights of the Golden Circle.

According to Zuberi and old newspaper clippings, the Brown family bought 160 acres of prune orchards on a hill where Bohlman Road is now located. Ellen and her family owned another farm where city hall now stands.

"The Browns led a life committed to human justice and equality," said Zuberi.

According to Zuberi, who teaches African American studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Sarah Brown taught the Japanese natives in Saratoga about the Bible, as well as giving them English lessons. She was also an artist and painted portraits of her family that are now exhibited at the museum.

The Brown family is buried in Saratoga's Madronia Cemetery, near Bohlman Road.

April Haberstat, who is the curator for the museum, said being on television was not the most interesting aspect of the whole project, although she admitted that it would be exciting to see the museum on-screen.

"It goes to show that Saratoga does have an important history," said Haberstat. "Not many people realize that our city is, in a sense, connected to a national movement."

Mark Cannon, who has lived in Saratoga for more than 10 years, said he never realized the city had any connection to the Brown family.

"I can finally understand why the city is so passionate about preserving historical artifacts and buildings," he said.

Cannon, who admitted to never having set foot in the museum, said he's now looking forward to seeing what else the museum holds.