Rocklin, California

Prior to the California Gold Rush, the Nisenan Maidu occupied both permanent villages and temporary summer shelters along the rivers and streams which miners sifted, sluiced, dredged and dammed to remove the gold.[7] Explorer Jedediah Smith and a large party of American fur trappers crossed the Sacramento Valley in late April 1827. The group saw many Maidu villages along the river banks.[7] Deprived of traditional foodstuffs, homesites and hunting grounds by the emigrants, the Nisenan were among the earliest California Indian tribes to disappear.[7]

During the 1850s, miners sluiced streams and rivers including Secret Ravine which runs through Rocklin. The piles of dredger tailings is still obvious today, between Roseville and Loomis southeast of Interstate 80.[8] Secret Ravine at the area now at the intersection of Ruhkala Road and Pacific Street was later mined for granite, some of which was used as the base course of the California Capitol Building in Sacramento, although the earliest recorded use of the rock was for Fort Mason at San Francisco in 1855.[9] The granite was hauled out by ox carts before the arrival of the railroad many years later.[9]

In 1860, the U.S. Census counted 440 residents in the area of Secret Ravine, of which approximately 16% had been born in Ireland and the majority of whom worked as miners.[10] The area was referred to as Secret Ravine or the "granite quarries at the end of the tracks" as late as 1864.[10]

Rocklin's history is closely tied to the transcontinental railroad. In 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act granted the Central Pacific Railroad land near Secret Ravine.[10] In 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad completed an extension of its track southwest from Newcastle to Secret Ravine. It named the area Rocklin after its granite quarry, and used the site as a refueling and water stop. The Central Pacific built a roundhouse in 1867.[11] The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, significantly increasing railroad traffic through the town. According to the 1870 census, Rocklin had grown to 542 residents,[12] and the majority of Irish immigrants had foregone mining and were working for the railroad.[10] In 1908, the Central Pacific moved its facility from Rocklin to Roseville, where more land was available for expansion.[11] The site in Roseville has remained in continuous use since. As of August 2014, it is the largest rail facility near the US West Coast.[13]

In 1869, a group of laid-off Chinese railroad workers moved to Secret Ravine to mine and raise vegetables which they sold locally. Due to a growing anti-Chinese sentiment, the Chinese community was driven out in September 1876 after a group of Chinese [sic] murdered three individuals near Rocklin. The area was still known as China Gardens as of 1974.[9]

The Rocklin post office opened in 1868.[14] Finnish immigrants settled in Rocklin starting in the 1870s, and Spanish settlers arriving by way of Hawaii settled in Rocklin in the early 20th century.[10] The town incorporated in 1893.[14]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.6 square miles (51 km²), of which 0.05 square miles (0.13 km²), or 0.27%, is water.

Granite mining ended in 2004 in Rocklin.[10] Now, top Rocklin employers include large multinational corporations, retail outlets, education and government. As of April 2016, Rocklin had an estimated civilian work force of 30,100 with an unemployment rate of 4.4%. Approximately 40% of Rocklin citizens over age 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher.[21]

Shopping, entertainment and dining can be found in the Blue Oaks Town Center, a regional shopping center anchored by national tenants, located on the Highway 65 corridor,[22] as well as Rocklin Commons and Rocklin Crossings with tenants that include Target, Walmart, and Bass Pro Shop Interstate 80. There is a section of Granite Drive along Interstate 80 known as Toy Row, with high-end auto dealerships, RV and Boat retailers, and there is also a local antique mall.

The city has four districts with distinct architectural guidelines:[23] The University District, Granite District, College District, Quarry District. Each District will ultimately create a unique environmental atmosphere and character, defined geographically based on land use, transportation, and natural features.

The Rocklin area is home to twelve elementary schools,[24] two middle schools, two high schools, and two alternative education institutions, encompassed in the Rocklin Unified School District, as well as campuses of Sierra College[25] and William Jessup University.

• John Romero, video game developer
• Johnny Davis, kickboxer
• Karyn White, pop singer

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rocklin, California.

• City of Rocklin official website Portal style website, Government, Business, Library, Recreation and more
• City-Data.com Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Rocklin
• Secret Ravine Adaptive Management Plan. Dry Creek Conservancy. December 2001.