Folsom is a city in

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is the ...

, United States. It is commonly known for

Folsom State Prison Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, U.S., approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabi ...

, the song "

Folsom Prison Blues "Folsom Prison Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. Written in 1953, it was first recorded in 1955 for his debut studio album '' Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!'' (1957), appearing as the album's eleventh track. T ...

" by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

, as well as for

Folsom Lake Folsom Lake is a reservoir on the American River in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, United States. It is located within Placer, El Dorado, and Sacramento Counties. It is about northeast of Sacramento. The lake surface area is , it ...

. The population was 80,454 at the 2020 census. Folsom is part of the

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

−

Arden-Arcade Arden-Arcade is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. The population was 92,186 at the 2010 census, making it the second most populous census-designated place in California. It is east of the city of Sacr ...

− Roseville

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

History

Folsom is named for Joseph Libbey Folsom who purchased

Rancho Rio de los Americanos Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities * Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos A ...

from the heirs of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

merchant

William Alexander Leidesdorff William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. (October 23, 1810 – May 18, 1848) was one of the earliest biracial-black U.S. citizens in California and one of the founders of the city that became San Francisco. A highly successful, enterprising businessman ...

, and laid out the town called Granite City, mostly occupied by gold miners seeking their fortune in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

foothills. Though few amassed a great deal of wealth, the city prospered due to Joseph Folsom's lobbying to get a railway to connect the town with Sacramento. Joseph died in 1855, and Granite City was later renamed Folsom in his honor. The railway was abandoned in the 1980s but opened up as the terminus of the Gold Line of

Sacramento Regional Transit District The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as SacRT (or simply RT), is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Sacramento, California area. It was established on April 1, 1973, as a result of the acquisition o ...

's light rail service in 2005. A few former gold-rush era towns are located within the city limits of Folsom, including Prairie City, Salmon Falls, and Mormon Island (though these towns no longer exist). Folsom hosted a significant

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

community when it was first incorporated, but arsonists burned Folsom's Chinatown in March 1886, driving Chinese Americans out of town. The establishment of

Folsom Prison Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, U.S., approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento, California, Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of ...

came in 1880, when the Livermore family made an agreement with the state to donate land for the prison in exchange for prison labor. They planned to build a

hydro-electric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

from the

American River , name_etymology = , image = American River CA.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = The American River at Folsom , map = Americanrivermap.png , map_size = 300 , map_caption ...

for a sawmill. Though the sawmill did not work out, the Livermores soon realized that the natural force of running water could provide enough power to transmit to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, and the Folsom Powerhouse, now a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

, was opened. At the time it was opened, it had the longest overhead run of electricity (22 miles) in the country. The powerhouse operated until 1952.

Folsom Dam Folsom Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the American River of Northern California in the United States, about northeast of Sacramento. The dam is high and long, flanked by earthen wing dams. It was completed in 1955, and officially opened th ...

was built in 1956, providing flood control and water rights for the Sacramento Valley and created

. The dam is located on the southwest corner of the lake. The lake is an estimated from

Granite Bay Granite Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 21,247 at the 2020 census, up from 20,402 ...

to the most southern point of

. In addition to

and

, Folsom is home to

Folsom Lake College Folsom Lake College (FLC) is a Public community college in Folsom, California. It is part of California Community Colleges system and the Los Rios Community College District. Folsom Lake College serves the community with classes offered at its m ...

Folsom High School Folsom High School is a public secondary school in the western United States, located in Folsom, California, a suburb east of Sacramento. Established in 1922, it is a part of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. School history The firs ...

, Vista del Lago High School and a historic downtown district. Folsom is also home to the largest private employer in the Sacramento area,

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

. The Folsom Plan Area is a planned community development area consisting of south of Highway 50 set aside for additional housing, schools and parks along with office and commercial buildings. The plan allows the construction of 11,000 homes resulting in 25,000 additional residents enlarging the city of Folsom by one-third.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (9.69%) is water, primarily accounted for by

. Folsom is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Folsom's climate is characterized by long, hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters.

Demographics

2010

At the 2010 census Folsom had a population of 72,203. The population density was . The racial makeup of Folsom was 53,627 (74.3%) White, 4,140 (5.7%) African American, 427 (0.6%) Native American, 9,000 (12.5%) Asian, 173 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 1,818 (2.5%) from other races, and 3,018 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8,064 persons (11.2%). The census reported that 65,243 people (90.4% of the population) lived in households, 188 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 6,772 (9.4%) were institutionalized. There were 24,951 households, 9,796 (39.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,399 (57.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,195 (8.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,006 (4.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,150 (4.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 137 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 5,788 households (23.2%) were one person and 1,930 (7.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.61. There were 17,600 families (70.5% of households); the average family size was 3.13. The age distribution was 17,570 people (24.3%) under the age of 18, 5,344 people (7.4%) aged 18 to 24, 23,022 people (31.9%) aged 25 to 44, 19,358 people (26.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,909 people (9.6%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.9 males. There were 26,109 housing units at an average density of 1,074.4 per square mile, of the occupied units 17,442 (69.9%) were owner-occupied and 7,509 (30.1%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%. 47,982 people (66.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 17,261 people (23.9%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

At the 2000 census there were 51,884 people in 17,196 households, including 12,518 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 17,968 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 77.89% Caucasian, 5.99% African American, 0.58% Native American, 7.19% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 4.71% from other races, and 3.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.47%. Of the 17,196 households 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 21.8% of households were one person and 7.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.08. The age distribution was 24.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 39.0% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 131.0 males. According to a 2007 estimate, The median household income was $87,542, and the median family income was $109,032. Males had a median income of $60,616 versus $42,434 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,210. About 2.6% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, Folsom is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Folsom is in . In February 2020, 75 project customers, including the City of Folsom, received permanent federal water contracts for the Central Valley Project.

Public safety

Folsom is protected by the Folsom Police Department and the Folsom Fire Department. The police department is a full service agency with Operations, Administration, and Investigations Division. The Patrol Bureau of the Operations Division consists of patrol, traffic, canines, bicycles, SWAT and school resource officers. The Investigations Bureau investigates persons, property, juvenile services and narcotics. Chief Rick Hillman was sworn in on April 23, 2018, to oversee the 75 officers and 27 professional staff employed by the police department. The police are augmented by a reserve officer program, an explorer scout program, and an award-winning volunteer program named Citizen's Assisting Public Safety (CAPS). Folsom experiences a very low crime rate, a majority of which are property crimes. The FBI's Uniformed Crime Report consistently shows Folsom as one of the lowest crime rates in the State of California. Both the Folsom Police Department and Folsom Fire Department utilize Nixle.com, Facebook, and Twitter to keep residents and business owners informed of emergencies and crime trends.

Economy

Top employers

According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: The total Folsom labor force is 35,500. Approximately 59.6% of the total adult population asset, of around 59,740.

Sports and Recreation

Parks

Livermore Community Park is located in Folsom and offers a bike trail, sports facilities and a water park.

Bike Trails

Folsom is home to 32 miles of bike trails including the Humbug-Willow Creek Trail. This particular trail system follows both Humbug and Willow Creeks, and passes through several traces of dredge tailings and riparian forests. Other trails include the Folsom Rail Trail (along Folsom Boulevard), The Folsom Lake Trail (to connect El Dorado Hills with Lake Natoma), and the Oak Parkway Trail (between Blue Ravine Road and East Natoma Street). Folsom is also the endpoint of the American River Bike Trail, which starts in Sacramento. Folsom also has a small bike trail that also caters to pedestrians, that extends from Walden Drive to Clarksville Road. This is located in proximity to the local sports club Broadstone Sports Club, formerly Broadstone Racquet club. Folsom Lake Recreational Area has several off-road biking and hiking trails. A few of the more popular trails include the American River Trail, Pioneer Express Trail, Sweetwater Trail, Darrington Trail, and Granite Bay Trails. These more strenuous hiking and mountain biking trails overlook Folsom Lake and range from 2 miles to more than 20 miles long.

Bridges

Bridges located in Folsom include the Lake Natoma Crossing; the Rainbow Bridge, a historic truss bridge; and Folsom Lake Crossing. There is also a pedestrian bridge over East Bidwell Street that opened on November 6, 2010, as part of a new segment on the Humbug-Willow Creek Trail called the Johnny Cash Trail and a Johnny Cash Bridge crossing over near the intersection of Folsom Lake Crossing and East Natoma that was unveiled on October 4, 2014.

Government and infrastructure

The

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacrame ...

prisons

and California State Prison, Sacramento are located in Folsom. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates the Folsom Post Office. The

extended the light rail train system to Folsom via an extension to the Gold Line in October 2005, providing direct service to

Downtown Sacramento Downtown Sacramento is the central business district of the city of Sacramento. Downtown is generally defined as the area south of the American River, east of the Sacramento River, north of Broadway, and west of 16th Street. The central business ...

. Regional Transit also operates the Folsom Stage Line, a public bus service within the city of Folsom.

Notable people

* Shadrack Biwott,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

long-distance runner *

Jake Browning Jake Browning (born April 11, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies football, Washington Huskies and signed with the Minn ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

quarterback *

Peter Camejo Peter Miguel Camejo Guanche (December 31, 1939 – September 13, 2008) was a Venezuelan American author, activist, politician and Sailing Olympian. In the 2004 United States presidential election, he was selected by independent candidate Ralp ...

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

activist *

Spider Jorgensen John Donald "Spider" Jorgensen (November 3, 1919 – November 6, 2003) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1947 through 1951 for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1947–50) and New York Giants (1950–51). Jorgensen made his MLB de ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Aspen Ladd Aspen Kohl Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is competing in the Featherweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional mixed martial arts ...

, MMA fighter currently fighting in

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Brennan Poole Brennan Cole Poole (born April 11, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, consultant, driver coach, spotter, and crew chief. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 6 Chevrolet Camaro f ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

driver * Jordan Richards,

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

safety

Education

is a public community college which is part of the Los Rios Community College District. Folsom Cordova Unified School District operates public schools. The 3 high schools are

, Vista del Lago High School, and Cordova High School. The 4 middle schools ar
Folsom Middle SchoolSutter Middle SchoolMills Middle School
an
Mitchell Middle School
The city operates the Folsom Public Library, located in the Georgia Murray Building.

Adjacent areas

Sister cities

Crespano del Grappa Crespano del Grappa is a small town and a ''frazione'' of Pieve del Grappa in the province of Treviso, Veneto region of Italy. As of 2007 Crespano del Grappa had an estimated population of 4,680. History Crespano del Grappa was a separate ''comu ...

, Italy * Jiaohe City, China

Arts

* Home to FreeFall Stage, the longest currently running community theatre in the city, established in 2001. (freefallstage.com) * Home to the Ballet Folsom * Home to Hawkins School of Performing Arts, the official school of the Ballet Folsom * Home to The Folsom Symphony * Home of the Award-winning Folsom High School music program * Home to the Harris Center for the Arts * Home to Sutter Street Theatre and the Theatre Production & Technical Academy, located on Sutter Street in the heart of Folsom's Historic District
Sutter Street Theatre in Folsom, CA – Award-Winning Live Theatre Performances In An Intimate 60 Seat Theatre!

References

External links

*
Historic Downtown FolsomFolsom Website - Bike Trails of Folsom

MyFolsom - Folsom Community Website
{{Authority control Cities in Sacramento County, California Cities in Sacramento metropolitan area American River (California) Geography of the Sacramento Valley Mining communities of the California Gold Rush 1946 establishments in California Populated places established in 1946 Incorporated cities and towns in California