Whitney, Placer County, CA
Miscellaneous > Places Named Whitney > Whitney, Placer County, CA
WHITNEY, Placer County, California
by Ron Whitney
I first saw Whitney about 1960 while traveling on state highway 65 just north of Roseville, California. There was a large white sign with black lettering near the railroad track - nothing more.
I inquired and found that it was the railroad siding for the Whitney ranch. It was a 22,000 acre ranch that was owned by J. Parker Whitney in the 1870s.
The next time I visited the Whitney ranch, the southern end, near Rocklin, had been developed and was called Sunset-Whitney. This included a major golf course and country club of the same name.
The next development on the property which included the old Whitney home was for some strange reason named Stanford Ranch. This, in typical subdivision style, was broken into areas of houses with different names. One of the most recent is called Whitney Oaks. This area also includes a new golf course called Whitney Oaks. Towards the northern end of the ranch is another golf course that is called Twelve Bridges. The name is interesting because J. Parker Whitney built a nine-hole golf course for the amusement of himself and his friends. It had an eight-mile-loop scenic road that crossed 12 hand-hewn granite bridges. The new golf course is a long way from the original, but they used the name. Some of the original bridges still exist in a little Whitney memorial park near the location where the old ranch house was.
As far as I know there is no trace of Whitney, CA, that can be seen. The sign was gone years ago. Probably in storage in a railroad warehouse somewhere. Soon, the entire ranch will be one big housing development from Rocklin to Lincoln, but at least the Whitney name has been retained for streets, developments and golf courses.
Copyright © 2001, 2007, Ron Whitney, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group
