Category: History

Family History The ranch was owned by Martin Murphy, Jr. (1807-1884), whose family was in the Stephenson-Townsend-Murphy Party, the first party to cross the Sierras by covered wagon in 1844! Alos, the first to bring oxen across the plains and the first to use the route now used by Union and Pacific Railroads. The Donner party used the route two years later and Martin Murphy, Jr. was a member of the party who rescued them. They settled in this area of Elk Grove along the Monterey Trail from 1844 to 1849. The Murphys lived north of the Cosumnes River and west of what is now Highway 99. At the time that road was known as the Monterey Trail, and it led from New Helvetia (Sutter’s Fort) to the Mexican capital of Monterey.…

 

In summary about American Football, Wikipedia says: American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of soccer and rugby. The first American football match was played on November 6, 1869, between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton, using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football", established the snap, the line of scrimmage, eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized the forward pass, created the neutral zone and specified the size and shape of the football. The sport is closely related to Canadian football, which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also…

Marv's Drive Inn "My mom and stepfather, Luana & Marvin Goodman left their federal government jobs to open Marv's Drive-Inn in Florin, California around 1959. They leased the property for the drive-in from Jerry and Vivian Kara. The Kara's we're very nice people. The Kara's lived on Florin Road across from the drive-in. Their daughter Judette (Karr ’67) Rippetoe was a fun friend and classmate of mine. Years prior to the drive-in being built the Kara's built the housing track that was behind the drive in. Running the drive-in was all consuming. It was open seven days a week with hours of operation 10 am to 9 pm. My parents and two older siblings worked there, and I babysat my little sister. I started working there too when I was 14.  Not…

              There’s another chapter of the Elk Grove High School story, and this one was written by a woman. She was Harriet G. Eddy, Elk Grove’s principal from 1906 to 1909, and she was a woman with a vision. Just as there ought to be books about Dr. James McKee and Joseph Kerr, there should also be one about Harriet Eddy. For reasons that you will soon know, the book about her should be in every library in Elk Grove. But there isn’t, so through the story that follows, at least the people of Elk Grove will know about Miss Eddy and her role in a most significant event in the story of our high school. Harriet G. Eddy, you see, is a key…

(Compiled by many, i.e. Florence Markofer, Tom Russell, Jim Entrican, Elizabeth Pinkerton, Dennis Buscher, Louis Silveira and Barbara Claire to name just a few) 2,000 BC Native American camps along the Cosumnes River 1800’s 1807 Spanish Explorers visit the area, determine it is too wet to establish missions. "Laguna, Laguna, Laguna!" 1808 October 6 - Lt. Alferez Gabril Moraga discover the Cosumnes River and named it San Francisco. 1839 John Sutter arrived in Monterey, became a Mexican citizen, and was given a huge land grant in Central California. Ultimately, constructed his Fort in Sacramento 1841. 1841 May 28 - William Daylor discovered the Cosumnes River Valley Jared Sheldon settles in area 1843 October 15 - Land Grant: Rancho de los Omochumnes granted to Jared Sheldon (he had settled there in…

Elk Grove Union High School was the first union high school in the state of California. Sixteen elementary districts voted to tax themselves for a high school, and they all remained as separate districts until the entire K-12 district unified in 1959. The high school opened its doors in 1893 at its first site on Main Street (now Derr Street and Elk Grove Boulevard in Old Town - down the street from present day Herburger Funeral home). In 1922 a new brick building was constructed where the Joseph Kerr campus is today. In 1964 the school moved to its present site as a three year high school (senior high) with grades 7-9 at the junior high. Elk Grove is the second oldest high school in Sacramento County, and until 1977…

Carl Amundsen II and wife, Joyce arrived in Elk Grove in 1946 and bought a house at the end of Short Road (Off of Calvine Road, about a half mile from Highway 99) where they lived their entire life and raised their three children, Bonnie, Carl III, and Charlene. The whole family was very involved in many aspects of the Elk Grove community, especially in the preservation of history. Carl & Joyce were instrumental in having the Rhoads School moved to the middle of the Elk Grove Park in 1976, created the first Elk Grove Historical Society, became "Citizen of the Year" in 1979, and have a park named after the family at 8730 Heritage Hill Drive in Elk Grove dedicated in 2008.  (FYI - Carl passed in 2006 and Joyce…

In January 1876 the Elk Grove Building Company was incorporated and began building structures in Elk Grove. Elk Grove, California Business in 1880 Elk Grove had a population of 400 and sat on the line of the Central Pacific Railroad, sixteen miles for Sacramento 2 - Hotels * "Railroad House" built by M.H. Davis in 1876 * "Elk Grove Hotel" built by Elk Grove Building Company in 1976 1 - Elk Grove Flour Mill built by H.S. Hill in 1976 - Ran by steam power and produced 80 barrels of flour per day 2 - General Merchandising Stores 1 - Hardware Store opened in 1977 1 - Tin Store opened in 1877 - A.J. Longenecker, proprietor 1 - Meat Market - J.W. Martin, proprietor 1 - Furniture Manufacture - D.J.…