Sacramento County The Sacramento County Courthouse in Sacramento Part 1 of 3: Freeport, Hood, Courtland, Locke, Walnut Grove, Ryde, Isleton
Sacramento County Sacramento County Data Population: 1,223,499 (Rank: 8) Land Area (square miles): 966 (Rank: 43) Sacramento County was once an agricultural area with an abundance of water supplied by the Sacramento and American Rivers. Today it is mostly urban sprawl. The suburbs have grown to the east along the two major highways I-80 and Highway 50. These areas include Arden, Arcade, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Citrus Heights, Orangevale and Rancho Cordova. Citrus Heights and Rancho Cordova recently became incorporated cities. Interstate I-5 runs through the county and the old part of Sacramento. Highway 99 runs through the middle of the city. Elk Grove and Galt are located south of Sacramento on 99. South of Elk Grove farming still persists. Sacramento County stretches along the east side of the Sacramento River. Highway 160 is built on top of the levee. Along this road you find the Delta towns of Hood, Courtland, Locke, Walnut Grove and Isleton. Cities: Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Galt, Isleton. Towns: Freeport, Hood, Courtland, Locke, Walnut Grove. Introduction California is comprised of 58 counties. The state, the third largest in the U.S., has the greatest diversity of geography of any of the states. It has huge deserts, high mountain ranges, fertile valleys and a 1000 mile coastline. Beginning in 2001 my wife and I began to travel and photograph the state as a retirement hobby. In 2009 we published a CD containing about 4,000 photos of the regions of the state. Since that time we have added about 10,000 more photos to our collection. It was also at this time (December 2008) I began to send a photographic diary of our trips to friends and people with an interest in California geography. Now we are organizing our collection by county using all of our photos dating back to 2001. 2012 by Larry Stevens stevens.lawrence@comcast.net
Sacramento County River
Alturas (May 2003)
Alturas In Gold Rush days Sacramento taxed goods destined to the gold fields. Merchants opened a port south of Sacramento that was tax free. Hence, Freeport. (May 2003)
Hood Hood is one of those old shipping points on the river. (May 2003)
Hood May 2003
Hood May 2003
Courtland Courtland is famous for its pear orchards. Pears need lots of water to flourish. (October 2005)
Courtland Courtland was established in 1870 as a steamer landing by James Simes. A post office was established in 1872. The town is named for Simes son, Courtland. (October 2005)
Courtland (October 2005)
Courtland (October 2005)
Courtland (October 2005)
Courtland (October 2005)
Courtland (October 2005)
Ryde William Kesner planned the community in 1892. It has had a post office since that time. The hotel was a speakeasy during the 1920 s. (February 2006)
Ryde (February 2006)
Ryde (February 2006)
Locke When fire burned down the Chinese part of Walnut Grove in 1916 Chinese moved next door to farm land owned by Chester Locke. It is one of the few Chinese built cities in America. It hasn t changed much over the years. It is now historic site maintained by the City of Sacramento. (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Locke (2006/2009)
Walnut Grove (February 2006)
Walnut Grove (February 2006)
Walnut Grove Walnut Grove was established in 1850 by John Sharp. When he died in 1880 the property was sold to Alex Brown. Brown s bank can still be seen on the levee. This was the only town that was split on both sides of the river. A bridge connecting the two was built in 1916. Only whites were allowed on the west side of the river. (February 2009)
Walnut Grove (February 2006)
Walnut Grove Almost the total community has been undergoing development over the last several years. (February 2009)
Walnut Grove On the west side of the river are a number of fine homes. (February 2009)
Walnut Grove (February 2006)
Walnut Grove (February 2009)
Walnut Grove (February 2009)
Walnut Grove (February 2009)
Walnut Grove (February 2006)
Walnut Grove Walnut Grove has this piece of folk art overlooking the levee highway. Before Christ there was a wire statue of the Statue of Liberty. (February 2009)
Walnut Grove (February 2006)
Walnut Grove (February 2009)
Walnut Grove (February 2009)
Walnut Grove (February 2009)
Highway 160 (February 2009)
Highway 160 (February 2009)
Isleton Isleton was once known as the Paris of the West during the 1920 s booze, gambling and prostitution. The northern part of the town was Chinese and still shows a Chinese influence. The town, with a population of 800, is famous for its Crawdad Festival. (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Isleton (2006/2010)
Walnut Grove antennae The first TV tower was built in 1962 and is 1,548 feet tall. In 1985 three other towers were built, They were about 2,000 feet tall and are among the tallest structures in the world. (2010)