About Citrus Heights, CA

Between 1542 and 1848 the Spanish controlled the majority of the growth within California. As such, the growth of the settlement was limited to a narrow strip on the coast next to El Camino Real. One of the outposts was the large estate of a Swiss-German immigrant who was granted 11 square miles of property within the Sacramento Valley and in return this man named John Sutter, would have to settle 12 other families on that property. The settlement in this sub-grant is currently known as Citrus Heights.

In 1862, a schoolhouse was constructed because so many people were convinced that there were sufficient children in Citrus Heights to justify a school district. After the schoolhouse was finished it served as a religious, social, civic, and educational center for the community. In conjunction with daily classes, church services and community parties were held.

A petition was approved by the Board of Supervisors in the county in 1863 to build an access road between the easternmost portion of the district and Old Auburn Road. Later that same year, ground was broken for the Central Pacific Railroad, and 1864, the railroad came through the Central Township. The completion of the railroad through the region increased the exporting of agricultural products by local farmers and brought numerous pioneers into the area. There became a need for another grammar school as the result of the continual migration of pioneers to the region. The San Juan School was the name of this new grammar school.

Fruit farming ceased as the result of a wintertime freeze that devastated the majority of the working orchards, during the Great Depression in 1932. The increase in both visitors and the resident population traveling on the new state highway resulted in an increase in opportunities for business. A man named William Cobb organized a service station and a store, that was located directly across from the school.

Rural Citrus heights had a population of about 22,600 residents in 1960. The main street of the community continued to be Auburn Boulevard. This was fueled by the, 1960 building of the Grand Oaks Plaza in 1960. Sometime later, a considerable amount commercial development, that included Sunrise Village, Fountain Square, Birdcage Walk, and Sunrise Mall transformed the commercial focus eastward towards Greenback Lane.

The rocket motor manufacturing factory named Aerojet General was booming, at this time. The plant employed over 19,000 workers in the early 1960’s at its peak. However, in 1977, there was steady decline to less than 4,000 workers. The factory drew new people to Citrus Heights by developing a more scientific and professional demographic.

Ground was broke for the Sunrise Mall during 1970, which fueled a considerable amount of new growth in the Greenback Lane/Sunrise Boulevard region. There were some 101 stores which employed 2,500 workers in four department stores within Sunrise Mall by 1976. That same year, Birdcage Walk was located across from Sunrise Boulevard from the mall, there were many different businesses and stores next to the walkway. The two shopping malls fueled the building of numerous businesses in the surrounding region.

From the 1970’s through the 1980’s there were several defeats that the incorporation movement experienced. These were primarily the result of the opposition by the County Board of Supervisors. Meanwhile, an advisory body to the County Board of Supervisors known as the Citrus Heights Community Council fought for increased public services, and controls over land use. The population of the community was exploding and rapidly developing the last of the rural properties in the region. It seemed as though the county couldn’t resolve its ever increasing problems as the result of the increase in urban growth, especially the number of county sheriff officers that were required in order to thwart the vandalism, residential burglaries and automobile thefts in the community.