Roseville

Roseville is the largest city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500. Interstate 80 runs through Roseville and State Route 65 runs through part of the northern edge of the city.

The settlement was originally a stage coach station called Griders. According to the Roseville Historical Society, in 1864 the Central Pacific Railroad tracks were constructed northeastward from Sacramento. The point where the tracks met the California Central Railroad line was named "Junction". Junction eventually became known as Roseville (cf. Louis Rose). In 1909, three years after the Southern Pacific Railroad moved its facilities from Rocklin to Roseville, the town became an incorporated city. What followed was a period of expansion, with the community building more than 100 structures, including what was the largest ice manufacturing plant in the world (Pacific Fruit Express building, in 1913).

The city was a railroad town for decades, with the railroad employing up to 1,225 people by 1929, out of a population of only 6,425 people. With the onset of World War II, the rail yards became busier than ever and the post-war building boom brought continued prosperity. However, the nature of the city changed dramatically in the 1950s.