First Train Arrives in Davisville

First Train Arrives in Davisville. . In 1864 it was determined that the Central Pacific Rail Road would extend eastward from Sacramento over the Donner Summit route to become part of the transcontinental rail line.

Planners for the California Pacific Rail Road Company decided to build a line from South Vallejo to Sacramento which would also connect to Marysville and Woodland at a junction in Davisville. Construction and grading of the rail bed began in Vallejo in December 1866 and the first rails were laid in April 1868.

The construction of the first Davis depot began in July 1868 and the first passenger and freight service between Vallejo and Davis Junction began on August 24th, 1868. The fare was $3.00.

Davisville 1868 - In the 1850s, the area was primarily used for agriculture and raising livestock. In November 1867 prívate promoters of the California Pacific Rail Road line purchased about 3,000 acres of the Jerome C. Davis and Isaac Davis farm along Putah Creek. They planned to establish a train station and junction on the slightly higher side of Putah Creek which remained dry during the rainy season. Calling themselves "The Proprietors of Davisville," they laid out a speculative town with a grid of plots and streets next to the junction of the railroad line from Vallejo to Sacramento and from Davisville to Woodland and points north.

Once the original train depot was built and rail service began in 1868, businesses, homes and the first post office appeared near the railroad tracks and the town of Davisville was born.