History:

Did you know …  A Spanish ship captained by Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first to visit California in 1542. When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, California became a province of the country of Mexico. In 1846, the United States and Mexico went to war in the Mexican-American War. When the war ended in 1848, California became a territory of the United States. Two years later, on September 9, 1850, California was admitted into the Union as the 31st state. In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California. This started one of the largest gold rushes in history. Tens of thousands of treasure hunters moved to California to strike it rich. Between 1848 and 1855, over 300,000 people moved to California. 

California's first railroad was built from Sacramento to Folsom, California starting in February 1855. The first Transcontinental Railroad from Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska was completed on 9 May 1869. The Central Pacific Railroad, the Pacific end of the railroad, largely took over nearly all freight across the Sierra Nevada (U.S.) mountains in Northern California. Although most of California's railroads started off as short line railroads the period from 1860 to 1903 saw a series of railroad mergers and acquisitions that led to the creation of four major inter-state railroads servicing the state (the Southern Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad, Santa Fe Railroad and Western Pacific Railroad).  By the 1890s the construction of electric railroads had begun in California and the by the early 20th century several systems existed to serve California's largest cities. The 1970s saw the end of private passenger railroads in California, the creation of a national passenger railroad (Amtrak) and the Bay Area's opening of the BART rail-system. In the 1980s and 1990s commuter railroads where established.

LEARN MORE: HERE, HERE, & HERE.

Agriculture and Industry:

Did you know …  California became a major farming state with plenty of land in the Central Valley for growing all sorts of crops. There’s a good chance that piece of fruit you’re eating was grown in California. The state is the top U.S. producer of lemons, apricots, avocados, dates, figs, grapes, kiwi, nectarines, peaches, raspberries, strawberries, and many others. And it’s not just fruit, California leads the nation in production of almonds, pistachios, and walnuts. It even grows over 90 percent of the broccoli that’s produced in the United States. The state also produces timber, cement, natural gas, and petroleum. Major Industries include: computing and technology, agriculture, movie production, and tourism.  

LEARN MORE: HERE, HERE, & HERE.

State Bird and State Flower

Did you know …  The official State Bird of California is the California Valley Quail.  California designated the California quail (Callipepla Californicus) as official state bird in 1931. Known for their hardiness and adaptability, the native California quail is a plump bird, smaller than a pigeon, with a distinctive black plume on its head and a black bib with a white stripe under its beak.  LEARN MORE.

The official State Flower of California is the California Poppy.  The California poppy (Eschscholzia Californica) was designated the state flower of California in 1903. Every year, April 6 is California Poppy Day and May 13th - 18th is Poppy Week. LEARN MORE.

Los Angeles, CA

Did you know …  California’s State Capital is Sacramento, but its largest city is Los Angeles. The official date for the founding of Los angeles is September 4, 1781. Oil was discovered by Edward L. Doheny in 1892, near the present location of Dodger Stadium. The Los Angeles City Oil Field was the first of many fields in the basin to be exploited. Los Angeles became a center of oil production in the early 20th century, and by 1923 the region was producing one-quarter of the world's total supply; it is still a significant producer, with the Wilmington Oil Field having the fourth-largest reserves of any field in California. 

Hollywood has been synonymous worldwide with the film industry for over a hundred years. It was incorporated as the City of Hollywood in 1903 but merged into LA in 1910. In the 1900s Jewish movie makers from New York found the sunny, temperate weather more suitable for year-round location shooting. It boomed into the cinematic heart of the United States, and has been the home and workplace of actors, directors and singers that range from small and independent to world famous, leading to the development of related television and music industries. 

Los Angeles has been described as a city without a center, but in reality it has a vital downtown at its heart. Because the city is in an earthquake zone, it once had a restriction against the construction of tall buildings. The cluster of skyscrapers in the central business district began to take shape in the 1960s, after the restriction was lifted. Northwest of the central business district is the Civic Center, which includes City Hall and several other city and county buildings.

LEARN  MORE: HERE & HERE.

Fun Facts

Did you know …  California is known as the Golden State.  The gold rush between 1848 and 1855 probably helped earn California the nickname the Golden State, as did its golden poppies, the state flower. The first McDonald’s restaurant was opened in California in 1940! It was located in San Bernardino by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald. California’s notable famous locations include: Golden Gate Bridge, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Hollywood, Beverly Hills. Some famous Californians include: Robert Frost – poet, Coolio – rap artist, Leonardo di Caprio – actor, and Tiger Woods – golfer, Richard M. Nixon – 37th President of the U.S, Sally K. Ride – astronaut and first American woman in space, and Joe DiMaggio (baseball player)

Here are a few of California’s many Professional Sports Teams … Wowza!:

San Francisco 49ers (National Football League)

Oakland Raiders (National Football League)

San Diego Chargers (National Football League)

Los Angeles Dodgers (Mayor Baseball League)

Los Angeles Angels (Major Baseball League)

Oakland Athletics (Major Baseball League)

San Diego Padres (Major Baseball League)

Los Angeles Lakers (National Basketball Association)

Los Angeles Clippers (National Baseball Association)

Sacramento Kings, (National Basketball Association)

Golden State Warriors (National Basketball Association)

Anaheim Ducks (National Hockey League)

Chivas USA (Major League Soccer)

Los Angeles Galaxy (Major League Soccer)

Los Angeles Sparks (Women’s National Basketball Association)

Sacramento Monarchs (Women’s National Basketball Association)

LEARN MORE: HERE, HERE, HERE, & HERE.

CHECKOUT THIS VIDEO.

Did you know that after the Gold Rush and completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, California's railroads exploded to over 2,000 miles by 1880 and today remains one of the top railroad states in the country?

Here are some train jokes to make you giggle:

Q: How do you find a missing train?

A: Follow the tracks.

Q: What do you call a locomotive with a cold?

A: Achoo achoo train.

Q: What do you call a pretend railway?

A: A play station

Q: What kind of a car does a crazy man drive?

A: A LOCOmotive.

Q: Why don’t elephants like to ride on trains?

A: They hate leaving their trunks in the baggage car.

Q: If an electric train is heading north, which way would the steam be coming out? 

A: There wouldn’t be any. It’s an electric train.

Q: How do locomotives hear?

A: Through the engineers!

Q: What do you call a train loaded with bubble gum?

A: A chew-chew train.

"The Little Train"

By Lois Lenski

"The Winter Train"

by Caroline Moorehead

"Stop Train Stop"

a Thomas the Tank Engine story

California produces almost all of the country's almonds, apricots, dates, figs, kiwi fruit, nectarines, olives, pistachios, prunes, and walnuts. It leads in the production of avocados, grapes, lemons, melons, peaches, plums, and strawberries. The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by Hispanic America roots (Mexican, Latin American, Spanish), alongside Asian influences (Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai) and European influences (Italian, French, Portuguese). 

California is also the birth place of California Pizza Kitchen.  Here is a video of how to make their most popular pizza … BBQ Chicken Pizza