Gigi Rayford, director-founder of the Citrus Heights Arts Commission, is collaborating with Andy Saunders on the location and the choice of an artist to paint a new Lincoln Highway themed mural in the city. Photo courtesy of Andy Saunders

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Join in a public celebration of the historic Lincoln Highway’s special place in Citrus Heights history at 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, as a new commemorative sign is dedicated in front of San Juan High School, 7551 Greenback Lane.

The upcoming event will honor San Juan High School, built in 1915, and the 1928 alignment of the Lincoln Highway route through the rural community of Sylvan along Greenback Lane, which was a dusty unpaved road back then. 

The land for San Juan High School was donated by Walter Trainor, an early real estate developer who gave the city its name, and construction was financed through a school bond in the amount of $3,500. In all, there were only 50 students when the high school opened.

The new commemorative sign, placed on a light pole in front of San Juan High, will become one of many listed Points of Interest on the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) interactive travel map through Citrus Heights.

Minor design changes required to make the historical Lincoln Highway Mural accurate are being finalized. Photo courtesy of Andy Saunders

The city, in partnership with CHANT Neighborhood Area 3 board member Andrew Saunders and the Lincoln Highway Association California Chapter, have identified multiple points on the historic transcontinental Lincoln Highway.

“Additional signage is planned in multiple locations in Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks and Orangevale area in advance of the 2028 National Lincoln Highway Tour, which will come through on its way to San Francisco, and I aim to make our area a significant stopover,” Saunders said.

Members of the Citrus Heights Rotary Club, the San Juan High School Alumni Association and the Lincoln Highway Association – California invite the public to celebrate this memorable moment.

Two new commemorative signs that recognize the route of the historic Lincoln Highway past San Juan High were purchased. One will be dedicated in front of San Juan High School and the second, donated by Saunders, will be on public display in the San Juan High School Legacy room in the school cafeteria.

Before 1913, a patchwork of country roads crisscrossed Citrus Heights and much of the country, until businessman Carl G. Fisher began an effort to unite them into the first transcontinental highway, allowing drivers to travel from San Francisco all the way to New York City.

Fisher’s vision for a transcontinental highway, which became known as the Lincoln Highway and was named after President Abraham Lincoln, began in 1913 and lasted until the mid-1920s. The original transcontinental route ran from San Francisco to New York City, with Lincoln Park in San Francisco as the western terminus.

Featured program speakers on Aug. 15 will include David Lewis, principal of San Juan High School; Dick Cowan, a member of the Citrus Heights Historical Society; and Gayle Gaylord, curator and manager of the San Juan High School Legacy Room.

The new commemorative Lincoln Highway sign, placed on a light pole in front of San Juan High now wrapped prior to its unveiling at 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15 will become one of many listed Points of Interest on the Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) interactive travel map through Citrus Heights. Photo courtesy of Andy Saunders

Al Fox, a member of the Citrus Heights Rotary Club, will speak on behalf of the club’s sponsorship of the Lincoln Highway signs.

Joel Windmiller and Trey Pitsenverger, members of the Lincoln Highway Association – California, will also discuss the association’s history and the 1928 Lincoln Highway alignment along Greenback Lane through Orangevale.

Gigi Rayford, director-founder of the Citrus Heights Arts Commission, will also speak on the upcoming Lincoln Highway video project she is working on.

Rayford is collaborating with Saunders on the location and the choice of an artist to paint a new Lincoln Highway themed mural in the city. Saunders contributed $500 toward the completion of a new Lincoln Highway-themed mural.

One possible mural location under consideration along Old Auburn Boulevard is at the Wells Fargo Bank building near the border of the cities of Citrus Heights and Roseville, Saunders said.

The prominent mural location wouldn’t be far from the planned gateway arch which the city of Citrus Heights is planning to build as the centerpiece of its Old Auburn Boulevard Phase 2 project.

Saunders said that his vision for installing historical Lincoln Highway placards only became a reality because of help from the city and General Services director Regina Cave to bring the idea to fruition.

The city also plans to install a fourth Lincoln Highway placard at the northern city limits when a gateway archway into the city is completed, Cave said in an earlier interview.

“Further information about the mural is being held until the final design, artist and location are selected,” Saunders said. “Minor design changes which are required to make the historical Lincoln Highway Mural accurate are being finalized. We’ll be adding the name ‘Sylvan’ to the final mural design as a tribute to the name of the original community and the size of the Citrus Heights sign which is featured in the template will shrink a bit.”

The Lincoln Highway Association first published maps and travel guides to encourage drivers to venture out across the United States. Many did so and became the early residents of the Sylvan community, now incorporated as Citrus Heights.

The original Lincoln Highway route through the Sylvan community was previously recognized in another public ceremony in front of the historic Sylvan Cemetery where another installed historical placard along Auburn Boulevard was dedicated.

Auburn Boulevard once ran along a path in Citrus Heights that was used by freight wagons as far back as 1849. At that time, the road ran straight to the city of Auburn until 1864 when the Central Pacific Railroad reached Roseville, according to Citrus Heights Historical Society President Larry Fritz.

The land for San Juan High School was donated by Walter Trainor, an early real-estate developer who gave the city its name, and construction was financed through a school bond in the amount of $3,500. Photo courtesy of Andy Saunders

The bend in that old country road, which is known as Sylvan Corners, marks the geographic center of Citrus Heights. Auburn Boulevard, Old Auburn Road and Sylvan Road, all come together at the intersection.

At that time, the trail that began as Auburn Road, then Lincoln Highway, then Highway 40, was renamed Auburn Boulevard. The bend in the road, however, remains.

Two additional Lincoln Highway route placards were dedicated along the route, including one on Auburn Boulevard adjacent to the 14-Mile House near Donegal Drive, and another on Auburn Boulevard close to the 12-Mile House near Devecchi Avenue, south of Greenback Lane.

Another Lincoln Highway placard was donated to the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce and another to the Citrus Heights Event Center in Fountain Square.

Saunders said he is also working with the Orangevale Rotary Club, Orangevale Chamber of Commerce, Orangevale History Project and Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez to place additional historic Lincoln Highway signs at the Calder House in Orangevale.

Signage in Orangevale will also include the intersection of Kenneth and Greenback, Main and Greenback, and Main and Orangevale Avenue with arrows leading to the Orangevale bridge.

In Fair Oaks, signs sponsored by the Fair Oaks Rotary Club and the Fair Oaks Historical Society are planned across from the Mount Vernon Cemetery on Greenback Lane.

For more information about the historic Lincoln Highway and to retrace the original route, visit www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/map and highlight specific points of interest.