Editing Folsom, California (section)

==History==
The [[Nisenan]] tribe of [[Indigenous peoples of California|Native Americans]] had long inhabited the area.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ru2S7rek5VoC&q=indian+wells+california+images+of+america | title=Folsom, California | author= Folsom Historical Society| date=September 15, 1999 | publisher=Arcadia | isbn=9781439610190 }}</ref> The [[Gold Rush of 1849]] brought [[California genocide|violence, disease and overwhelming loss]] for the tribes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Gold Rush Impact on Native Tribes |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldrush-value-land/ |access-date=November 20, 2023 |publisher= PBS | work= [[American Experience]] | via= PBS.org |language=en}}</ref>

[[Joseph Libbey Folsom]] purchased [[Rancho Rio de los Americanos]] from the heirs of [[San Francisco]] merchant [[William Alexander Leidesdorff]], and laid out the town called Granite City, mostly occupied by gold miners seeking their fortune in the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] foothills. Though few amassed a great deal of wealth, the city prospered due to Joseph Folsom's lobbying to get a railway to connect the town with [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]]. Joseph died in 1855, and Granite City was later renamed Folsom in his honor. The railway was abandoned in the 1980s<ref>{{cite web | title=Nimbus to Folsom | url=http://www.abandonedrails.com/article.asp?id=302 | publisher= | website= AbandonedRails.com | access-date=October 12, 2008 | archive-date=March 2, 2009 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090302194631/http://www.abandonedrails.com/article.asp?id=302 | url-status=dead }}</ref> but opened up as the terminus of the [[Gold Line (SacRT)|Gold Line]] of [[Sacramento Regional Transit District]]'s [[light rail]] service in 2005. A few former gold-rush era towns are located in and around Folsom, including [[Prairie City, California|Prairie City]], [[Salmon Falls, California|Salmon Falls]], and [[Mormon Island, California|Mormon Island]].

Folsom included a significant [[Chinese American]] community when it was first [[municipal corporation|incorporated]], but arsonists burned Folsom's [[Chinatown]] in March 1886, driving Chinese Americans out of town.<ref>{{Cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mfkyAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA8-PA20|title=Folsom Dam Road Access Restriction: Environmental Impact Statement|date=April 2005|publisher=US Department of Interior|section=3.9.1.1|page=3.9-2|language=en}}</ref><!--dead reference, not authoritative source <ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.uvm.edu/~jloewen/sundowntownsshow.php?id=1054 |title = Retired service | publisher= University of Vermont}}</ref>-->

The establishment of [[Folsom Prison]] came in 1880, when the [[Robert Livermore|Livermore family]] made an agreement with the state to donate land for the prison in exchange for prison labor. They planned to build a [[hydro-electric dam]] from the [[American River]] for a sawmill. Though the sawmill did not work out, the Livermores soon realized that the natural force of running water could provide enough power to transmit to Sacramento, and the [[Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park|Folsom Powerhouse]], now a [[National Historic Landmark]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=List of NHLs by State - National Historic Landmarks (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nhls-by-state.htm |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> was opened. At the time it was opened, it had the longest overhead run of electricity (22 miles) in the country. The powerhouse operated until 1952.

[[Folsom Dam]] was built in 1956, providing flood control and water rights for the Sacramento Valley and created [[Folsom Lake]]. The dam is located on the southwest corner of the lake. The lake is an estimated {{convert|4.8|mi|km}} from [[Granite Bay]] to the most southern point of [[Folsom Lake]].

Folsom is home to [[Folsom Lake College]], [[Folsom High School]], [[Vista del Lago High School (Folsom, California)|Vista del Lago High School]] and a historic downtown district. Folsom is also home to the largest private employer in the Sacramento area, [[Intel]].

The Folsom Plan Area allows the construction of 11,000 homes resulting in 25,000 additional residents enlarging the city of Folsom by one-third. The planned community development area of {{convert|3,250|acres}} south of Highway 50 includes additional housing, schools and parks along with office and commercial buildings.<ref>{{Cite web| url= https://www.folsom.ca.us/community/planning/folsom_plan_area/default.asp|title=Folsom, CA - Folsom Plan Area| website= folsom.ca.us|access-date=February 27, 2020|archive-date=February 27, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200227175319/https://www.folsom.ca.us/community/planning/folsom_plan_area/default.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Bizjak|first=Tony|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article211168769.html|title=Thousands of long-awaited homes are coming to Folsom. Here's what you should know| date= May 21, 2018 |work= [[Sacramento Bee]] |access-date=February 27, 2020}}</ref>