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Our Community's History

May contain: neighborhood, building, urban, and architecture
Some of our buildings are architectural gems

Arden Arcade has been around for a while. Once it was the exclusive domain of the Nisenan people. In 1843 Mexico deeded to John Sutter the Rancho del Paso land grant. For the next few years the land was farmed in wheat and cattle. In 1862 the land was sold to James Ben Ali Haggin. He was a breeder of champion race horses, one of which, Ben Ali, won the Kentucky Derby in record time in 1886. Haggin's horses went to win many horse races around the world. Haggin even built a railroad spur (roughly from the current Union Pacific tracks to his breeding paddock, which is today the site of the Haggin Oaks golf course) for shipping the horses. Haggin eventually sold the land in 1910 to Orlando Robertson of Arden Hills MN. Robertson went on to lay out 10 acre plots of land and name the main streets of the area. As the 20th century began, Arden Arcade was largely an agricultural area. World War II brought significant changes to the region, with McClellan Field and other area Air Force bases being essential to the war effort. The post-war era here was a boom time of suburban development - subdivisions, shopping centers and strip malls transformed our area's rural setting. As the 20th century became the 21st century, Arden Arcade had evolved into an "old suburb": built-out, unincorporated and largely neglected by Sacramento County. Still, hope springs eternal. By now, waves of immigrants from Eastern Europe and later from the Middle East and war-torn Asia and Ukraine have made the community their home and added to the rich diversity of the community.

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