1826-1878

Sam Trott was born in 1826. The details of his early life have not been recorded, but it is known that he was a “true 49er” who had located in Amadore County where his only son, Charles, was born in 1856. In 1867, Mr. Trott was reported working as a cook at Cisco, presumably for the railroad. The Following year he removed to the then budding town of Rocklin where he purchased Lot No 1 on Front Street from James Bolton, which extended back 140 feet to second street.

There he erected the Trott House Hotel, one of Rocklin’s earliest and most notable buildings. Many of the beams and timbers used in it’s construction were of hand hewn redwood which have withstood the ravages of time and many fires to this day. The Trott Hotel, which was opposite the roundhouse and a short walk from the depot, was popular from the start with both railroaders and granite workers, as well as the traveling public who found it to be in a most convenient location. The hotel burned in 1869 but was immediately rebuilt by Trott who continued its operation until his death in 1878. He was survived by his wife, Mary (1828-1882) and one son, Charles (b.1856).

Charles, a Central Pacific Railroad engineer since 1873, had no inclination to operate the hotel and it was leased to George McReady, who subsequently purchased it. Charles Trott continued to work as an engineer on the Sacramento-Gerber run until his retirement in 1925 after 56 years of service; died in February 1931, aged seventy-five. He was survived by three children: Samuel S. Trott; Grace (Mrs. Rhoads), both of Sacramento; and Charles B. Trott of Tucson, Arizona.

Today the Venerable Trott Hotel building, one of Rocklin’s most cherished momentos of its formative days, houses Engle’s Real Estate business.

From: Rocklin: Past, Present, Future by Leonard M. Davis. Published by the Rocklin Friends of the Library, Rocklin Ca., 1981.