Placer County Superior Court of Roseville history

Roseville started expanding in the early 1850’s as discouraged miners arrived there to take up farming.

On December 10, 1853 the Court of Sessions conducted court for the first time in the two story wooden courthouse.

Fire was the ever present danger in those early days and in 1855 Auburn suffered its first big fire.

One of these early settlers was William Andrew Branstetter who owned a mercantile while he was a Justice of the Peace in 1887.

The first section was completed in 1894 but it would take four more years for the other sections to be completed.

The old wooden courthouse was finally destroyed in 1897.

To celebrate the grand re-opening of the courthouse court employees and the community participated in a parade and dressed in costumes reflecting the first dedication held in 1898.

A popular feature of the Auburn courthouse since 1908 is the Neff Fountain, a 15-foot-high water fountain that, according to one local historian, provided "a place where people, horses, and dogs could drink." The fountain is now used as a garden centerpiece in front of the courthouse.

The first known court location was in the home of Justice of Peace Edgar B. Quigley in 1931 and then in the home of Justice of Peace Franklin Pierce Beckstrum.

In 1945, newly elected Justice of Peace Earl Benjamin Schueller rented a small cottage in the backyard of Constable Ernest Botts.

In 1946, Justice of the Peace Clarence William Vernon conducted his court from a newly constructed building which housed a novelty store, an office he used as the Manager of the Public Utility District, a small court and living quarters upstairs.

Fire extinguishers were installed as were water fountains and fire escapes. It was also in 1948 that the need for a second courtroom came before the Board of Supervisor’s who agreed to share their office space on the days they were not conducting business.

Judicial District Judge George English was the first judicial officer to conduct court here but there would be many others who followed him. It wasn’t until 1953 until a more appropriate office space was located at the Loomis Memorial Hall.

He then built a cottage in his own backyard where he would conduct hearings until 1961.

After a strong windstorm hit Roseville blowing the roof off of the Church Street court, the judge and his staff moved to a temporary court set up at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall in 1964.

In 1986, the Board of Supervisors approved a restoration plan which required all county offices to move from the courthouse.

Court staff and judges were relocated to the DeWitt Complex where they would remain until 1990 when the restoration was completed on the courthouse.