Rural Roots Sunday - My Deep Rural Roots

…The Rural Area is valued in our community for its aesthetic and cultural significance, as well as the economic and educational opportunities that agriculture provides. Our commitment to maintaining the Rural Area is clear and codified in core planning documents…” Elk Grove General Plan, December 2023

My family, the Jordan family, came to Elk Grove in 1910. My Grandparents raised their family in Wilton on Fig Road, in the Fruit Basket. My dad and his siblings went to Elk Grove schools. He went to Elk Grove High School when it was on Elk Grove Blvd. My parents bought 20 acres on Calvine Road before I was born, and I never knew any other home until I got married.

I looked out my bedroom window as a child and saw nothing but fields with horses, sheep and cattle grazing alongside the creek. I played in those fields, made mud pies, picked bouquets of wildflowers for my mom (they were stinky, but she still put them in a vase on the table).  I played house with my neighbor Sandy on one side and Julie on the other and played hide and seek with friends.

I went to Elk Grove schools. I rode a school bus. I got up early to get ready and get to the bus stop through a cow pasture. I’d run late sometimes and the bus would be waiting at the stop. I would run through the field as fast as I could to get to the bus. A few times I slipped and fell in a mud puddle or cow patty and I cried! I got up and went back home, and my mom had to take me to school.

I rode horses across the field from my friend’s house on Robbin’s Road to our house on Calvine. There were no houses or fences… just fields. I rode my bicycle on hot summer days down a very bumpy Waterman Road.  On Bond Road we went through the CRAZY bridge, and on to Britschgi’s Dairy to buy a cold popsicle with our soda bottle money and then back home enjoying every bite.

I cherish these childhood memories, and I wanted my kids and now my grandkids to know and love the rural lifestyle like I do.  I had stability, something all kids deserve, and the opportunity to dream.  To this end, my husband and I bought our home on acreage on Sheldon Road in the early ‘90s, when our boys were in elementary school.

Fast Forward

When Elk Grove became a city in July 2000, we were there. We attended city council and planning meetings, standing alongside our neighbors to protect the rural character of this area. We were assured that the designated Elk Grove rural area would remain rural and that this region would officially and proudly be recognized with signs reading:

Welcome to ELK GROVE RURAL COMMUNITY Established 1850

The City of Elk Grove describes the Sheldon rural area as a protected landscape, emphasizing its agricultural heritage, open space, wildlife habitat, and slower pace of life. The City’s website highlights that cattle and horses roam freely, crops grow in open fields, and the rural community is a “valuable asset to be preserved and appreciated.”

The General Plan and Rural Area Community Plan reinforce this by designating the area as Rural Residential (RR) with 2‑acre minimum parcels, private wells, septic systems, and two‑lane country roads—all intended to maintain the rural character.

Today, once again, we are standing alongside our neighbors to protect the rural character of this area.  This time we’re battling against an urban-style development proposal called Summer Villas.

Please help us!  Visit the SAVE RURAL ELK GROVE website at:  saveruralelkgrove.com

 Tammy M

Rural Elk Grove Resident