Program

Great American Rail-Trail

Subject

People, Site

Location

2202 Blue Oaks Blvd, Roseville, CA 95747, USA

Lat/Long

38.792595, -121.363505

Grant Recipient

Rails-to-Trails

J. Fiddyment, born Elizabeth Jane Crawford in New York around 1830, became one of the most prominent agricultural figures in 19th‑century Placer County, California. At age seven, she moved with her parents to Illinois, where she married Walter Fiddyment in 1850 and gave birth to their son, Walter Frederick. Fourteen months after their marriage, Walter Fiddyment was tragically stabbed to death, leaving Elizabeth a young widow.

Around 1852, during the Gold Rush era, Elizabeth traveled west with her sister and brother‑in‑law, journeying by steamer across the Isthmus of Panama, on to San Francisco before settling in Sacramento. In 1854, she remarried George Hill, a farmer and stock raiser, and they had five children. Two years later, the family moved to the Pleasant Grove District near Roseville, where Elizabeth began developing what would become a substantial ranching operation. After losing her second husband seven years later, she assumed control of the business and expanded grain and livestock production.

Between 1864 and 1867, Elizabeth steadily increased her landholdings, acquiring hundreds of acres. She also donated land for the Pleasant Grove School and served as a teacher. Though she briefly married her third husband, Ashby J. Atkinson, by 1870, the marriage ended in divorce. Elizabeth remained on her farm for the rest of the century, continuing to expand the ranch and raise cattle, sheep, and cultivate grain. After Atkinson’s death in 1903, she acquired the remainder of his land.

By the time of her death in 1906, Elizabeth Fiddyment owned more than 8,000 acres across southern Placer County and Sacramento County. She was described as “possessing rare executive ability, having accumulated a large fortune,” and was reportedly one of the county’s three largest taxpayers (“Death of Mrs. E. J. Atkinson; Pioneer,” 1906). She was buried in the Fiddyment family plot at Roseville Public Cemetery. Her son Walter continued the ranching enterprise, which remained in family hands until 2004. The Fiddyment Ranch Main Complex, built in 1879, was later recognized for its historical significance and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.