Rocklin is a city in
Placer County, California
Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn.
Placer County is included in the Gr ...
, about from
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, and about northeast of
Roseville Roseville may refer to:
Australia
*Roseville, New South Wales
Canada
* Roseville, Ontario
Malta
* RoseVille (aka Villa Roseville), a house in Attard, Malta
South Africa
*Roseville, Pretoria, a suburb
United Kingdom
*Roseville, Dudley
United S ...
in the
Sacramento metropolitan area
The Greater Sacramento area refers to a metropolitan region in Northern California comprising either the U.S. Census Bureau defined Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade metropolitan statistical area or the larger Sacramento–Roseville combine ...
. Besides Roseville, it shares borders with
Granite Bay,
Loomis and
Lincoln. As of the
2010 census, Rocklin's population was 56,974. The California Department of Finance placed the 2019 population at 68,823.
History
Before the
California Gold Rush, the
Nisenan
The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. The Nisenan peopl ...
Maidu
The Maidu are a Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather and American rivers. They also reside in Humbug Valley. In Maiduan languages, ''Maidu'' means "man." ...
occupied both permanent villages and temporary summer shelters along the rivers and streams that miners sifted, sluiced, dredged and dammed to remove the
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
.
Explorer
Jedediah Smith and a large party of American fur trappers crossed the Sacramento Valley in April 1827. The group saw many Maidu villages along the river banks.
Deprived of traditional foodstuffs, homesites and hunting grounds by the emigrants, the Nisenan were among the earliest California Indian tribes to disappear.
During the 1850s, miners sluiced streams and rivers, including
Secret Ravine, which runs through Rocklin. The piles of dredger tailings are still obvious today, between Roseville and Loomis southeast of
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one ...
. Secret Ravine, at the area now at the intersection of Ruhkala Road and Pacific Street, was later mined for granite, some of which was used as the base course of the California Capitol Building; the earliest recorded use of the rock was for Fort Mason at
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 ...
in 1855.
The granite was hauled out by oxcarts before the arrival of the railroad many years later.
In 1860, the U.S. Census counted 440 residents in the area of Secret Ravine, of whom about 16% had been born in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and the majority of whom worked as miners.
The area was referred to as Secret Ravine or the "granite quarries at the end of the tracks" as late as 1864.
Rocklin's history is closely tied to the
transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
. In 1862, the
Pacific Railroad Act The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of a "transcontinental railroad" (the Pacific Railroad) in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants of l ...
granted the
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North America. Incorpo ...
land near Secret Ravine.
In 1864, the
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North America. Incorpo ...
completed an extension of its track southwest from
Newcastle to Secret Ravine. It named the area Rocklin after its granite quarry and used the site as a refueling and
water stop
A water stop or water station on a railroad is a place where steam trains stop to replenish water. The stopping of the train itself is also referred to as a "water stop". The term originates from the times of steam engines when large amounts of ...
. The Central Pacific built a
roundhouse in 1867.
The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, significantly increasing railroad traffic through the town. According to the 1870 census, Rocklin had grown to 542 residents,
and the majority of Irish immigrants had forgone mining and were working for the railroad.
In 1908, the Central Pacific moved its facility from Rocklin to
Roseville Roseville may refer to:
Australia
*Roseville, New South Wales
Canada
* Roseville, Ontario
Malta
* RoseVille (aka Villa Roseville), a house in Attard, Malta
South Africa
*Roseville, Pretoria, a suburb
United Kingdom
*Roseville, Dudley
United S ...
, where more land was available for expansion.
The Roseville site has remained in continuous use since. As of August 2014, it is the largest rail facility near the U.S. West Coast.
In 1869, a group of laid-off
Chinese railroad workers
The history of Chinese Americans or the history of ethnic Chinese in the United States includes three major waves of Chinese immigration to the United States, beginning in the 19th century. Chinese immigrants in the 19th century worked in the ...
moved to Secret Ravine to mine and raise vegetables which they sold locally. The Chinese community was violently driven out in September 1876 after a group of Chinese was falsely accused of murdering three people near Rocklin. The area was still known as China Gardens as of 1974.
The Rocklin post office opened in 1868.
Finnish immigrants settled in Rocklin starting in the 1870s, and Spanish settlers arriving by way of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
settled in Rocklin in the early 20th century.
The town
incorporated in 1893.
[
]
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
An economy is an area of th ...
, the city has an area of , of which , or 0.27%, is water.
Climate
Rocklin has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
( Köppen ''Csa''), characterized by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Summers are hot, with an average July high of , and mostly rainless. Winters are cool, with a December average of , and see plenty of rain. Rocklin very rarely sees any snow accumulation. The degree of diurnal temperature variation
In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day.
Temperature lag
Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak ...
varies greatly depending on time of year. It ranges from only 14 °F in January to 33 °F in July.
Demographics
2019
The California Department of Finance calculated the population of Rocklin at 69,249 with a 3.8% population growth over 2018.
2010
At the 2010 census Rocklin had a population of 56,974. The population density was . The racial makeup of Rocklin was 47,047 (82.6%) White, 858 (1.5%) African American, 410 (0.7%) Native American, 4,105 (7.2%) Asian, 150 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 1,538 (2.7%) from other races, and 2,866 (5.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,555 persons (11.5%).
The census reported that 56,337 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 456 (0.8%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 181 (0.3%) were institutionalized.
There were 20,800 households, 8,424 (40.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 11,974 (57.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,191 (10.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 895 (4.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,035 (5.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ ( , plural POSSLQs) is an abbreviation (or acronym) for "Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of ...
, and 124 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 4,403 households (21.2%) were one person and 1,652 (7.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.71. There were 15,060 families (72.4% of households); the average family size was 3.18.
The age distribution was 15,613 people (27.4%) under the age of 18, 5,306 people (9.3%) aged 18 to 24, 15,159 people (26.6%) aged 25 to 44, 14,668 people (25.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,228 people (10.9%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 36.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
There were 22,010 housing units at an average density of 1,123.3 per square mile, of the occupied units 13,797 (66.3%) were owner-occupied and 7,003 (33.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%. 39,295 people (69.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 17,042 people (29.9%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
At the 2000 census there were 36,330 people in 13,258 households, including 10,009 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 14,421 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.32% White, 0.91% African American, 0.80% Native American, 4.16% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 1.93% from other races, and 3.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.91%. 16.8% were of German, 11.8% English, 10.6% Irish, 8.1% Italian and 6.5% American ancestry according to Census 2000
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...
.
Of the 13,258 households 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 18.7% of households were one person and 6.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.15.
The age distribution was 30.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.
The median income
Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...
for a household in the city was $79,274, according to the City of Rocklin website. Males had a median income of $54,426 versus $35,920 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,910. About 3.1% of families and 4.5% 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 ...
, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Granite mining ended in 2004 in Rocklin. Top Rocklin employers include large multinational corporations, retail outlets, education and government. As of April 2016, Rocklin had an estimated civilian work force of 30,100 with an unemployment rate of 4.4%. Approximately 40% of Rocklin citizens over age 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Shopping, entertainment and dining can be found in the Blue Oaks Town Center, a regional shopping center anchored by national tenants on the Highway 65
The following highways are numbered 65:
International
* AH65, Asian Highway 65
* European route E65
Canada
* Highway 65 (Ontario)
China
* G65 Baotou–Maoming Expressway, G65 Expressway
France
* Autoroute A65 (France), Autoroute A65
Germa ...
corridor, as well as Rocklin Commons and Rocklin Crossings with tenants that include Target, Walmart, and Bass Pro Shop, along Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one ...
. A section of Granite Drive along Interstate 80 known as Toy Row has high-end auto dealerships, RV and Boat retailers, and a local antique mall.
The city has four districts with distinct architectural guidelines: the University District, Granite District, College District, and Quarry District.
Education
The Rocklin area is home to 13 elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools, and two alternative education institutions, encompassed in the Rocklin Unified School District, as well as campuses of Sierra College and William Jessup University.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one ...
and State Route 65 intersect in Rocklin, and historic U.S. Route 40 runs through town. The Rocklin Amtrak station is served by Amtrak California's '' Capitol Corridor'' route.
Notable people
* Brandon Aiyuk, wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
* Johnny Davis, kickboxer
* Kevin Kiley, politician
* John Romero, video game developer
* Logan Webb, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
* Karyn White, pop singer
References
External links
City of Rocklin official website
Portal style website, Government, Business, Library, Recreation and more
Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Rocklin
{{authority control
Cities in Placer County, California
Cities in Sacramento metropolitan area
Incorporated cities and towns in California
1893 establishments in California