History of Roseville

When Roseville incorporated in April 1909, the City Council was known as the "Board of Trustees" and the Mayor as the "Chairman of the Board." It was not until August 1927 that the present titles of City Council and Mayor were adopted.

Prior to 2019, the Roseville City Charter called for at-large elections, with the highest vote-getter becoming the next vice mayor for two years, then the mayor for two years. In 2020, Roseville voters approved several changes to the City charter, including having the role of mayor rotated among the districts.

Roseville Mayors:
William Sawtelle (1909 – 1911)

Robert F. Theile (1911 – 1912)

Dr. Bradford Woodbridge (1912 – 1922)

Walter M. Turner (1922 – 1923)

George W. Guptil (1923 – 1924)

Dr. Bradford Woodbridge (1924 – 1928)

Walter Hanisch (1928 – 1930)

Dr. Bradford Woodbridge (1930 – 1932)

H.T. Miller (1932 – 1934)

R. J. Rolufs (1934 – 1938)

L.C. Anderson (5/17/1938 – 5/24/1938)

Charles Cope (1938 – 1942)

Harold T. “Bizz” Johnson (1942 – 1944)

Andrew Weber (4/1944 – 11/1944)

Harold T. “Bizz” Johnson (1944 – 1950)

William Finger Jr. (1950 – 1952)

L. Harold Wentworth (1952 – 1954)

Paul J. Lunardi (1954 – 1956)

George Campbell (1956 – 1958)

Paul J. Lunardi (1958 – 1959)

George Buljan (1959 – 1960)

George Campbell (1960 – 1962)

Robert Mahan (1962 – 1964)

Willard Dietrich (1964 – 1966)

George Buljan (1966 – 1968)

Willard Dietrich (1968 – 1970)

Baron Reed (1970 – 1972) - Roseville's youngest Mayor, elected at age 28

George Buljan (1972 – 1974)

Kenneth Royer (1974 – 1976)

George Buljan (1976 – 1978)

June Wanish (1978 – 1980) - Roseville's first woman Councilmember & Mayor

Harry Crabb Jr. (1980 – 1982)

Richard Roccucci (1982 – 1984)

Harry Crabb Jr. (1984 – 1985)

Alan V. Pineschi (1985 – 1986)

Jim Ross (1986 – 1987)

Phil Ozenick (4/1987 – 11/1987)

Bill Santucci (1987 – 1989)

Pauline Roccucci (1989 – 1991)

Bill Santucci (1991 – 1993)

Mel Hamel (1993 – 1995)

Harry Crabb Jr. (1995 – 1996)

Claudia Gamar (1996 – 1998)

Harry Crabb Jr. (1998 – 2000)

Claudia Gamar (2000 – 2002)

F.C. “Rocky” Rockholm (2002 – 2004)

Gina Garbolino (2004 – 2006)

F.C. “Rocky” Rockholm (12/2006 – 1/2007)

Jim Gray (2007 – 2008)

Gina Garbolino (2008 – 2010)

Pauline Roccucci (2010 - 2012)

Susan Rohan (2012 - 2014)

Carol Garcia (2014 - 2016)

Susan Rohan (2016 - 2018)

Bonnie Gore (2018)

John B. Allard II (2019 - 2020)

Krista Bernasconi (2020 - 2022)

Bruce Houdesheldt (2022-2024)

Krista Bernasconi (2024-present)

Roseville City Managers:
David Koester (1947 - 1969)

Robert Hutchison (1969 – 1988)

Allen Johnson (1988 – 2003)

Craig Robinson (2003 – 2009)

Mike Shellito (2009 – 2010)

Ray Kerridge (2010 - 2015)

Rob Jensen (2015 - 2018)

Dominick Casey (2018 - present)

The following history of Roseville was written by Leonard "Duke" Davis, considered by many the foremost authority on the history of Roseville.

Davis was a founding member of the Roseville Historical Society and instrumental in documenting Roseville history through the many books he authored. He partnered with the historical society on several projects about the history of Roseville.

A Roseville native and lifelong resident, Davis taught for more than 40 years at the junior high school, senior high school and community college level.

Davis partnered with the City on "The Story of Roseville, California: Milestones and Memories 1850-2000" for the city's 90th anniversary. The book was updated in 2009 for the city's centennial.

"His contributions to the preservation of Roseville's unique history as well as the reverence he felt for the city's history cannot be overstated," said the Roseville Historical Society in tribute.  Mr. Davis passed away in October 2014.

Long before there was a railroad or a Roseville, there was the land, encompassing mile after mile of waving grasslands. Towering over this sea of grass were thick groves of valley oaks, which provided protective canopies for carpets of wild flowers. Golden poppies, buttercups, lilies and monkey flowers blended with the darker hues of brodiaeas, lupine and purple owl's clover that blanketed the plains.

Several sparkling streams meandered through this beautiful countryside and along their shady banks grew wild roses with their delicate shades adding to the mosaic of color. Wild game such as deer, antelope, Tule elk and California grizzlies roamed over the lush grasslands, while California quail and other game birds frequented the thickets and brush lands. Today, only a few signs of this wonderland remain.

Other accounts were not so complimentary, particularly during summer months when green grasses turned brown under the relentless California sun. This was quite different from lands east of the Mississippi River where summer rains brought rich harvests. In contrast, the broad plains of California’s inland valleys were seared and cracked by summer droughts and 100 degree heat. The myth of the California desert, for many, would persist for some time.

Long before the first Europeans invaded this unspoiled wonderland, native civilizations had existed here for thousands of years. Over 300,000 people, divided into seven linguistic families encompassing 64-80 different languages, inhabited California. One of these groupings was the Maidu, whose territory embraced the vast valley region which extended from the Sacramento River to the edge of the Sierras. The southern Maidu, also called Nisenan or Nishinam, held the entire American, Bear and Yuba rivers’ drainage systems.

The abundance of plants and animals encouraged the development of numerous Maidu towns in the Roseville region. One important Maidu center of activity was along the banks of Strap Ravine, east of downtown Roseville, on lands which later became part of Johnson Ranch. Evidence of their existence can still be seen in the bedrock mortars where they ground acorns with stone pestles. Petroglyphs (ceremonial markings) may still be seen on the large boulders found in the Maidu Historic Site.

Another Maidu town in the Roseville area centered along Dry Creek adjacent to the old Enwood gravel pit, which extended downstream to where the Lincoln Estates subdivision is now located. Considerable excitement occurred around 1964 when contractors uncovered traces of Maidu culture. Amateur and professional archaeologists alike rushed here in large numbers searching for ancient artifacts.

Community leaders Myron and Dorothy McIntyre, who had previously donated creekside lands for today’s Lincoln Estates Park, donated an additional 15 acres in 1998. Four of those acres are to be used for an extension of Lincoln Estates Park and 11 are to be preserved in perpetuity as a “passive” open park area.

A third major Maidu area, which was concentrated along Dry Creek west of present day Riverside Avenue, extended to today’s railroad tracks. Thomas Dudley, one of the area’s earliest white settlers, recalled paying the chief of a nearby tribe a 50 pound sack of flour for relinquishing his claims to lands staked out here.

The Maidu actively managed the landscape to create an Eden-like setting with floral and faunal abundance supporting a large Maidu population. Most of their homes were simple brush covered conical shaped huts – of the single family type. Their most important structure was an earthen-covered ceremonial Roundhouse - a rounded structure 30 to 40 feet in diameter, made of timber, brush and earth, built over and around a four or five foot deep depression. In the center of the Roundhouse was a fire. The Roundhouse served as the spiritual and healing center for the community.

Many oak trees grew in the area, providing acorns, a Maidu food staple. The acorns would be ground, leached to get rid of their bitter taste, cooked in a water-tight basket and eaten plain or mixed with berries, grasshoppers or dried salmon. Roots, seeds, nuts, leaves and shoots were gathered and stored for year-round use for food, medicines and material goods. Rabbits, ground squirrels, quail, ducks, geese, fish from area streams and other small wildlife were also part of the Maidu diet.

Disease, miners and settlers killed or forcibly removed many of the Maidu from their traditional homelands. Today, Maidu descendants still live in Placer County and celebrate their heritage and traditions that helped them withstand this cultural onslaught.

Most miners who flocked to California following James Marshall’s historic discovery in 1848 had little thought of staying. They intended to get rich and return home by fall. Consequently, the rich agricultural region of southwestern Placer County was largely ignored during the early years of the gold rush. This “plains” region as it was called by forty-niners, although rich in agricultural opportunities, was thought to be devoid of gold.

The story of Roseville had its beginnings in the aftermath of the fabled California Gold Rush when discouraged gold seekers left the mineral regions to take up farming along those rich creek bottom lands earlier ignored. These intrepid pioneers, many of whose descendants still reside in the area, formed the nucleus of what was to become the “first families” of Roseville. One of the first sections of southwestern Placer County to be settled was the rich lands of the Dry Creek District.

Among the pioneer settlers of the Dry Creek District was Martin A. Schellhous who came to California with his wife and acquired a 240-acre ranch. Having brought a number of cattle with him from Michigan, Schellhous turned his attention to stock raising.

Later diversifying and expanding his agricultural pursuits, he planted vineyards, orchards and fields of grain on his property. His youngest son Earl recalled before his death in 1960, that their apple orchard and vineyards were among the first in western Placer County.

Martin Schellhous died in September 1873, at the age of 54. His wife survived him by 33 years, passing away in 1906. Their children divided up the ranch and continued to farm the family property. Earl Schellhous, the last of the surviving Schellhous boys, ran cattle on the old home ranch until shortly before his death, thus making the Schellhous ranch one of the oldest continuously operated ranches in the area at the time.

Six generations of the Schellhous family have lived, and continue to live, in the Roseville area.


About the time Martin Schellhous located in the Dry Creek District, Thomas S. Dudley was engaged in business in Sacramento. While in Sacramento, he married Eleanor Stuart in 1850 and pursued the hog raising business. Facing steep competition from other markets, Dudley and his wife moved to the Dry Creek District where land could be acquired cheaply.

Due to an abundance of acorns, hogs could be sold profitably for 25 cents a pound that other competing shipping businesses could not match. In the Dry Creek District, Dudley purchased Gifford Poor’s squatter claim for $200 and received a government grant for an additional 320 acres; by 1878, the ranch totaled 710 acres. It was in a little barn on the Dudley ranch in 1865 that Roseville’s first school came into being.

The family home, however, burned to the ground in 1879 followed shortly thereafter with Dudley’s death. The ranch lying adjacent to Dry Creek continued on in the hands of two of his sons-in-laws: Robert Theile and Alvah J. Sprague.

Another pioneer rancher of the Dry Creek District was Josiah G. Gould, who headed north to the Dry Creek District in the early 1850s and eventually settled on a ranch extending through what would later be bounded by Dry Creek and present P.F.E and Walerga Roads.

Having established title to his original ranch properties, Gould brought his family from Pennsylvania to California in 1854 via the overland route and began an uninterrupted 125 years of occupancy. Grain and livestock proved to be mainstays for the ranches of the period before wide-scale irrigation allowed for grapes and other fruits.

Large scale farming however is no longer practiced on the Gould lands for most of their once extensive holdings have been sold off and today are sites of modern subdivisions. The last Gould to actively farm the ancestral lands was Arthur V. Gould, born on the family ranch in 1881 and died there on Nov. 11, 1976.

He worked as a rancher and gardener continually for more than 70 years up to a few short months before his death. Today, numerous members of the Gould family reside in and about the Roseville area.

The year following Josiah Gould’s arrival in Roseville (1855), Tobias S. Grider acquired 640 acres of government owned land where Roseville’s railroad switching facilities would later be located. Grider sold his properties to the California Central Railroad in 1859 when it was in the process of extending the iron rails from Folsom to Lincoln. After moving to North San Juan, Nevada County for a period of time, Grider returned to the local area in 1861. However, he soon left for southern California in 1862 where he spent most of his remaining years. He died at Downey on June 29, 1886.

Northwest of Roseville is the fertile land along Pleasant Grove Creek. Surviving records show that this district was populated as early as 1854. One of the pioneer settlers of the Pleasant Grove District was a man named Leet, who settled on 10,500 acres of land with government script. Leet was subsequently bought out by Stephen A. Boutwell, who commenced ranching in the Pleasant Grove region in 1856.

Young Walter F. Fiddyment, in company with his widowed mother Elizabeth Jane Crawford Fiddyment, arrived in the Roseville area in 1856.From that time on, the Fiddyment name has played a prominent role in local agricultural interests.

Elizabeth Fiddyment arrived in California in 1854 and initially settled in the Elk Grove section of Sacramento County with a sister and a brother-in-law. She reunited with another sister near present day Roseville two years later along with her new husband George Hill, whom she had married in 1854, and their children.

She entered into farming with her sisters and their husbands in the Pleasant Grove District and later obtained her own parcel of land from one of her brother-in-laws in payment for a debt. The couple expanded their already extensive land holdings; however, tragedy struck and Hill died in 1861, leaving Elizabeth Fiddyment to run the ranch and care for the children.

Despite her ranching responsibilities, she still found time to play an active role in the creation of the informal Pleasant Grove School on the family ranch and even served as its first teacher. Her presence in the community was keenly felt as she cared for the sick and the infirm at any hour of the day.

In 1869 she married for a third time to Ashby Jones Atkinson. When it became evident that Roseville was destined to become more than just another shipping station along the railroad line, Elizabeth Fiddyment purchased much of the unsold portions of the original town site.

In 1906, part of her land holdings were subdivided into what became the Atkinson Tract in present day Roseville Heights. Atkinson Street perpetuates the memory of this pioneer rancher, business woman, humanitarian and mother who so much typified the spirit of western womanhood during the nineteenth century. She passed away on June 19, 1906 and is buried in the Fiddyment family plot in the Roseville cemetery.

Southeast of present day Roseville, in Sacramento County, is an agricultural region originally known as the San Juan Grant. A pioneer settler of this area was Peter Van Maren, who took up residence there around 1850.At the time of Van Maren’s death in 1876, he had acquired 787 acres of land valued at $23,000.

Zachariah Astill, a native of England, also settled near the Dry Creek District with his land straddling the Placer and Sacramento counties. After residing in St. Louis for three years, his large party of friends and family joined a wagon train headed for California via the Great Salt Lake route. Many members of the Astill family stayed in Salt Lake while Astill, wife Ann and young son James pushed on to California in 1852 and took one of the first land grants in the area southwest of Roseville.

Besides farming, Zachariah Astill operated a small blacksmith shop providing services for other ranchers and farmers in the area. The tools Zachariah Astill brought with him from England are still in the hands of the family and are treasured possessions. Zachariah Astill and many other local settlers provided their ox teams and horses to aid in the building of the Central Pacific Railroad through the area.

This pioneer agriculturalist died on Nov. 19, 1874 followed by his wife Ann on Aug. 15, 1877. Both are buried in the pioneer cemetery at the corner of Broadway Street and Riverside Boulevard in Sacramento. After the death of his father, James Astill continued to farm the vast tract of land. When the state highway was rerouted through Sylvan Corners on a direct line to Roseville in 1912, Astill provided the land for the direct approach into town.

A charter member of the Methodist Church in Roseville, he assisted in building and maintaining the church. At the time of his death on May 24, 1923, Astill was considered one of Roseville’s leading citizens and the owner of numerous rental properties in town. The old Astill family home, located along what later became known as P.F.E. Road, burned to the ground in 1950.

Although having long since disposed of most of their once vast land holdings, numerous descendants of Zachariah and Ann Astill still live, work and raise their families in and about Roseville.

J.F. Cross settled near Antelope in 1854 or 1855, and at about the same time John Aiston commenced farming the area between the southeastern corner of Sylvan Corners to the vicinity of where the San Juan High School now stands on Greenback Lane.

Surviving records show that John R. Dyer, born in Missouri in 1833, located here sometime between 1854 and 1857 subsequently becoming one of the pioneer settlers of the Center Joint District (west of Roseville extending to the Sacramento River). An active member of the embryo town of Roseville, Dyer was one of the earliest members of Roseville Lodge No. 203, I.O.O.F. and for a time (1870s-1880s) associated with J.D. Pratt in the operation of the Pratt & Dyer brick kiln on Dry Creek at the foot of Taylor Street. His wife, Julia Agnes Dyer, died on May 22, 1896 and Dyer himself lived until Aug. 19, 1913. His son continued operating the ranch until 1956 when it was sold to Mr. Ross Riolo.

Northeast of Roseville between the present towns of Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln lies the famous Spring Valley Ranch – founded by George Whitney in 1855. When Whitney commenced raising sheep there, the entire region was unfenced and open to settlement. Whitney retired in 1868, turning over his interests at that time to his sons, Joel Parker Whitney and F.L. Whitney and later died in 1913.

F.L. Whitney disposed of his interests to Joel Whitney in 1872, who continued to operate the historic old ranch. By 1882, there were some 4,000 acres under cultivation on the Spring Valley Ranch and it reached an outstanding total of 21,764 acres ten years later. Joel Whitney continued to operate his vast land holdings until his death on July 23, 1924.

Members of the Whitney family occupied the famed “Oaks” mansion until 1946 when the ranch was purchased by a Washington State lumberman. In May 1960, the Spring Valley Ranch was acquired by the Sunset City Corporation and plans were announced for the development of a completely integrated industrial-commercial residential community. Work on the initial phases of this undertaking began in the spring of 1962.

Pioneer ranchers of southwestern Placer County were not primarily interested in crop agriculture. Prior to the coming of the railroads, stock raising was their principal source of income. Several reasons led ranchers to this option.

First, there was an abundance of good grazing land, and many preferred to engage in stock raising rather than the more laborious work of tilling the soil.

Secondly, before the arrival of the railroads, there was no way of getting perishable commodities to market except by slow, plodding ox teams. And lastly, little water was available for irrigating this dry portion of the county until ditches were brought into the region by such organizations as the North Fork Ditch Company. With the advent of the railroads, wheat, hay and other grains particularly adaptable to dry soil were grown. Still later viticulture and horticulture were developed.

East of the San Juan Grant near the juncture of today’s South Cirby Way and Old Auburn Road was the Half Way House, a popular stage and express stop on the Sacramento-Auburn Road. Numerous stock ranches were located in the vicinity of this busy way station, situated midway between Sacramento and Auburn.

The Half Way House was also known as the 18 Mile House. In the days before automobile odometers, the only way the traveling public could gauge distances was by these numbered houses; some public inns, others private residences. Today, only the 12 Mile House (now empty and boarded up) and the 14 Mile House (still a private residence) remain from the bygone era of slow moving teamster wagons and crowded stagecoaches winding their way laboriously over the Sacramento-Auburn Road. The Half Way House remained a busy stage and teamster stop until the advent of the railroad.

Work began in 1855 on what became California’s first railroad, the Sacramento Valley Railroad, which extended 22 miles between Sacramento and its terminal at Folsom. This pioneer line was completed in February of 1856. At Folsom, numerous connecting stage and express lines met trains for transfer of freight and mail to stagecoach and express wagons delivering to up-country locations.

Residents of southwestern Placer County and the mining country lying to the north, however, were far removed from Folsom and benefited little from the Sacramento Valley Railroad and continued pressuring for an extension of that line to meet their needs.

In the spring of 1857, The California Central Railroad Company was formed in Sacramento to extend the Sacramento Valley Railroad from Folsom to Marysville, gateway to the Northern mines.

Charles Lincoln Wilson, who had been a leading force behind the Sacramento Valley Railroad, was the key figure in promoting the California Central. Work began on surveying land between Folsom and Marysville in June 1857, after which rights-of-way were purchased from land owners along the proposed route.

One of these land owners was Tobias S. Grider, whose ranch lay directly along the proposed route. Grider, well aware of the increased value of his lands by the coming of the railroad, sold a strip of land six rods wide for $1. The deed of sale also provided for purchase of additional lands, if deemed necessary, for a depot, side tracks and other necessities. Grider’s belief that passage of the railroad through his property would increase its value proved to be correct.

Two years later (November, 1859), he sold his ranch totaling 374.62 acres to Tabb Mitchell, editor and publisher of Auburn’s Placer Herald, and George L. Anderson for $1,500 and left the area. Work started on the first division of five miles in November, 1858. By March, 1859, a work force of 150 laborers had completed grading from Folsom to the Half Way House.

Within a few short years, railroads began to inch their way through the area. January of 1860 saw grading completed over the entire length of the California Central, followed by laying of track and by April of 1860, rails reached the Half Way House.

At this point, work stopped as the always financially strapped company had run out of money. It would not be until the summer of 1861 that Charles Wilson was able to raise sufficient funds to continue work. To cut expenses, the labor force was reduced from 150 to 90. Many laborers were Chinese who would also work for considerably less money than their white counterparts.

Wilson’s idea of using Chinese labor was later adopted by Charles Crocker when the Central Pacific Railroad was built across the foreboding Sierra Nevada Mountains. Laying rails to the town site of Lincoln took place on Oct. 21, 1861, when once again money ran out. Construction was not able to begin again until December, 1866. In the interim, Lincoln, named for Charles Lincoln Wilson, would develop as a busy railroad terminal for the Central.

While work was slowly progressing on the California Central in 1858, Theodore D. Judah surveyed a route for a proposed Auburn Branch Railroad. He also made a preliminary survey of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which convinced him that a practical route for a transcontinental railroad across this thought-to-be-impossible barrier could be accomplished.

Three years later, Judah’s dream of a transcontinental railroad was realized with organization of the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California. A railroad bill, passing through Congress in July, 1862, led to a contract for the first eighteen miles of track with Crocker & Company on Dec. 27, 1863.

Work commenced on the bank of the Sacramento River at the foot of K Street on Feb. 22, 1864. The route of the first eighteen miles of Central Pacific track would terminate at Tobias S. Grider’s old ranch where a new railroad town called Roseville would soon rise. Crossing the American River by a specially built railroad trestle, the Central Pacific entered Placer County via the “12 Mile Tangent” to Dry Creek which was spanned by four 55-foot bridge sections.

At Grider’s, the Central Pacific intersected with the California Central on Jan. 29, 1864. During this period, many local ranchers, including Henry Holt, James Astill and John Doyle, were engaged in teaming, or hauling materials, and making ties for the railroad. The place where the two railroads crossed was then appropriately designated as “Junction” on railroad maps.

The new tracks were quickly put into use. On April 6, 1864, the locomotive Governor Stanford, with a number of passengers, left the foot of J Street for the eighteen mile trip to “Junction”. This unheralded trip was the pioneer run of the railroad which was destined to become the nation’s first transcontinental line.

By April 26, 1864, trains began running daily from Sacramento to the Junction.

Between that date and April 30, 1868, a total of 298 passengers paid $354.23 to travel Central Pacific rails over the 18-mile route. This sum represented the very first passenger revenues earned by the railroad company. By the end of December, revenue earned on this short run totaled $103,357.

At Junction, the traveling public could transfer to trains on the California Central, with which the Central Pacific intersected on its way from Folsom to Lincoln and later Marysville. Passengers from Lincoln and Marysville could likewise catch the Central Pacific trains here back to the capital city. Completion of the Central Pacific Railroad to Junction on January 29, 1864, rendered that portion of the Central between Folsom and Junction obsolete and it gradually fell into disuse.

In 1869, the Central Pacific acquired California Central holdings. Shortly thereafter, the tracks between Folsom and Junction were taken up and moved to Rocklin for use as spur lines between granite quarries there and the Central Pacific main line. Today, only a few traces of the California Central remain—a small section of road bed on the floodplain near Warren T. Eich Intermediate School and the old railroad cut on today’s Folsom Road between Dry Creek and Atlantic Street.

The Central Pacific was absorbed by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company in 1887 and more recently (1996) by the Union Pacific. The historic wood-burning locomotive Governor Stanford has survived the passage of time and is now on permanent display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento as a treasured symbol of our living heritage.

With completion of the Central Pacific Railroad through southwestern Placer County, a marked change occurred in that region. Towns sprang up; settlers came in rapidly; and a new era of prosperity was inaugurated. The region saw the arrival of many new faces that would later play an important role in its development.

George Kirk Cirby, a Roseville pioneer of the 1860s, was born in Pennsylvania in 1826. He crossed the plains to California in 1849 and located in Sacramento in 1850 where he engaged in freighting operations to the mining regions. After his marriage to Mary Jane Newinglam in 1858, Cirby gave up the life of a teamster and moved to Roseville to become a farmer, eventually acquiring 800 acres of land (High Sierra View Ranch) south of town, extending on to the old DeKay place on what is now Sunrise Boulevard.

With his wife and fourteen children, Cirby farmed extensively and at one point owned a large dairy business. He was a charter member of Roseville Lodge No. 203, I.O.O.F. and also served as a trustee for the local elementary school district in the 1880s and 1890s and for several years served as clerk of the board. Cirby died on Feb. 8, 1895 while his wife died twelve years later.

The old Cirby ranch has remained in the hands of the Cirby family until most of it was sold to various real estate developers. Today, the ranch site is largely taken up by modern housing tracts and the sprawling campus of Oakmont High School. Cirby Way and George K. Cirby Elementary School perpetuate the memory of still another Roseville pioneer family.

John Doyle came to California in the 1860s and engaged in stock raising and farming on his ranch which extended from the area where Roseville Square is today. Doyle married Clara Mertes in 1874 and had two children. The family lived on the ranch until 1893 when Doyle purchased the fine two-story brick residence on Church Street built by William Sawtelle.

While many other prominent names were selling their land and leaving town during the bad times of the 1890s, Doyle was content on buying up their land at cheap prices; he believed in the area’s potential for growth. One such acquisition was the bottom portion of the Odd Fellows Building on Pacific Street which he purchased from J.D. Pratt for ten dollars in 1896.

Doyle would not live to see the town he had so much faith in boom, for he died on Feb. 11, 1910. In 1960, part of the Doyle ranch was sold to for the construction of the city’s first shopping center, Roseville Square.

In 1863, James William Kaseberg gave up the freighting business and went into business with Stephen A. Boutwell and William Dunlap raising sheep in the area northeast of present day Roseville. Kaseberg later bought out his partners and through additional purchases and leases created a ranch expanding an impressive 50,000 acres.

His Diamond K Ranch was at one time the largest tract of land acquired in the Sacramento Valley, not based on Mexican land grants. Kaseberg died in 1905. His son, William, donated the land for the Kaseberg Elementary School, Roseville Union High School baseball diamond and Roseville’s Sierra View Country Club. The Kaseberg mansion now serves as the club hall for the Diamond K Mobile Home development.

The junction, located in the heart of a potentially rich agricultural area, was particularly well suited for one of the eagerly sought after freight stations springing up along the Central Pacific’s right of way. This fact did not go unnoticed by Sacramento entrepreneur O.D. Lambard who on August 13, 1864, laid out a new, but largely paper, city with numbered blocks arranged on both sides of the railroad – names were given only to Pacific, Atlantic, Washington, Vernon and Lincoln Streets.

There were no commercial buildings, no private residences, and no man-made improvements. But Lambard was convinced the location of his city would soon attract investors. These investors, he reasoned, would build a prosperous community that, in turn, would attract still more investors, and he would make a great deal of money selling choice lots and blocks. Lambard’s reasoning was sound, at least at the beginning, and gradually a “real” town began to develop.

There are several versions of the manner in which Roseville acquired its name. One states that the town was named for nearby Rose Springs or the ranch of the same name. A second story maintains that the name was bestowed in honor of Rose Maberry, who supposedly was born on the site of Roseville.

Still another version claims that the name was due to a dispute between railroad men over the charms of a pretty waitress called Rose. A fourth account was suggested by Walter F. Fiddyment, a pioneer of 1856. According to Fiddyment, (who admittedly was not present when the name was chosen) the people of the immediate area got together at a picnic to select a better name than Junction. After discussing the matter at some length, it was decided to name the town after the most beautiful girl present – a girl named Rose.

However, the most acceptable explanation seems to be the one offered by Mrs. Cassie Tomer Hill, one of the town’s earliest residents. According to Hill, the name was chosen because of the many wild roses which grew profusely in ravines in and around town. Support for this version may be found in early newspaper comments which refer to the preponderance of wild flowers in the vicinity of Roseville.

The first mention of Roseville in the newspapers by that name appeared during the presidential race of 1864. In November of that year it was disclosed that the people of Roseville and vicinity had cast 29 votes for the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, while the Democratic nominee, General George McClellan received 17 votes.

The first building to be erected at Roseville Junction was a crude, unpainted shed used as a depot and freight shipping station by Cyrus W. Taylor, who usually is referred to as Roseville’s first resident. It was located in the “Y” formed at the junction of the north and east bound lines of the Central Pacific Railroad. This pioneer edifice was the first building of any kind to be constructed by the Central Pacific Company and ranchers soon began utilizing its shipping facilities. No photographs of Roseville’s first structure have survived the passage of time.

Shortly after the establishment of the freight depot at Roseville Junction, Daniel Van Treese purchased lots in 1864 and the small building he constructed became Roseville’s first hotel. Van Treese stayed in Roseville less than a year before selling his properties to William Alexander Thomas and moving to Rocklin upon hearing that it was to be the division point for the Central Pacific Railroad.

Roseville’s pioneer store was opened in 1865 by W.A. Thomas, who for the previous 16 years had operated the 15 Mile House near today’s Sylvan-Corners.

After the arrival of the railroad, which drastically reduced the teamster traffic to the 15 Mile House, Thomas sold the property and moved to the Roseville Junction in 1865 and opened The Old Thomas Store on the corner of Atlantic and Lincoln Streets.

Besides the typical services of a pioneer store, Thomas’ store for a time provided the town’s post office and the second floor of the store offered rooms for rent.

Thomas also acted as a buyer for the surrounding grain farmers as well as operating a wagon and carriage shop. His son Lee Dignis Thomas entered the mercantile business in 1870 and for many years the firm of W.A. Thomas & Son was one of Roseville’s three leading business establishments.

In February of 1869, Jonathan D. Pratt took over the Thomas store while Thomas retained control of the hotel which he had operated in conjunction with his general merchandising business. Less than a month had passed before an announcement in the Placer Herald revealed that Thomas had re-entered the mercantile field at the same old stand.

Pratt then commenced construction of a fine wooden building on the corner of Pacific and Lincoln Streets, and Roseville’s second store was officially dedicated on May 20, 1870 with a ball described as being “one of the largest and most pleasant ever given in the County.”

While Roseville was going about the business of building a town, the community began to lay the foundation of its social structure. Prior to 1865, Roseville had no school of its own, but on October 16 of that year, classes were held regularly in a barn on the Dudley Ranch. A. Nash was the teacher of this pioneer school, receiving for his services a monthly stipend of $55 and board.

By 1867, V.E. Bangs replaced A. Nash as school master. The town still had no school house of its own, but since school exhibitions were held at a building called Union Hall, it is not unlikely that classes moved there from Dudley’s Ranch.

School enrollment by 1869 had increased to forty children. Under the existing state law, when an area had fifteen children, a school district could be formed. Roseville, which until then was included within the limits of the Dry Creek District, made full use of its rights under the law, and a signed petition was presented to the Board of Supervisors requesting the formation of a local school district.

The petition was approved and on May 3, 1869, the Roseville School District was created. With the creation of the Roseville School District, the need for a more permanent school became clearly evident. Talk circulated freely throughout the community about the possibility of erecting a good substantial school, which could also be used as a place of worship since the town had no established church.

Elder Woodruff served as the town’s spiritual leader at the time. Roseville’s first recorded marriage ceremony took place on Oct. 6, 1869, when Elder Woodruff joined Daniel and Melinda Baxter in holy wedlock. It is quite likely that Elder Woodruff also presided over graveyard services at the local cemetery, which was situated at what is now the corner of Douglas Boulevard and Folsom Road (site of the Roseville Square shopping center).

When this pioneer cemetery came into existence is not known, but it is very possible that the cemetery was used by the settlers of the Dry Creek District and surrounding areas as far back as the 1850s.

Maintenance of law and order for the embryo town was under the direct supervision of township officers. James Hovey and R. Fletcher, who served the Roseville area in 1865, were probably the town’s first township officers. By 1869, township officers for Township No. 1, which included Roseville and Allen’s District, were R. A. Woodruff, voting inspector; B. W. Neff, judge; Thomas Dudley, judge; C. W. Schellhouse, first alternate; R. J. Fletcher, second alternate; and Daniel Coleman, third alternate. These township officers were the forerunners of hundreds who would follow in ensuing years.

The first crime to be recorded in the vicinity of the newly established town of Roseville occurred in January of 1869, when Mr. Cross, proprietor of the nearby 15 Mile House, reported being robbed of $100, his watch, some jewelry and other miscellaneous items. Law enforcement for the most part, however, proved to be relatively simple, for Roseville was inclined to be a peaceful community.

However in an era when there was a great deal of free, unfenced government land to be had for the asking, and boundaries not clearly defined, conflicting land claims were the rule, rather than the exception. Several cases of “jumping ranches” were reported in the vicinity of Roseville in 1868-1869. One writer reported three claims in his immediate neighborhood that had no less than six people claiming ownership.

Increased agricultural development in 1869, coupled with an accompanying increase in business activity for Roseville’s pioneer merchants, stimulated a wave of new business development for the town. Roseville displayed signs of becoming an important shipping center for a rapidly growing agricultural district. Among the more prominent businesses to be established in 1869 were the Roseville Hotel and Charles Keehner’s blacksmith shop.

Established by Daniel S. Neff in 1869, the Roseville Hotel served as one of Roseville’s two leading hostelries throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century. Neff operated the Roseville Hotel until 1878, at which time he sold out to J.B.R. Davis. The year 1869 also saw the establishment of a blacksmith shop on the corner of Vernon and Lincoln Streets by B.W. Neff, which later became widely known under the name of Charlie Keehner’s Blacksmith Shop.

After two years of working for Neff, Keehener bought out his former employer. For 30 years, Keehner operated the blacksmith and systematically bought up business lots along Vernon Street, which he later sold when the railroad shops were being moved to Roseville from Rocklin in 1907.

Of all the new towns cropping up along the railroad, Roseville’s future seemed brightest. Located at the junction of two railroads with plenty of open land for future expansion, Roseville appeared to be ideally situated for a major railroad center replete with roundhouses and other facilities. This was Theodore Judah’s view point when he ran his survey through the area.

O.D. Lambard expected this too when he purchased the site for a town. Businessmen like Thomas and Van Treese also believed in Roseville’s potential when they moved their places of business to the new town. Numerous investors who bought up choice lots and, on occasion, entire blocks for investment purposes likewise had high hopes for Roseville’s future.

It came as a shock then when Rocklin, not Roseville, was selected as the site for the major railroad facility in Placer County. On Nov. 2, 1863, Theodore Judah, chief engineer of the Central Pacific Railroad died in New York as a result of fever contracted while crossing the Isthmus of Panama. His successors, the “Big 4” of railroad fame (Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker, and C.P. Huntington) ignored Judah’s recommendation in favor of Rocklin.

As a result of this fateful decision, Rocklin would develop as Placer County’s major railroad center and a city of importance second only to Auburn. Roseville, on the other hand, would find its growth severely curtailed, limited primarily to being just another one of the ubiquitous railroad shipping stations along the railroad’s right-of-way.

The question then arises, “Why did the railroad locate its roundhouse and other terminal facilities at the less desirable Rocklin site, some four miles distant from the junction, instead of at the more logical Roseville site?” The reasonable conclusion is that Rocklin was chosen because the foothills begin there, where helper engines were attached to trains for the long haul over the Sierras’ summit.

Major consideration was also given to the fact that Rocklin’s extensive granite deposits, largely untapped before the arrival of the railroad, could provide considerable revenue for the then financially strapped railroad. From the beginning, however, it was obvious the “Granite City” was far from being an ideal location.

But it was not until 1906 that a two-year transfer of terminal facilities from Rocklin to Roseville began, thus putting Roseville on track to becoming the major rail center Judah had prophesied some 43 years earlier. Fate sometimes has a strange way of affecting history. Judah’s premature death kept Roseville from becoming one of the most important railroad centers on the West Coast for nearly half a century.

The announcement that Rocklin, not Roseville, had been selected as the division point for the Central Pacific Railroad in Placer County was met with mixed reactions.

Some, like Daniel Van Treese, packed up and moved to Rocklin. Sales of choice building lots for investment purposes declined somewhat, which led O. D. Lambard to dispose of the unsold portions of his town to G. T. M. Davis in 1871.Others, however, were more optimistic.

While conceding that Roseville was not going to become the important railroad center that everyone had expected, they remained convinced the steady agricultural development that showed no signs of waning would ensure Roseville’s future as a trading center for area farmers and ranchers.

As a result, between 1870 and 1879, Roseville experienced the “slow but sure” development which characterized many California towns in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Gradually a town of substance and stability would emerge. New construction already underway and reported in the Placer Herald of Jan. 1, 1870 included a new hotel being erected by Daniel S. Neff, who had formerly operated the 17 Mile House.

One of the more prominent buildings erected during this period was J.D. Pratt’s store and hall opposite Neff’s hotel. Pratt, a dedicated member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.), played an integral part in obtaining a local chapter in Roseville. Formal application for a charter was filed on May 16, 1872 and approved on June 26, 1872. The organizational meeting of Roseville Lodge No. 203, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, convened in the hall above Pratt’s store and Pratt himself was elected as the organization’s first secretary.

Other businesses established in 1870 included Captain Brown’s dry goods store (part of which was to be used as a millinery shop by his daughter), R.J. Fletcher’s livery stable and Thomas A. Berry’s Saloon.

Berry accompanied his parents to Roseville in 1863 where his father was reported to have been the town’s first justice of the peace. After marrying, Berry opened Roseville’s first barber shop (1875); a one-story structure on Atlantic Street. He later opened and operated “The Corner Saloon” near his barber shop. Berry tore down his original saloon in October 1881 and built a fine billiard hall and saloon on its site, which he operated until his death on Oct. 28, 1892.

The year 1870 also saw the completion of a little-heralded building by W.J. Branstetter which played an important role in the subsequent history of Roseville. Branstetter moved to Roseville after failing in the gold mines like many others before him. On land acquired adjacent to the railroad, he erected the Golden Eagle Saloon and Lodging House on the site of Van Treese’s original hotel building on Atlantic Street.

He later built a two-story building at the corner of Pacific and Washington Streets in 1873 with the bottom floor serving as a general merchandising business while the upper floor served as the town’s social center under the name of “Branstetter’s Hall”. The Golden Eagle Saloon and the Lodging House later passed into the hands of William Scott so Branstetter could focus on his Pacific Street business.

Along with Thomas and Pratt, Branstetter acted as buyer and shipper for neighboring ranchers, extended credit, lent money at reasonable interest rates when times were bad, and performed many services usually associated with banking institutions. Branstetter also operated a lumber and brick business adjacent to his hall as well as operating a 160-acre farm.

Branstetter left Roseville in 1893 for Dunsmuir in Northern California, which was suffering the same railroad growing pains similar to what Roseville experienced earlier. Slowly, he disposed his Roseville interests and spent the remaining years of his life in Dunsmuir until his death in 1925. Today, the only remainder of this pioneer merchant and businessman is a small street, Branstetter Street, between Dry Creek and Atlantic Street.

A new ticket and baggage office was established at the railroad station in 1874, replacing Cyrus Taylor’s original building. This edifice was built by John Louis Bulens, a native of Belgium, and a resident of Roseville since the mid-1860s.

The story of how this depot came into being bears retelling. The fledgling Central Pacific Railroad was hard on funds to build the depot, yet freight passenger traffic was essential to the success of the railroad. Somehow new and improved depots had to be built. It was at this point that the Central Pacific came up with a unique solution. To anyone who would undertake construction of a depot building, permission would be granted to the builder to operate a business establishment on the premise.

Bulens stepped up and created a design requiring little funds; thus, he was granted the right to operate a restaurant and saloon in part of the building. The “Junction Saloon” served as a social meeting spot for many of the young men of Roseville. Bulens took a partner in running the saloon, Henry Barrett, after his wife died. When Bulens died, Barrett took over the saloon and continued to operate it until 1907 when the old building was replaced with a new one. Barrett took part of the saloon building and moved it to Atlantic Street and reopened it under the name “Old Depot Saloon” Current day Bulen Street is named after this pioneer resident.

Completion of the new depot did much to lessen the contempt some railroad employees had for Roseville or “Roseville Junction,” as they still called it. Brakemen, in particular, were not overly impressed with the small community and its small depot; in fact, they would enter “JUNK shun” in their train log books and would emphasize “JUNK” when calling out “Junction” upon arrival at the depot. The new depot did much to resolve this problem, along with explicit orders from San Francisco to cease this practice.

By 1875, it was generally recognized that Roseville was destined to become one of the most important towns in Placer County. The buildings at that time were still principally made of wood but it was believed that as the town grew older more substantial edifices of stone and brick would take their place.

Principal businesses in 1875 included: W.J. Branstetter, who besides operating a saloon and lodging house also dealt in lumber, sash, etc.; F. Horn, a stone and tinware store; D.S. Neff, proprietor of the Roseville Hotel; J.D. Pratt, dealer in general merchandise as well as being the local postmaster; Thomas & Son, general merchandise; J.R. Watson & Co., saloon and depot eating house; and Woodruff’s shoe shop. Roseville continued to grow and develop throughout the remaining years of the decade. During the winter of 1877-1878, another new manufactory was established.

Shortly thereafter, all building activity was temporarily brought to a halt by one of the severest storms in the town’s history. The rain was described as “falling in torrents,” and the wind as being “little less than a hurricane.” Tom McBride’s hay barn, near present day Antelope, was blown down. A house belonging to Robert Jones was carried off its foundation. The new harrow factory did not escape the storm and sustained massive damage.

The rains, which continued through spring, however proved to have extremely beneficial qualities for farmers of the region. Alexander Bell McRae, farming two miles east of town, reported obtaining a yield of 30 bushels of barley and 25 bushels of wheat to the acre, while Mr. Decay reported yields of 20 bushels of wheat to the acre. Under such favorable conditions, Roseville experienced an unprecedented building boom throughout the spring and summer of 1878.

During the month of April, 1878, Thomas & Son erected and put into operation a wagon, carriage and paint shop below their store on Atlantic Street. Earlier, Pratt had announced that he intended to build a “brick store” due to booming business. Four years later, construction began on Roseville’s first three-story brick building and it was completed in late 1878.

Completion of this historic structure marked the transition of the town from a small freight shipping station to the beginnings of a town of substance, a fact which did not go unnoticed in area newspapers. Auburn’s Placer Herald noted that completion of the edifice “shows a disposition on the part of those erecting it to stay and build a town,” while the Sacramento Union reflected that “our neighboring town of Roseville is branching out into the substantial in the matter of building – changing from wood to brick in their construction.”

A unique arrangement was made between Pratt and the I.O.O.F. regarding the building – Pratt would build and maintain the lower floor as a warehouse while the I.O.O.F. would retain the upper floors as a lodge hall. The dedication of the Odd Fellow’s Hall, as it came to be called, took place on January 16, 1879. The multi-story brick building was the first commercial brick structure in Roseville’s short history. Pratt would eventually sell out to William Sawtelle and P.V. Siggins in 1890.

The I.O.O.F. met continuously in this hall on Pacific Street until 1942 when it purchased the Women’s Improvement Club house on Main Street. Since that time, the old hall has been closed.  It was purchased by the Roseville Development Corporation in 2017 in hopes of renovating the city's oldest standing building.

April of 1878 also saw an announcement that W.J. Branstetter had recently constructed a building intended to be used as a dry goods store. Mark Neher came to occupy the Branstetter building where he operated a saloon. Later (1899), a Mrs. Caraven opened a bakery there as did June Sawtelle, who subsequently acquired the property.

From this time on, the edifice was generally referred to as the “Bakery Building.” Mrs. Sawtelle sold out to George Simi in October 1907 who continued the bakery business until Aug. 24, 1911 when a destructive fire wiped out most of the business establishments on Pacific Street.

J.B.R. Davis bought Daniel S. Neff’s original Roseville Hotel in 1878, reportedly for “two mules and a wagon”. The old structure was torn down and work commenced on a new two-story building near the Oregon track with the lower part of the new structure to be used as a saloon. The building was completed in August 1878 and opened for business under its former title – Roseville Hotel.

Several other frame buildings were erected during the summer of 1878, but by the end of the year, brick had begun to replace frame construction. W.J. Branstetter reported burning over 400,000 bricks in his kilns during a twelve month period. Pratt & Dyer reported that by September of 1879, they had burned 500,000 bricks which afforded employment to between eight and ten laborers. Dudley operated still yet another kiln on Dry Creek. Building activity continued at an accelerated rate with no end in sight.

The rapidly growing community soon found that its little one-room school house, of which it had once been so proud, could no longer adequately meet the educational needs of the fast growing district. A new $2,000 brick building was subsequently built in 1879 to replace the original frame structure built in 1872. S.J. Pullens moved into the new brick building where he taught the upper grades.

Roseville’s lone physician was Dr. Taylor, the uncle of W.A. Thomas’ wife who persuaded him to move to Roseville and became the town’s first official practicing physician. After his death, it would be years before another physician replaced him. Only one serious shortcoming was noted; at this time, a pressing need for a flour mill. Although producing large amounts of wheat, over one half of the town’s flour supply had to be teamed in from Sacramento.

Population kept pace with the increased building activity. Between January 1877 and January 1878, the population of Roseville had increased by 50. By 1880, the total number of people living in and around Roseville reached approximately 258. Many new homes were erected during the decade, including those of such prominent citizens as Charles Keehner, A.D. Neher, A.B. McRae and William McIntosh.

The old McIntosh home was erected in 1876 by Dan McBride. McIntosh came to Roseville with McRae in 1876, where McIntosh engaged in farming until his death in 1896. He married Alice Entwistle and in 1880, they purchased the family home at 205 Washington Street. Mrs. Hazel McIntosh Kuhlman, daughter of William McIntosh, recalls that when she was a small girl, a barn occupied part of the lot, along with the inevitable back yard pump, which until the establishment of a municipal water system in 1909, supplied the family with its water.

This pioneer residence was believed to have been one of the oldest residences in Roseville. Its site is now occupied by a convenience market.

As the decade rapidly drew to an end, Roseville was described as a “quiet, pleasant, unassuming little place,” and while making “no glamorous pretensions to greatness,” it was generally conceded that it had a promising future.

Roseville continued its “slow but sure” development throughout most of the 1880s. The opening year of the decade was significant in that on May 22, 1880, the community’s pioneer newspaper, The Roseville Farmer, was established under the editorship of Samuel J. Pullen. The Farmer must have been a short-lived paper for no further mention of it appeared in either the Placer Herald or Sacramento Union.

Near the end of the year, work was started on a brewery for the town and shortly thereafter, Mr. Scott began construction on a brick billiard hall on his lot on the corner of Atlantic and Lincoln Streets. W.J. Branstetter also completed a new store in July, 1881. Three months later, Tom Berry tore down his old building he built in 1870 and began construction of a fine, large billiard hall and saloon on its site.

A touch of civic pride was reflected in 1881 when the townspeople erected a flag pole, some 83 feet high, in front of the Golden Eagle Hotel, opposite the town square. The town square, or public park, was a favorite gathering place for many local inhabitants, particularly after 1881 when the “Sunday Law” prohibiting drinking on the Sabbath was strictly enforced.

Townsmen who usually met on Sunday at one of Roseville’s saloons now found the doors padlocked. Having nothing better to do, they would adjourn to the public park where some 30 or 40 of them would spend the day sitting on the fence surrounding the park, exchanging stories.

In spite of the hardships, real or fancied, brought about by the passage of the “Sunday Law,” Roseville residents still found time to go about the business of building a town.

Dr. Niles announced his intention in 1882 of constructing a building which reportedly was to be used as a drug store. A number of other new buildings also were reported to have been built in the surrounding area during the course of the year.

The most noteworthy constructions were the First Methodist Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church.

Prior to 1882, Roseville had no church building of its own. Services were conducted regularly at the school house by various ministers. The Reverend H.L. Gregory, of the Methodist Church, was Roseville’s first resident minister.

When he arrived in Roseville in 1880, he found a congregation containing only six or seven members. By 1882, under the leadership of Rev. Gregory, plans were laid for a permanent church. Mrs. Anna F. Judah donated a lot on the corner of Washington and Church streets, and work soon began on Roseville’s pioneer church – the First Methodist Episcopal Church.

Bricks for the walls were made by J.D. Pratt in his brick yard. Much of the carpentry work and brick laying was donated. Dedication of the $2,500 Methodist Church took place in March of 1883. Local saloons closed down for the event, and Dr. Jewell had the saloon keepers subscribe donations against each other, raising $900 at the event. The foundation of Roseville’s second church, the Presbyterian Church, was laid in December of 1882.

Two new warehouses were constructed by A.B. McRae and Cassie Tomer Hill in 1883 to accommodate the ever increasing amounts of grain that were being hauled into town.

McRae had been a farmer in Roseville since 1876. Besides farming, he engaged in the breeding of fine horses – such as Morgan, Percheron, Clyde and English Coach – and participated in hay and grain wholesale business for which he built a brick warehouse on railroad property along Atlantic Street.

Hill arrived in Roseville in 1881 where her husband was appointed depot agent and telegrapher after the 1880 death of Cyrus Taylor. Her husband died in 1885 and in spite of many voicing their concern, Hill took over her husband’s job as telegrapher and station agent. She quickly erased any lingering doubt with her competent manner in running the station.

During her appointment, she resided and raised her family in the depot building until 1907 when a new depot was built. The affection Hill held for her home of so many years was reflected in a poem, “The Old Depot,” which she penned and published in the Roseville Register in March, 1907.


As far as we have been able to determine, Hill served as the only female agent along the vast Central Pacific Railroad system. On top of her station duties, she performed as a Wells Fargo agent for the next 22 years. She retired and lived in a two-story building on Lincoln Street with her residence situated above a space utilized over the years for different stores.

Jesse Blair, pioneer businessman of Roseville, was instrumental in the establishment of three new businesses in 1883. Blair moved to Roseville in 1879 and engaged in various business activities which included operating a saloon for a time. Then in 1883, in partnership with William LaDue, he opened the Rialto Livery Stable, Rialto Saloon and Rialto Meat Market.

In 1905, Blair and pioneer Roseville orchardist Lewis Leroy King Sr. opened what was perhaps the first formal real estate and insurance office in town. For a time, 1906-1907, he also served as assistant manager of the popular Western Hotel, but for the most part, the remaining years of his life were spent in the real estate business.

Meanwhile, the Rialto Livery Stable (1891) had been rented by James Way. Still later (1899), it was operated by George Ireland. Dietrich & Harris took over active management of the business in 1903 and operated it until 1906 when the property was purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company.

At that time the livery stable and most other buildings on Atlantic Street were torn down or moved so that Atlantic Street could be moved back 100 feet to accommodate railroad expansion. One year after Blair & LaDue had opened their Rialto Saloon, Rialto Livery Stable and Rialto Meat Market, work was finally started on a flouring mill by Frey Bros. & Co., an industry which the town had long coveted.

Fire destroyed McRae’s barn in March, 1885 and the following year saw the destruction of the new Roseville Roller Flouring Mill at a loss estimated around $40,000.This was a serious blow to local industry, for the recently completed mill held much promise for increasing trade to Roseville which had formerly gone to Sacramento.

As serious as this loss was to local aspirations, the town still considered itself lucky to have escaped the destruction of fire which her neighboring communities of Rocklin, Lincoln, Sheridan and Auburn suffered during the latter part of the nineteenth century. During this period, when small towns were characterized by flimsy constructed frame and by little or no fire protection, the danger of fire was an ever-present threat. Yet, throughout this period, Roseville, without even the benefit of a volunteer fire brigade, almost totally escaped the ravage of fire, with but a few exceptions.

The explanation for this good fortune lies in the town’s size, rather than by any effectively preventive measures. Roseville was a small community, consisting almost entirely of private homes, spaced at convenient distances from one another. If a dwelling or business house caught on fire, there was little danger of the flame spreading. What few fires that did occur during this period were usually confined to one building and caused little damage to the town as a whole.

Although appreciably shaken by the destruction of their highly prized flour mill in 1886, local businessmen showed their faith in the permanence of the community by constructing several new business buildings during the remaining years of the decade.

Such a businessman was J.M. Fitzgerald, who owned and operated a blacksmith shop on Pacific Street. On Nov. 20, 1886, Fitzgerald was granted permission by the I.O.O.F. Lodge and J.D. Pratt, proprietors of the top and ground floors of the Odd Fellows Hall building to use the west side of their walls for a brick edifice he intended to build adjacent to the Odd Fellows building.

Following completion of his two-story brick building, Fitzgerald constructed a new blacksmith shop on Pacific Street in 1887, presumably on the site of his old shop which dated back to 1878. Fitzgerald operated his blacksmith business until the fall of 1890 when he came to an untimely death. Utilized principally as a saloon, the brick building was purchased from Catherine Fitzgerald (widow of J.M. Fitzgerald) by John Herring in February 1899.

Herring, a farmer in the Roseville district since 1893, later became associated with William Sawtelle in the merchandising business. Following the removal of the railroad shop from Rocklin to Roseville between 1906 and 1908, John Herring entered the real estate business, a profession he followed until his death in 1935. The saloon, which occupied the ground floor of the two-story building, was operated, for the most part, by Herring’s brother P.E. Herring, first under the name Model Saloon and Café and later as the Up-to-Date Saloon. Like most other buildings on Pacific Street, the Up-to-Date Saloon was destroyed by fire in August, 1911.

The year 1887 saw the reopening of Morgan’s skating rink on Atlantic Street, a short distance below Tom Phillips’ saloon and livery stable. Tom Phillips, a native of England, arrived on the Pacific Coast in the early days and helped start the historic Saddle Rock restaurant in Sacramento which recently gave way to that city’s redevelopment. Phillips moved to Roseville in the 1880s where he operated the Bee Hive Saloon and Livery Stable on Atlantic Street. The traveling public could rest their horses in the shade of the canopied shelter in front of his saloon while they drank inside.

Phillip’s saloon and livery stable were among Roseville’s leading business establishments during the later decades of the nineteenth century. He continued to operate the Bee Hive until 1906 when the railroad expansion forced Atlantic Street to be moved back 100 feet. He sold the building to Joe Harris and opened a new livery business on Lincoln Street.

Phillips commenced construction on a new saloon on Vernon Street in 1907 but died days after its opening. Joe Harris moved the old Beehive Saloon to the corner of Vernon and Bulen Streets where, in April 1907, he reopened the establishment under the name of the Shady Corner Saloon. For many years the building was used as a secondhand store. In the 1930s, it was torn down however to make way for a service station.

The railroad industry continued to develop when the Southern Pacific Railroad absorbed the Central Pacific Railroad in 1887. Thomas & Son, J.D. Pratt and W.J. Branstetter continued as leading suppliers of Roseville’s mercantile needs. Several saloons, two hotels and three blacksmith shops, including the shop later known as the Ed Hammill Blacksmith Shop, comprised the town’s other leading business establishments.

Hammill, a native of Indiana, came to Roseville in 1880 where he worked at J.M. Fitzgerald’s blacksmith shop on Pacific Street. He bought the T.M. Brown properties and established his own blacksmith shop which he continually operated until 1907 when he sold it to A.B. McRae and John Hill and acquired a new, larger shop across the tracks.

Two or three years later Hammill sold this shop and built a new one at Main and Washington streets in 1909. He operated in this blacksmith until 1923 when he sold the structure to A.E. Zonneyville and turned over the blacksmith shop business to Mr. Zonneyville’s son-in-law Harry J. Schmeling. Hammill retired to his home where he sold and repaired farm implements from a small building on his property.

The population for Roseville and vicinity had increased to 500 people by 1888, representing an increase of 150 over 1883. The population of the town itself, however, still remained at about 250. The “slow but sure” development which had characterized Roseville from its earliest days had begun to wane.

Not a single new building of any importance was constructed in 1888, nor was there any major construction reported in the files of the Herald or Union for the following year. As the decade drew to an end, Roseville seemed to have reached the maximum growth necessary for its position as the distribution point for the surrounding agricultural region.

By 1890, it had become clearly evident that if further growth and development were to take place in Roseville, the townspeople would have to develop the community’s industrial potential, which remained largely untouched.

Roseville “has a promising future,” wrote one farseeing individual in February 1890, “if she would only make use of her many natural advantages to secure the establishment of a box factory, winery, flouring mill and/or other such projects which would realize additional revenue for the town.

”This perceptive advice did not go unheeded, and between 1890 and 1905 several very important steps were taken, notably in the fields of agriculture, which did much to ensure the continuation of Roseville’s economic growth and development.

The opening months of the year 1890, however, gave little indication of the increased activity that was to come. During the long rainy season of 1889-1890, business activity was at a standstill. Whether this was one contributing factor in J.D. Pratt’s decision to sell his long established business is not known, but in any event, the pioneer merchant sold out to William Sawtell and P.V. Siggins that long, dreary winter.

As the ravages of winter continued, many townspeople came down with “La Grippe,” and the town’s two doctors, Ballou and Finney, had their hands full taking care of the sick. The rainy season finally began to abate in March, and the town gradually shook off the effects of the terrible winter.

Businesses soon began to pick up again after the terrible winter. J.M. Fitzgerald, Ed Hammill and a Mr. Edwards, who operated the town’s three blacksmith shops, all reported doing flourishing business as surrounding farmers began to flock into town.

However, hovering over this façade of a return to good times was a cloud of gloom. In March of 1893, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad went bankrupt, followed by the National Cordage Company. In May, a number of banks failed and the resulting shortage of credit led to many other business failures. Within a short time, some 20 percent of America’s labor force was unemployed, in what was to become the worst depression in our nation’s history at the time. The Panic affected farmers from all over the nation. Overproduction of wheat and other farm products, coupled with a nationwide depressed economy, resulted in farm prices falling below the cost of production.

The Panic had a disastrous effect upon Roseville’s economy, which largely depended on agriculture. In the absence of any bank, local merchants J.D. Pratt, W.A. Thomas and W.J. Branstetter acted as unofficial bankers, carrying farmers’ and ranchers’ accounts on the books until the harvest was in. However, since overproduction caused the panic, farmers could not meet their obligations, which had a profound effect on local merchants who subsequently could not meet their own loan and mortgage payments.

Pratt, who had seen bad times coming back in 1890, disposed of his business interests and left town. Branstetter, in deep financial trouble, sold out for whatever he could get and left for Dunsmuir. During these troubled times, many discouraged locals were giving up and leaving town, selling out for low prices and, in many instances, just walking away from bad situations.

Many people had fallen on hard times, but it seemed their luck began to change when news reached Roseville that Jesse Blair had discovered gold in paying quantities near town. Shortly thereafter, additional specimens of ore were reported to have been taken from a bed of gravel half a mile from the community. These, and similar reports, changed Roseville from a lethargic little village to a virtual beehive of activity. Speculators poured into town from the metropolitan areas to investigate the reports.

By 1894, the mounting interest in mining had reached “gold craze” proportions near Roseville. Mining interest continued on a high plane throughout 1897, but from that time on, little or no activity was reported. Whether the gold deposits were quickly exhausted, or the ore proved to be of such low grade as to make mining unprofitable, has not been determined, but in any event, Roseville’s mining boom ended as abruptly as it began. The only traces of Roseville’s short-lived mining industry still remaining are a few piles of overgrown tailings located along the Roseville Freeway, just north of town.

While Roseville was engaged in its brief but spectacular mining boom, a less spectacular but more permanent development was taking place in the field of agriculture. On Jan. 5, 1895, the Placer Herald revealed that Mr. F.W. Staunton of Orangevale had shipped the first commercial carload of fruit (oranges) from the Roseville depot. From this initial shipment, the fruit shipping business played an increasingly important role in the economy of Roseville, which, until then had almost solely been dependent upon surrounding grain and stock ranches for its existence.

The newly-organized fruit shipping business continued to expand throughout the summer of 1896. Three companies, the Co-op, Loomis Fruit Growers Union and the Porter Brothers, had representatives in town, and it was expected that a great deal of fruit would be shipped from Roseville that season. Fruit growing until 1899 was on a limited scale, mainly for home use, but the heavy harvest that season seemed to assure continued growth.

The Schnabel Brothers, who at that time were the sole shippers at Roseville, opened the season on May 8 with a shipment of cherries. Later, peaches, two thousand crates of prunes and an experimental shipment of plums left from the Roseville depot. W.A. Clark managed the Schnabel Brothers local packing house which was housed in the old Thomas wagon, carriage and paint shop on Atlantic Street.

One of the first and most important commercial orchards in the vicinity of Roseville was established by Lewis Leroy King, Sr. in 1890. King moved to Roseville with wife Catherine Heller in 1890 and set up 11,000 fruit trees – cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, almonds and figs at his home (Elm Court) on the old Tassie ranch. King was responsible for establishing the first permanent real estate and insurance business in Roseville in 1890.

His role proved to be instrumental in the organization of the Roseville Telephone Company along with Gottlieb Hanisch and others later in 1910. King acquired a bell in 1890 from an abandoned church in Sacramento which he used to call the hired men in from the eighty acre orchard. In later years it became a town custom to ring this bell on New Year’s Eve, a practice that Mrs. King continued until her death in 1941.

When the railroad boom struck Roseville in 1906, King subdivided his orchard into what is now the Cherry Glen section of the community and gave his daughter Lelia the task of naming the streets.

Another early day orchard in Roseville was that of Willis Albert Clark, who erected a fine home on the corner of what is now Oak and Judah Streets in 1895. Clark had been successful in various lines of agriculture, and as a cattleman and a horseman before turning his attention to commercial activities in Roseville by 1908. Between that year and 1917, Clark engaged in a very successful livery business with Howard H. Stone, until the advent of the automobile.

After 1917, Clark remained active in agriculture and was the owner of three full-bearing vineyards which were operated by his sons. He was one of the organizers of the Railroad National Bank of Roseville (1921) and served as director. Clark later died on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 1930. Today, his residence on Oak Street, is occupied by Lee Photography. His daughters, Mrs. Iva Knapp and Mrs. Elva Heller, lived in the old family residence until 1962.

The excitement generated by Roseville’s short gold rush, coupled with increased activities in the field of horticulture and viticulture precipitated an increased interest in the commercial and industrial development of the community which had remained static since 1888.

One of the first people to capitalize on the influx of people to Roseville following Jesse Blair’s discovery of gold, was Aaron Ross. According to his granddaughter, Mrs. Iva Maguire, Ross acquired J.B.R. Davis’ Roseville Hotel from a man named Payne in May, 1891 and reopened the old establishment under its new name – The Ross Hotel.

The Ross House, as it was more commonly called, served as one of Roseville’s major hostelries until it was consumed by flames in July, 1898. The Ross House was a popular gathering point for locals to socialize and where children could come and pet Ross’ two pet deer.

The Ross House burned in 1898 but construction of a new hotel began immediately and The Western Hotel opened in 1899 under the management of Ross’ son-in-law C.H. Barker. Ross retired to his home located on Lincoln Street until his wife’s death where he then moved to live with his son in Santa Cruz. Widely popular among residents, Ross played in integral role in the I.O.O.F. and the Farmer’s Grange.

Shortly after the construction of the Ross House, W.J. Branstetter installed Roseville’s first telephone in his place of business. Little commercial activity was reported between June 1891 and April 1893, but by the latter date the mounting gold craze, which drew hosts of newcomers to Roseville, had severely overtaxed the town’s limited facilities. As a result, Roseville’s long dormant building industry quickly revived.

The enterprising Branstetter opened a new lumber yard behind his hall on Pacific Street. Between the months of July and October, Branstetter disposed more than 40 carloads of lumber. The Towle Brothers bought out Branstetter in October 1893 and immediately announced their intention of building a fine office and residence for their local agent, E.A. Dickey.

Six years later (1899), the vast Towle Brothers lumbering firm purchased Royer, Siggins and Sawtelle’s brick industry. From the first of the year to September 1899, more than 600,000 bricks were manufactured at the Towle Brothers Roseville Plant.

Roseville’s industrial development continued when Jerry Gremore secured a contract in August 1893 for cutting and pitting peaches obtained from the Orangevale colony. A large force of girls reported to be working for Gremore at this time. Four months later Will Butler constructed a slaughter house on the hilltop site now occupied by the main building of Roseville High School.

The year 1894 opened on an air of prosperity for the continued growth of Roseville. Mounting interest in mining had reached “gold craze” proportions; the hotels were crowded; and the town was reportedly “full of strangers,” some of whom proposed to stay. Thomas, Roseville’s pioneer merchant and leading booster, spent many hours acting as a “one man Chamber of Commerce” speaking the praises of Roseville to any passerby who would listen.

Under this wave of optimism, Roseville continued to grow and flourish. Warren Bee opened a new store in March, 1894. Five months later Mrs. Berry reopened the Golden Eagle (Scott) Hotel, after first having made extensive repairs. N. Stevenson purchased Bee’s store in September and the following month Leonard & Ross opened a new butcher shop in the Berry building. William T. Butler also opened a meat market in 1894 near the corner of Lincoln and Vernon Streets.

Roseville’s pioneer merchant and most enthusiastic supporter, W.A. Thomas, died on March 26, 1895, but the firm of Thomas & Son continued to serve the mercantile needs of the community as before under the direction of his son L.D. Thomas.

On Jan. 14, 1896, the citizens of Roseville organized the “Roseville Board of Trade,” the forerunner of today’s Chamber of Commerce, for the purpose of making known the advantages of the Roseville area throughout the state and nation. At a subsequent meeting in February, the Board decided to send H.M. Swazey, an experienced real estate man, to the east to extol the virtues of Roseville and its vicinity.

The mercantile firm of Sawtelle & Wearin commenced building a large brick warehouse in May of 1897, opposite the C.F.T. Icehouse. Then in July, a movement was initiated to bring another metropolitan wonder to Roseville – the telephone. E.A. Dickey was sent to Sacramento to complete arrangements with the Capital Telephone Company to extend their lines from Orangevale to Roseville, and shortly thereafter, work was started on extending the line between the two communities.

The C.F.T. Icehouse later burned down in November of that year. It was believed that a band of hobos had broken into the icehouse and while building a fire to keep warm, had accidentally burned the place down. Constant trouble from the “wanderers of the road” throughout the 1890s, coupled with the seemingly ineffectiveness of the local constable in handling the problem, led many citizens to consider the possibility of organizing a Vigilance Committee in 1897.

Evidently this procedure never became necessary, for no further mention of the formation for such a committee appeared in contemporary accounts. It is probable that the constable, under the constant prodding of townspeople, rose to the occasion and dispersed the hobos.

The year 1899 marked the opening of P.V. Siggins’ store on Atlantic Street. Siggins, who was born in Warner County, Pennsylvania in 1833, moved to the Roseville area in 1874 and worked for many years at the blacksmith trade, first in Antelope and then in Roseville. By 1892, he became associated in the general mercantile business with William Sawtelle in J.D. Pratt’s former store.

By 1893, Siggins and Sawtelle, along with Tom Royer, established a new brick yard near Dry Creek. Ill health caused Siggins to sell his interests to Mr. Wearin in 1898 and he remained idle for a year before opening a small mercantile business on Atlantic Street where a bulk of the trade was provided by dressmaking and millinery business conducted by his wife.

In 1906, the Siggins Atlantic Street property was sold to the Southern Pacific Railroad and the building was moved to the new Atlantic Street where it served as an ice cream parlor by J.J. Watson until it burned in 1907. Siggins died the following year.

Mrs. Caraven opened a bakery in May of 1899 in the old Neher saloon building next to Towle Brothers lumber yard on Pacific Street. Later that same year, William T. Butler opened a new butcher shop on the corner of Atlantic and Lincoln Streets.

William T. Butler, a native of Evansville, Indiana, came to California with his parents in 1852 and later moved to Roseville in 1878. In 1899, Butler opened a butcher shop at the corner of Atlantic and Lincoln streets. When the original Atlantic Street was pushed back to accommodate for the railroad expansion (1908), Butler sold his property to the railroad and commenced building a new shop on the corner of Lincoln and new Atlantic streets.

Butler used part of the building as a butcher shop while the other part served as a new post office. In 1909, Butler was elected to the town’s first Board of Trustees. He commissioned the building of a two-story concrete structure in 1914 – the bottom portion for his shop and the upper portion to be rented out as office space. Though extensively remodeled, the building still exists today and is used for offices of the Roseville Telephone Company.

The Depression, however, caused Butler to sell his Lincoln Street property. Determined to continue, he opened up his fourth and last butcher shop on Main Street in 1930 which he operated until shortly before his death in 1940.His partner – Glen Hardison – continued to operate the butcher shop until he retired in 1976.

Since the town had no banking house of its own, the Holt brothers (local town capitalists) served as unofficial bankers, lending money to local businesses due to their previous success in gold mining. William, Henry and John Holt made Roseville their headquarters for their shipping business in 1864, but did not move to Roseville until 1883. The brothers owned a large brick warehouse located along the railroad tracks that served as storage for hay and grain purchased for shipment. In 1895, they bought 200 acres of land from W.J. Branstetter before he moved to Dunsmuir.

Times were “lively” in Roseville as the nineteenth century came to an end. The streets were reported to be crowded with fruit, hay and wheat wagons and the town’s three warehouses reported reaching full capacity and freight wagons were leaving daily loaded with lumber.

Fruit shipping became an important factor in the economy of Roseville at the beginning of the twentieth century. Figures compiled by the Roseville Board of Trade for 1901 revealed that during the year alone, more than 781,000 pounds of fresh deciduous fruits had been shipped from Roseville, along with 3,000 boxes of oranges, 22,380 pounds of picked olives and 8,000 pounds of olive oil.

Hand in hand with the increased activity of shipping fruit was a great upsurge in viticulture with local crops estimated at $570,000. Carefully compiled statistics show that a total of 1,195,436 boxes of grapes were shipped from the Roseville depot in 1901.

Plans for the establishment of a winery in Roseville were announced in 1905. By October of the next year, over $75,000 had been expended in buildings and equipment for the Placer County Winery. William Haman, earlier employed at Leland Stanford’s vast wine producing estate at Vina, was hired as superintendent, and it was not long before the winery made its first run and soon rated second in importance, only behind the railroad.

Fire destroyed the winery in 1908, but it was rebuilt that same year. A second fire occurred in 1909, destroying all but the brick portion of the plant. Rebuilt once more, the winery operated successfully until the advent of prohibition. Later M.J. Royer operated the Roseville Ice and Beverage Company in the old brick building formerly housing the winery.

With the decline of the Winery, Haman became manager of the Southern Pacific stock corrals in Roseville and invested in several parcels of property in and around town. Active in politics, Haman was elected to Roseville’s first City Council in 1909 and did not retire from politics until 1931. The Haman residence – a two-story home located at the corner of Oak and Taylor Streets – was later used for the Roseville Arts Center.

By 1905, Roseville had changed from a mere railroad junction to a growing town which held high hopes for the future. But, the ambitious community was still largely a community of homes – small frame houses, spaced rather unevenly along narrow streets which transformed into dusty trails in summer and impassible quagmires of mud in winter. This is how Roseville appeared on the eve of the announcement that the Southern Pacific Company was contemplating moving its extensive railroad facilities from Rocklin.

Roseville does owe its birth and early development to its position as shipping and trading center for a rich farming and grazing section of southwestern Placer County. But not until the railroad switching yards moved to Roseville in 1906 did the town really grow, marking the beginning of a new era, an era which would almost overnight change Roseville from a little shipping station to the most important freight handling terminal on the Pacific Coast – the “St. Louis of the West”.

Throughout 1905 rumors persisted in Rocklin that the Southern Pacific intended to enlarge their freight yards. Railroad plans called for a yard 7,000 feet long and 800 feet wide. The Rocklin trustees hurriedly called a special election to levy a special tax for the purpose of raising the necessary money to buy the land needed by the railroad. Their plans were to no avail, for in December it was announced that the freight yards were to be moved and that Rocklin, because of insufficient room to permit enlarging the terminal to handle increasing business, was to be eliminated from any further consideration. Several places were mentioned for the site of the new railroad yards including Ben Ali, Loomis, and a place between Loomis and Rocklin.

Roseville was finally selected in the early part of 1906, partly because of the more favorable grade conditions, and partly because of its position at the junction of the north-bound and east-bound lines of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

The formal announcement that Roseville had been selected for the site of the Southern Pacific yards brought a startling transformation for the little village. Instantly the town began to boom. The railroad company bought large blocks of land, with A.B. McRae, local realtor, handling most of the transactions. The unloading of rails, ties, lumber, construction machinery and tools commenced immediately.

Atlantic Street had to be moved back a hundred feet to accommodate miles of new track. Clouds of yellow choking dust hovered continually over the town as teams of mules and work horses worked from sunup to sundown seven days a week preparing the ground for the construction workers waiting patiently nearby in their temporary tent cities.

The first building was moved off that thoroughfare during the summer of 1906. While the tracks were laid, the new round house was reported to be rapidly taking shape. The first switch engine for the local yards arrived on Tuesday, Sept., 18, 1906.

Additional railroad construction in December necessitated the moving of the Western Hotel north about fifty feet. Preliminary work also began at that time on a new depot located below the railroad “Y” opposite Pacific Street. The new deport was completed in 1907 and the old deport of 1874 was dismantled. Part of it was moved by its owner, Henry Barrett, to 319 Atlantic Street, where after a bit of remodeling, he reopened it as “The Old Depot Saloon”.

However, by 1910 the new depot was moved back to the railroad “Y” where its predecessors, the depots of 1864 and 1874 had been located.

The great influx of railroad men to Roseville necessitated much new construction. One person who benefited from the increase was Elizabeth “Grandma” Morgan. Morgan moved to Roseville in 1894 after the death of her second husband. When the railroad craze commenced, she turned her home into a railroad boarding house – Morgan’s Boarding House – which became popular for many years.

In addition to running the boarding house, “Grandma” Morgan was extremely active in the Minerva Rebekah Lodge of Roseville up to the time of her death on Dec. 21, 1927. By the end of 1907 all vacant lots on Pacific Street had been filled with new business establishments and the old street was busy day and night. The building boom which enhanced Pacific Street’s already healthy business climate spread outward to nearby Church, Main and, most importantly, Lincoln Streets which as early as 1906 showed signs of one day effectively challenging Pacific Street’s economic dominance.

Between 1906 and 1908, hurriedly constructed frame buildings sprang up on both sides of Lincoln Street north of the railroad tracks. Typical of this “hurry up” construction was the business block put up in 1906 which extended north from the old Pratt store building on the west side to the alley, followed by a similar block of buildings erected the following year by J.H. Herring. For several years Herring engaged in farming pursuits after he arrived in Roseville in 1895.

By 1906 Herring became associated with Sawtelle in the general merchandising business but retired in 1908 to engage in real estate development. For a time, commencing in 1909, Herring was associated with J.E. Munster in the firm of Munster and Herring but later operated a prosperous real estate business alone where he laid claim to holding the record for being in business continuously longer than any other local businessman.

Similar construction lined the east side of Lincoln Street, including Fred Forlow’s Mint Saloon building and the Linnell Brothers’ Hardware Store. When the railroad transferred from Rocklin to Roseville in 1906, Forlow was in the van guard of newcomers to accompany that move where he opened the Mint Saloon on Lincoln Street. By 1908, the entire block on both sides of the street had been filled in with new construction. J.H. Herring and C.H. Barker were the dominant forces in the development of the west and east sides of Lincoln Street during this period.

While Lincoln Street rapidly emerged as an important business block in Roseville’s economic life, new construction was also taking place on Main and Church streets. Perhaps the most important figure in the development of Roseville’s north side in the period after 1906 was A.B. McRae. The McRae Building, one of Roseville’s first multi-storied buildings, was completed in October 1908. It contained a fine hall above and modern store and office space below.

It opened with great pomp and ceremony by some of the new lodge orders and was considered a triumphant step forward in the development of the community. For many years, the “McRae Opera House” was the cultural center of the town holding plays, pageants, concerts, traveling troupes and other activities. Between 1914 and 1924, the post office was housed in the ground floor of the McRae Building. McRae’s long and productive life came to an end on Friday, June 2, 1932 – two weeks shy of his 80th birthday.

Construction completed in 1908 on two additional business houses on Main Street west of the McRae Building. One was the small building opened by Harvey Richardson. Harvey A. Richardson arrived in Roseville in 1907 and for the next 41 years was proprietor of one of Roseville’s longest established and most popular men’s furnishings stores – “Richardson’s.” The original location for Richardson’s was on Main Street next to the McRae Building and in 1909, Richardson’s moved into the McRae Building.

Richardson’s moved to another location on Lincoln Street before reaching the Forlow Building on Vernon Street in 1930. Here Richardson’s would stay until 1978, but Richardson would not see that day due to his death in 1948. After the death of Richardson, his widow and daughter continued to operate the business with Paul Wagner serving as manager; later Wagner purchased the long-established firm.

In 1978, after 48 years at the Vernon Street location, the business was moved to the former Safeway building in Roseville Square. The original Richardson store building was later occupied by the U.S. Market, which was removed in 1909 to make way for a new two-story building erected by McRae and John A. Hill. For many years, Zeller’s Confectionary was housed in this building.

Adjacent to the Richardson building was the A.B. Broyer & Son Furniture Store, also completed in 1908 after Broyer moved to Roseville with his father. In 1914, Broyer was elected County Assessor and Tax Collector of Placer County and subsequently sold his furniture and hardware business to M.B. Johnson. He was admitted to the bar in 1919 and worked with a couple of different partners before practicing law alone in 1924.

During the summer of 1924, Broyer partnered with C.P. Magner in the undertaking business and on July 1 of that year they bought out the Guy P. West Funeral Home in Roseville and worked there till Broyer’s death in September 1925. His son Elliot was elected to the position of County Coroner in 1930 and in 1936 he opened his own mortuary business on Lincoln Street, which he operated in conjunction with his brother Al. The Broyer Mortuary building now houses Cochrane’s Chapel of the Roses.

Johnson, who bought Broyer’s hardware store, continued to operate it for the next 24 years. In 1933, failing health compelled him to turn over the reins to his son; Johnson died only two years later.

New commercial activity was also turning Church Street into a minor business block. As early as 1906, B.N. Scribner of Rocklin opened a store in the recently completed Decater building at the corner of Church and Main streets. Later, the Grouches Brothers located there followed by Andrews Market. Below Scribner’s, John Herring had put up a small frame building which housed various businesses before it burned down in 1924 and was replaced with the present brick edifice. A short distance down the street from the Herring building was the old two-story brick Doyle home which later for many years served as a private hospital under the direction of Dr. Fanning.

Numerous real estate firms came into existence; subdivisions were laid out and miles of sidewalks and streets were put down. Up to October 1906, local realtors reported the sale of some five hundred lots in Roseville at an average price of $250 per lot. A serious water shortage was created by the tremendous influx of newcomers. The water demand could not be met by the back yard pumps that had provided Roseville’s citizenry with its water supply. Consequently, a water franchise was granted to Hemphill & Leahy, who earlier had been granted an electric light franchise. Starting operations in the fall of 1906, the Roseville Water Company, with two reservoirs – one of which held eight million gallons – commenced building mains and pipes in every direction.

Business growth kept pace with the ever increasing population. Among new businesses to be established in the latter half of 1906 was Frank Lewis’ drug store. Lewis had operated a successful drug store in Rocklin but moved along with the railroad to Roseville in 1906 where his drug store took up residence on Lincoln Street. As one of the original members of the Roseville Telephone Company (organized in 1910 as the Home Telephone Company), he served as its Vice President for many years. He operated his drug store until June 1932, when after 25 years of continual service, he sold out to the Allen Brothers and moved to a new location on Vernon Street where he continued until his retirement. Lewis died at his home on March 21, 1957.

Charles Decater was part of the mass exodus out of Rocklin to Roseville when the railroad transferred. During this move, Decater relocated six of his 14 homes. He was a major force in moving buildings on old Atlantic Street so that new miles of railroad tracks could be constructed. Many of the early post-1906 homes and business buildings owe their construction to Decater.

Besides his building, contracting and house-moving business, Decater operated one of Roseville’s many railroad workers’ boarding houses, operated a hog ranch at Rocklin and served as a member of the Roseville Volunteer Fire Department since its inception in 1907 with a turn as chief. According to family estimates, by 1929, Decater had built, traded for or purchased approximately 150 rental units at Roseville. Unfortunately the Depression took its toll on Decater who lost all of his extensive holdings and was $10,000 in debt by 1932. Even still, Decater continued the house-moving business until his death in 1940.

In October, Roseville’s first bank, the Roseville Banking Company, was organized with William Sawtell as its president. The location of this pioneer bank was on the first floor of the former Branstetter’s Hall building on Pacific Street. In 1907, Roseville’s pioneer financial institution purchased the corner of Lincoln and Church Streets (Bank Corner) and commenced construction of a fine, two-story building, making it the first substantial building to be erected on the block. The Roseville Banking Company provided financing for much of the new construction which took place after 1906. Before the year ended, a weekly newspaper, the Roseville Register, had been added to the rapidly growing community.

Of the large numbers of newcomers who flocked to the small community to take advantage of job opportunities, many were Greek and Italian immigrants newly arrived in America. Limited knowledge of the English language led to an informal appointment of a leader or “boss” who could speak, read and write some English – one who would handle relations between labor and management.

A Greek immigrant, John Leles arrived in Roseville after fleeing the devastation of the 1906 San Francisco fire and earthquake. He bought the Harry Clark blacksmith shop property on Pacific Street and constructed on its site an impressive three-storied hotel which he named the New Frisco House. Business prospered until a fire in 1911 destroyed the hotel and the rest of the block.

Leles was able to rebuild, with the financial help of Gottlieb Hanisch, a small one-story brick building on the old site and opened the New Frisco Bar which he operated until 1916. At that time, Leles leased out the saloon and commenced operating a butcher shop in the back portion of the building which faced the alley between Pacific and Church streets.

In 1920, Leles removed the butcher shop to the Cassie Hill building on Lincoln Street where the Roseville Meat Market operated continually for the next thirty years. Leles eventually retired in 1953 while management of the Roseville Meat Market continued under his children until it closed out in 1960.

From 1906 to the present, Roseville’s considerable Greek and Immigrant populations have played important roles in the economic, political and social development of Roseville.

Nevada Carson Busby also moved to Roseville to become part of the booming business industry. After moving about the country, Busby eventually located in Roseville in 1907. There he purchased three Royer lots on Vernon Street and built the Busby Hotel, Superior Garage and all the real estate between the City Hall and the corner of Grant Street. Busby did not stay in Roseville long, however, before leaving for other ventures in 1924. His nephew, Nevada Carson Jr. was the only family member to stay behind in Roseville.

While Roseville’s business district was growing by leaps and bounds and its population increasing daily, the community still found time for entertainment. A baseball team was organized and games were held at the depot ball park in the railroad “Y,” and later, up in the Forest Oaks subdivision .

The town band was reorganized by the Schellhous brothers and concerts were held regularly at the bandstand in Depot Park. Summer picnics along the rose-bedecked banks of Dry Creek or out at Sylvan Grove continued to be popular, along with Sunday drives up the old country road to Rocklin. Dances at Branstetter Hall continued to provide entertainment for residents. Sometimes, when weather permitted, these social dances moved onto the outdoor platform in front of the Western Hotel.

Another popular business with residents was the famous “Roserie”, owned and operated by Henry L. Schmitt. Schmitt moved to Roseville with his wife Lucy in 1908 where they opened their own business on the corner of Vernon and Taylor streets. The Roserie combined a candy confectionary, a soda fountain and a tamale parlor all under one roof. Due to its overwhelming popularity, the Roserie had to move twice before settling in the Gordon Hall (now Eagles Hall) in 1913.

From the beginning, the Roserie was noted for its tempting array of home-made candies, ice cream and other soda delights, and became popular with young and old alike. Particularly tempting were Schmitt’s famed husk tamales, a huge caldron of which was always steaming in the back room kitchen. Schmitt continued supervising the Roserie until his death in 1938, with his eldest son Carlos assuming management. Shortages of sugar and other ingredients brought about by the advent of World War II forced the Roserie to close in 1942. It was never reopened.

The Roseville Chamber of Commerce was organized on Oct. 17, 1906 to serve as town council and to consider still more improvements for the rapidly progressing town. A pressing need for adequate drainage for Roseville’s streets, an electric light system, and a local telephone exchange prompted the Chamber of Commerce to immediate action. A communication was sent at once to the Southern Pacific authorities regarding a drainage system, and shortly thereafter, work was started by the railroad at Grant Street on a ditch which was to cut through to the creek.

Mr. Leahy, who had been given the electric light franchise, was contacted by the Committee on Public Improvements concerning the installation of electric lights. By the end of November a carload of poles had arrived and another was expected shortly. The Capital Telephone Company was contacted in December regarding the installation of a local exchange and informed the committee that if 12 or more subscribers could be obtained such an exchange would be possible. Mr. Linnell obtained 14 subscribers, and a 50-phone switchboard was soon installed.

Rapid and continued growth throughout 1906 and 1907 brought up the problem of adequate fire protection. At the instigation of the Chamber of Commerce, fire hose and hose carts were purchased and fire hydrants installed throughout the community.

By January 1908, Roseville was the proud possessor of two hose carts and two hundred feet of hose; two additional hose carts were added a year later. That same year, the Chamber of Commerce pointed out the need for the creation of a hose company for each cart. It was not until March, 1910 however, that a “Municipal Volunteer Fire Department” was organized. Twenty-one members attended the initial meeting at the city hall where G.M. Hanisch was named Fire Chief.

Other improvements to be considered by the chamber in 1907 and 1908 included improved mail service, better streets and roads, street sprinkling and law enforcement. Possibly the most serious problem to confront the hard working Chamber of Commerce during this period, though, was the one created by the lack of any kind of municipal sewage system and garbage disposal service.

A sanitation committee was appointed in February 1907 to investigate the matter, but not until 1910, when the city trustees passed a sewer bond election for approval of voters, was this problem effectively met.

Meanwhile, the problem of health and sanitation brought about by a lack of sewage and garbage disposal system resulted in a diphtheria epidemic in March of 1908. Complaints multiplied by the score, and Dr. Ashby, the health officer, tiring of criticism, resigned.

Saloons accounted for the majority of business growth in 1907. At the time there were no fewer than 12 drinking emporiums listed in the advertising columns of the Register. By November 1909, this already imposing list peaked at 20 – three of which were so situated that railroad workers could reach them while going to and from work.

Because of the numerous saloons which sprang up along Pacific Street, that thoroughfare received the nickname “Whiskey Row.” The problem of alcoholism finally reached the point where Southern Pacific officials said that it could not trust its trains to men who appeared for duty intoxicated and demanded removal of objectionable saloons near the railroad yards.

By March, 1908, Roseville had increased in population from 400 to 2,000. Two million dollars had been spent on the railroad and “unprecedented activity in real estate transaction” was reported by the town’s six realty firms. Stores reported going up on all sides. Plans for a new hotel were drawn up by C.H. Barker of the Western Hotel in April.

Shortly thereafter, the West House, a popular eatery, was established on the corner of Atlantic and Washington streets. Another such local eatery was the Porter House. Between the years of 1907 and 1910, St. Rose – Roseville’s first Catholic Church – was constructed near Vernon and Grant streets.

By July, Roseville’s second newspaper, the Roseville Tribune, published by Crome & Beecroft, put out its first issue. R.F. Brill & Son purchased the Tribune on March 1, 1920 and three years later (1923) acquired the Register from A.J. Hardin.

Shortly thereafter (May 28, 1923), the first issue of the Roseville Tribune and Register rolled off the presses. Brill sold out to Fred Green and Frank Bartholomew of the Roseville Press in 1942, and the old Tribune and Register was merged into a new publication name the Roseville Press Tribune, which still operates to this day.

The school census of 1908 showed 313 children attending class compared to 154 for the preceding year. By 1910, enrollment had increased to 695, of which 491 were between the ages of 6 and 17. The existing school facilities proved to be hopelessly inadequate and a bond issue was voted on April 20, 1910 for two new school houses – one in Roseville Heights (Main Street School), and another on Vernon Street (Oak Street School). The election carried 90 to 10 and by fall the two new school houses were completed.

These twin buildings served the educational needs of Roseville until 1925, when the Vernon Street School was completed. The Oak Street School gradually retired from use and it was eventually torn down. The Main Street School continued to be utilized by the school population on the north side of town until 1934, when the Woodbridge School was completed.

While Roseville was expanding outwardly in every direction, railroad construction continued at an accelerated pace. In January 1908 contracts were let for the newly organized Pacific Fruit Express Company’s refrigerator plants at Roseville, Colton and Las Vegas. The Roseville plant alone was to have an estimated storage capacity of some 11,000 tons of ice and a daily ice-making potential of 200 tons.

Work began in March, 1908 under the direction of Mr. Hyatt. By February 1909, the almost completed $250,000 ice-making and fruit cooling plant was in operation with an ice-making capacity of 300 tons per day, and a storage capacity of 17,000 tons. Officials of the Southern Pacific Company inspected the new facilities and shortly thereafter (March) announced that henceforth all fruit cars would be iced at Roseville rather than at Sacramento.

Work on a large pre-cooling building commenced in April, 1909, along with excavations for a number of PFE car shops plus the installation of additional miles of track necessary for the expanded operations. It was announced that all the PFE shops would be moved from Sacramento as soon as the shops and 15,000 feet of repair tracks were completed.

By July, 1909, stock yards had been completed and put into operation on the west side of the main line. For a distance of over a mile between Vernon Street and the main track, land was being leveled for six more lines of track. The first test of the new plant ran in October 1909.

Meanwhile, removal of the Rocklin roundhouse, force and machinery to Roseville was completed on Saturday, April 25, 1908, and Rocklin’s position as a railroad center came to an end. Amidst the transfer of the freight crews from Rocklin to Roseville, not one man lost his run. With the removal of the railroad facilities from Rocklin completed, much of that town’s population and many of its buildings moved to Roseville. The big move took more than two years (1906-1908) to complete. According to the Roseville Register of Oct. 28, 1909, some 43 residences had been moved to Roseville from Rocklin.

In the space of two years Roseville had developed into a bustling railroad center. Two of the largest round houses in the state had been constructed there, along with 45 miles of sidetracks to handle increased business. By January 1909, an additional 40 miles of tracks were added to the yard, which in addition to the round houses and machine shops also included a store, warehouse and office buildings, a hospital and railroad men’s clubhouse. The year 1909 also saw the arrival of the first two articulated Mallet compounds (Numbers 4000 and 4001).

Tremendous growth, coupled with its many problems, resulted in an increasingly strong sentiment for incorporation. Accordingly, the Chamber of Commerce met on Jan. 6, 1908, to take up the matter.

Strong opposition to such a move was voiced by the Southern Pacific, fearing it would lose control of its yards if the city incorporated. F.C. Hill of the Chamber of Commerce traveled to San Francisco to discuss the matter with J.H. Young, general superintendent of the Southern Pacific. After some discussion, it was suggested by Hill that any plan for incorporation exclude railroad property.

This was agreeable to Young, and plans went forward for the proposed incorporation. On Jan. 21, 1909, a “Petition to Incorporate the Town of Roseville” appeared in the Register. Three months later, on April 2, 1909, the people of Roseville went to the polls and of the 300 votes cast, 241 voted for incorporation while 59 voted in opposition. William Sawtelle, R.F. Theile, William Haman, Dr. Bradford Woodbridge and R.H. Wells were elected as the city’s first trustees.

The organizational meeting of the Board of Trustees, as the City Council was called then, was held on April 10 at the bank building. At that time, William Sawtelle was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees, which in effect gave him the distinction of being Roseville’s first mayor. Lack of space prompted the board at a subsequent meeting to change its meeting place from the bank building to McRae Hall. Still later (August), the hall over Johnson & Musson’s store (the old J.D. Pratt store), which until recently had housed the offices of the Roseville Register, was rented as a temporary meeting place for a monthly stipend of $12 including utilities.

Formation of a Board of Trustees and the selection of a mayor signified the end of Roseville, the peaceful little town and the beginning of Roseville, the modern city.