Auburn, California

Auburn, California
City
City of Auburn
Old Town Auburn in July 2009
Location in Placer County and the state of California
Coordinates: 38°53′55″N 121°4′28″W / 38.89861°N 121.07444°W / 38.89861; -121.07444Coordinates: 38°53′55″N 121°4′28″W / 38.89861°N 121.07444°W / 38.89861; -121.07444
Country	United States of America
State	California
County	Placer
Government
• Mayor	Vanessa Marin (Republican) [1]
• State Senate	Dave Cox (R)
• State Assembly	Ted Gaines (R) or Dan Logue (R)
• U. S. Congress	Tom McClintock (R)[2]
Area[3]
• City	7.166 sq mi (18.560 km2)
• Land	7.138 sq mi (18.488 km2)
• Water	0.028 sq mi (0.071 km2)  0.38%
Elevation	1,227 ft (374 m)
Population (2010)
• City	13,330
• Density	1,900/sq mi (720/km2)
• Metro	est. ~19,500 (including Foresthill, Applegate and Meadow Vista)
Time zone	Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	95602-95604
Area code(s)	530
FIPS code	06-03204
GNIS feature ID	1657964
Website	auburn.ca.gov
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Auburn, California
California Historical Landmark
Reference No.	404

Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California.^[4] Its population at the 2010 census was 13,330. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history, and is registered as a California Historical Landmark.^[5]

Auburn is part of the Greater Sacramento area and is home to the Auburn State Recreation Area. The park is the site of more sporting endurance events than any other place in the world, giving Auburn the undisputed and internationally acclaimed title of Endurance Capital of the World. Examples include the Western States Endurance Run; the Western States Trail Ride, also known as Tevis Cup Equestrian Ride; American River 50 Mile Endurance Run; American River 50 Mile Equestrian Ride; Way Too Cool 50 Kilometer Endurance Run; Auburn International Half-Ironman Triathlon; Auburn Century 100 Mile Bike Ride, Coolest 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race, Rio Del Lago 100 Mile Endurance Run, Sierra Nevada 50 Mile Endurance Run, and the Coolest Run: Ride & Tie.

History

The Placer County Courthouse was constructed between 1894 and 1898.

Archaeological finds place the southwestern border for the prehistoric Martis people in the Auburn area.^[6] The indigenous Nisenan, an offshoot of the Maidu, were the first to establish a permanent settlement in the Auburn area.

In the spring of 1848, a group of French gold miners arrived and camped in what would later be known as the Auburn Ravine. This group was on its way to the gold fields in Coloma, California, and it included Francois Gendron, Philibert Courteau, and Claude Chana. The young Chana discovered gold on May 16, 1848. After finding the gold deposits in the soil, the trio decided to stay for more prospecting and mining.

Placer mining in the Auburn area was very good, with the camp first becoming known as the North Fork Dry Diggings. This name was changed to the Woods Dry Diggings, after John S. Wood settled down, built a cabin, and started to mine in the ravine. The area soon developed into a mining camp, and it was officially named Auburn in August 1849. By 1850, the town's population had grown to about 1500 people, and in 1851, Auburn was chosen as the seat of Placer County. Gold mining operations moved up the ravine to the site of present-day Auburn. In 1865, the Central Pacific Railroad, the western leg of the First Transcontinental Railroad, reached Auburn, as it was being built east from Sacramento toward Ogden, Utah.

The restored Old Town has houses and retail buildings from the middle of the 19th century. The oldest fire station and the Post Office date from the Gold Rush years. Casual gold-mining accessories, as well as American Indian and Chinese artifacts, can also be viewed by visitors at the Placer County Museum. Auburn was the home and birthplace of noted Science Fiction and Fantasy poet and writer Clarke Ashton Smith. A memorial to him is located near Old Town.

In popular culture

The Queen Anne style Old Town Firehouse is a landmark. It originally adjoined a row of commercial buildings (now demolished). It was home to the Auburn Volunteer Fire Department.^[1]

The following films were, at least in part, shot in Auburn:^[7]

• The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
• Protocol
• Breakdown
• My Family
• The Phantom
• Phenomenon
• Wisdom
• xXx
• The Ugly Truth

• Auburn is the town where George and Lennie were raised in John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men.

Landmarks

Auburn is home to Placer High School, which is one of the oldest high schools in California.

Local dentist Kenneth H. Fox's colossal sculptures are perhaps the most famous in town. The statues chronicle Auburn's history with a middle-aged Claud Chana gold panning in the nearby American River, and a Chinese "coolie" worker building the Transcontinental Railroad.

Geography

Rolling hills of Auburn, taken near Indian Hill Road.

Auburn is located at 38°53′55″N 121°04′28″W / 38.898671°N 121.074399°W / 38.898671; -121.074399.^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.2 square miles (19 km²), of which 0.03 square miles (0.078 km²), or 0.38%, is water.

Auburn is situated approximately 800 vertical feet above the confluence of the North Fork and Middle Fork of the American River between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe in central California, along the Interstate 80 freeway. Mountainous wilderness canyons and the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Range lie adjacent eastward, while gentle rolling foothills well-suited for agriculture lie to the west. The crest of the Sierra Nevada lies approximately 45 miles (72 km) eastward, and the Central Valley lies approximately ten miles to the west.

Climate

Auburn has cool, moist winters and hot, dry summers. Average December temperatures are a maximum of 54.4 °F (12.4 °C) and a minimum of 37.5 °F (3.1 °C). Average July temperatures are a maximum of 91.7 °F (33.2 °C) and a minimum of 63.6 °F (17.6 °C). Annually, there are an average of 59.4 days with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher, an average of 7.0 days with 100 °F (38 °C) or higher, and an average of 17.1 days with 32 °F (0 °C) or lower.^[9] The record high temperature was 113 °F (45 °C) on July 15, 1972. The record low temperature was 16 °F (−9 °C) on December 9, 1972 and December 7, 2009.^[9]

Average annual precipitation is 35.83 inches (910 mm). There are an average of 70 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with 64.87 inches (1,648 mm) and the driest year was 1976 with 11.76 inches (299 mm). The most precipitation in one month was 23.08 inches (586 mm) in January 1909. The most precipitation in 24 hours was 5.41 inches (137 mm) on October 13, 1962,^[9] during the Columbus Day Storm. Snow rarely falls in Auburn; average annual snowfall is only 1.0 inch (25 mm).^[9] The most snowfall in one year was 10.7 inches (270 mm) in 1972, including 6.5 inches (170 mm) in January 1972.^[10]

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[12] reported that Auburn had a population of 13,330. The population density was 1,860.2 people per square mile (718.2/km²). The racial makeup of Auburn was 11,863 (89.0%) White, 100 (0.8%) African American, 129 (1.0%) Native American, 240 (1.8%) Asian, 9 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 405 (3.0%) from other races, and 584 (4.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,331 persons (10.0%).

The Census reported that 13,052 people (97.9% of the population) lived in households, 145 (1.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 133 (1.0%) were institutionalized.

There were 5,759 households, out of which 1,502 (26.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,613 (45.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 604 (10.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 257 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 352 (6.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 33 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,845 households (32.0%) were made up of individuals and 801 (13.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27. There were 3,474 families (60.3% of all households); the average family size was 2.85.

The population was spread out with 2,645 people (19.8%) under the age of 18, 1,031 people (7.7%) aged 18 to 24, 2,898 people (21.7%) aged 25 to 44, 4,224 people (31.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,532 people (19.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.4 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

There were 6,139 housing units at an average density of 856.7 per square mile (330.8/km²), of which 3,388 (58.8%) were owner-occupied, and 2,371 (41.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%. 8,017 people (60.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,035 people (37.8%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 12,462 people, 5,302 households, and 3,281 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,690.2 people per square mile (652.9/km²). There were 5,457 housing units at an average density of 740.1 per square mile (285.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.5% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. 6.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,302 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $58,999, and the median income for a family was $82,250. The per capita income for the city was $36,258.

Transportation

Auburn is served by Amtrak passenger rail service a few times a day, and its railroad station is the eastern terminus of AMTRAK's California-based Capitol Corridor train. Interstate Highway 80 is the main east-west highway through this area, connecting Sacramento to the west and the Lake Tahoe/Reno areas to the east. This town can be reached through several interchanges on Interstate 80, three of which (exits 118, 119 A through C, and 120) are somewhat within the town limits. California Highway 49 is the main north-south highway through this area. Highway 49 connects Auburn with the towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City to its north.

The Auburn Municipal Airport is located three miles (5 km) north of town, and it is a General Aviation airport, only. Auburn owns and operates this airport and an industrial site. The airport site covers 285 acres (1.15 km²) including an 80-acre (320,000 m²) industrial site. This airport has a single 3,700 ft (1,128 m)-long runway.^[14][15] Services available there include the usual General Aviation ones.^[16]

See also

• Bernhard Museum Complex
• Gold Country Museum
• Pine Hills Adventist Academy

Books

• Auburn, California: crossroads of historic gold country. (1973). [S.l: s.n.].
• Borchardt, G. A., Rice, S. J., & Taylor, G. C. (1980). Paleosols overlying the Foothills fault system near Auburn, California. Sacramento: California Division of Mines and Geology.
• Barieau, C. (1988). A self-guided walking tour to historic Auburn buildings: a guide to significant historical and architectural buildings of Auburn, California. Auburn, Calif: Auburn Letter House.
• Sanborn, D. (2001). Chronology of Auburn, California. Auburn, CA: Auburn Sesquicentennial Committee.

References

External links

• Auburn City official homepage
• Auburn, CA - Information & Resources
• Auburn Chamber of Commerce
• Placer County Courthouse
• Auburn Journal - newspaper
• Placer High School
• Auburn Online Community
• Auburn Statues
• Bicentennial Park
• Placer County Museums

	Sheridan	North Auburn	Foresthill
	Lincoln		Cool
	Auburn
	Penryn	Folsom Lake	Coloma

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Auburn, California.

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