Loomis has
undergone many name changes in its' past. The town didn't really change location
and the people were the same, but the name of the original village kept
changing.
Originally, the village was Pino. The residents were the
people that had lived in Smithville, which was formerly known as Pine Grove,
Placer County. Pine Grove was originally located about one mile southeast of the
present site of Loomis.
Pino residents were mainly ranchers, fruit
growers and businessmen. The original post office for Pino was established on
December 6, 1869 with James Oscar Loomis as postmaster.
More confusion
occurred in about 1864 when the Central Pacific Railroad laid railroad tracks
through this area. The similar sounding and similar spelling of the names Pino,
California and Reno, Nevada caused confusion with mail and freight delivery. So,
once again, a change was made. The train depot became Loomis, the town was still
Pino and the school district was Smithville. (This can be verified in the
December 28, 1887 edition of the Placer County Republican, published in Auburn,
California.Frederick Turner, the postmaster of Pino, moved to make a final
change that would put an end to the confusion. On May 28, 1890 all things to do
with the town became Loomis, in honor of James Oscar
Loomis.
