California, Falkirk
California
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 Sign entering California |
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 California
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| California shown within the Falkirk council area | |
| Population | 702 |
| OS grid reference | NS905763 |
| Civil parish | |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FALKIRK |
| Postcode district | FK1 |
| Dialling code | 01324 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
California is a former pit village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It lies between Shieldhill and Avonbridge on the uplands which form the southern edge of the council area.
The population record in the United Kingdom 2001 census was 702, down from 747 in 1991.
Crown Office precognitions indicate that ‘California Row’ existed by 1860. The origin of the name California is unclear. Local tradition suggests that 'black gold' was discovered in Muiravonside at the time of the California Gold Rush of 1848-1855. While a popular myth, it does not hold up to historical scrutiny. There is a long history of coal mining in the area, and in 1832 coal from nearby Blackbraes was already being sold and marketed as 'Blackbraes Diamond'). The emergence of the settlement may be contemporaneous with the Gold Rush, however, as reflected in the following housing report of 1911, which claimed ‘The village of California, also in South East Stirlingshire, was built in 1849, and no doubt took its name from the region of the gold boom at that time, just as a modern colliery in the same part of the county was christened Klondyke by the miners - and I have heard two or three houses attached to it go by the name of Dawson City.’
California grew on the common muir of Whitesiderigg between Gardrum Burn and Redding Muir. Throughout the 18th century the area was grazing land for cattle coming from the south on the way to the Falkirk Tryst. The settlement emerged in the 19th century as a result of intensive coal mining. Colliers had been settling on Whitesiderig Muir throughout the early nineteenth century on land claimed by the Duke of Hamilton. Surrounded as it was by collieries at Blackbraes, Gardrum, Shieldhill and Redding, the settlement's location was determined by its proximity to the collieries of the area. By 1860 California Row had come into existence and was owned by James Nimmo & Company, owners of the nearby Blackbraes Colliery. Investment by the Duke of Hamilton and the Carron Company in coal mining at Gardrum and Redding saw an influx of population in response to the growth of employment opportunities within the mining industry.
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Wikipedia