A Fair Oaks History

One cannot simply discuss the history of Rollingwood without discussing how Fair Oaks got its start. The history of Fair Oaks began long before its 1895 development as an agricultural colony. Native Americans, the Maidu, lived here for at least 10,000 years we are told. Approximately fifty years before the colony's beginning, our area was inhabited by the miners of Northern California's Gold Rush. And thereafter a few families settled in the areas we now call Citrus Heights, Orangevale, Carmichael, and Fair Oaks. The Van Marens, Barretts, Kellys, Muldrows, Heintzes, McMillans, Donahues, Coyles, Deweys, and John Vincent families established farms well before Fair Oaks was in the planning stage. But for this short introduction, we will confine ourselves to the commercial development of Fair Oaks.

Fair Oaks, California had its beginnings, as did many California towns, as a speculative promotion whose eastern promoters had one thing in mind: profit. The Howard-Wilson Publishing Company of Chicago (Civil War General Charles Henry Howard and author James W. Wilson) published a biweekly newspaper "FARM, FIELD, and FIRESIDE" for rural communities. Additionally, the company dabbled in real estate ventures known as "Sunset Colonies" in Roseland, Louisiana, Los Angeles, California and Chadbourn, North Carolina . Since Howard-Wilson was in the publishing business, it was perfectly equipped to advertise and promote its far flung colony projects.

General Howard came to Northern California looking for land suitable for another Sunset Colony, and he found such a parcel in the San Juan Grant, a large tract dating to California's Mexican period. The land was owned by Fred Cox, President of California National Bank and Crawford Clark, owner of the North Fork Ditch, a diversion of water from and along the American River. The North Fork Ditch supplied much of the water needs for approximately twenty miles below Auburn, California.

Apparently, an agreement could not be reached over the sale of the land Howard-Wilson wanted because Clark would not sell the water rights. However an agreement was reached which gave Howard-Wilson the right to buy, advertise, and sell land in the Clark and Cox tract from the fall of 1895 to the fall of 1898 (It should be pointed out here that previous writers have stated that Howard-Wilson bought 6,000 acres from Clark and Cox. However, the land records show that Clark and Cox sold parcels in the subject area concurrently with Howard-Wilson. No records this writer has seen show a sale of 6,000 acres or anything close to it. Howard-Wilson bought lots one at a time from Clark and Cox, and then resold them). You can view the rest of the story here