History of the Folsom Cordova Education Association and the Folsom Cordova Unified School District

Though the gold miners came by the flocks and droves to the area in 1849, they had been preceded by a few men who came with their families to farm the rich Central Valley. These early pioneers were not weak-kneed men, but rather braved both natural and physical elements to come West to find gold and set up a new kind of life. In Folsom, there is a street named after such a pioneer, "Bidwell." This man never had a family, but some of the men who came in his party had children that were to be educated. As early as 1853 there was a school at Mormon Island. The first school in Folsom was Granite, and the first teacher was Mrs. I. M. Sibley. In 1870 Granite had a four member board. The members were: Mr. W. Rogers from Alder Creek, Mr. C. K. Ecklow from Ashland, Mr. J. S. Meredith and Mr. A. D. Oakle from Folsom. Mormon Island is now under the Folsom Dam and Alder Creek is now some of the dredged land that Aerojet owns. Ashland is the area that lies along both sides of Folsom-Auburn Road north of the American River. Although gold may have been the most important industry at the time, other industries helped support Folsom. Aerojet and Douglas were the large aerospace industrial areas in the 60's, and were the major cause for the development of the Rancho Cordova community. Intel and the technological industries made Folsom and Rancho Cordova boom in the 90's.

FCEA would like to thank Bette Hickok and Norman Seifkin for their work on the production of this document.

Timeline of FCEA and FCUSD

Folsom Cordova School Sites and Principals