The City of Loomis

Since we are in Loomis, I thought I would do a quick posting about this little city.  Loomis has a population of just over 6,000 people, covers 7 square miles, and is at an elevation of 400 feet.  I tend to think of it as being near the foot of the Sierra Foothills.  Essentially the Sierra Nevada Mountains run along the Eastern side of Central and Northern California.  The foothills are the buffer between the large mountains, which run into the 12,000, 13,000 and even 14,000 foot range, and the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, which have elevations near sea level.  Loomis, at 400 feet, is too high to be valley, too low to be foothills.  Below is look to the north just on the outskirts of the city.

The Union Pacific Railroad tracks run right through town on their way up to Donner Pass over the Sierras.  The elevation is just right for growing fruits, and for well over a hundred years fruit packing sheds were located right along the rail tracks.  Today these old sheds have been converted to various office and business locations.

The train freight house and depot was built in 1910.  No longer used for train service, it is used for various community events and activities.

Next door to the old train depot is a park and a skating and skateboard park, and when I drove by, there was a lot of action going on there.

Loomis is named after James Oscar Loomis who settled in the area and at one time was the saloon keeper, railroad agent, express agent, and postmaster.  He died in 1895, five years after the town was named after him.  Prior to that it was known as Placer, Smithville, Pino and Pine, however it never officially incorporated until 1984 to protect it from being taken over by the nearby, and fast grown city of Rocklin, which is located to the south of Loomis.

It seems like a nice little town, very friendly, family oriented, and has a nice size Public Library, located on Library Lane.  (Gotta throw that in since I am a former Public Library Director myself.)

Oh, and we sure appreciate the nice, big Raley’s Supermarket in town.  I have been going to Raley’s since before I can remember….a great store….almost as nice as Publix in Florida.

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