Rocklin: Prosperous and Growing in the 19th Century, by Gary Day, Rocklin and Roseville Today - Rocklin, CA

"Rocklin: Prosperous and Growing in the 19th Century," by Gary Day, © Rocklin and Roseville Today - Rocklin, CA. (News Article)

" ... Theodore Judah, the Central Pacific’s famed chief engineer had proposed a roundhouse at Roseville but after his death in 1863 new managers chose Rocklin because it was closer to the point where helper engines were needed to surmount the Sierras. The facility, completed in May 1867, included a roundhouse with 25 stalls and an 8,000 square foot woodshed where Rocklin woodchoppers stored the 16 cords of wood that each engine needed to for the 82-mile strain to the Sierra summit. In its heyday, just prior to its move to Roseville in 1908, the operation employed 300 people with a monthly payroll of $25-30,000.

The Central Pacific probably gave Rocklin its name in 1864 when “Rocklin” first appeared in print in a railroad time schedule as an obscure stopping point between Roseville and Loomis. The quarries must have inspired the name. ... " [More]

[Courtesy Google Alerts.]

Also see: Rocklin Historical Society.