Better Know Your City at the Neighborhood Level
In the spirit of celebrating the community, Rancho Cordova Post is launching “Better Know a Neighborhood” a look at the places and people who make Rancho Cordova a special place to live and work. To kick off the series of hyper-local features, we thought we would start with a 1,000-foot view of what attracted the diverse mix of residents and businesses who now call the city home.
Rancho Cordova, which was named after a vineyard when the first post office was built in 1955, was home to a largely-Armenian workforce tending vineyards in the area that now belongs to Aerojet. These residents were joined by more immigrants, hoping to hit it rich during the Gold Rush.
Establishment in 1918 of the precursor to Mather Air Force Base changed the face of the rural community forever. The almost 6,000-acre base was a hub for navigational training during both World Wars. Enlisted personnel and their families moved to Rancho Cordova from all over the country. A number of veterans of the Korean War moved back to the area with their new brides and brought a demand for far eastern goods and services.