Arbuckle is a quiet little town that straddles Interstate 5 in Colusa County.  The freeway goes right through the town. Arbuckle exists thanks to a refusal by the residents of College City, located just east, to allow the Northern Railroad to be put tracks though their town.  Tacitus R. Arbuckle, who owned land to the west, saw the opportunity to donate land for tracks and a new town. So in 1875 Arbuckle became a community.

Almonds are a major crop in the area and it is always worth a visit in February when the trees are in bloom.

I was raised in Grimes about 13 miles east of Arbuckle, but Arbuckle has been an important part of my life.  I attended and graduated from Pierce High School which is located here and learned to swim in the community pool. I still stop for lunch at one of food trucks parked just off 5th Street, the Mexican Restaurant or go west of town to the Arbuckle Golf Course for a great cheeseburger.  The Rice Bowl the annual football game between Pierce and Williams is a must attend for many in our region.  You’ll often find several generations of Pierce High graduates at their sporting events.

The Arbuckle Revitalization Committee has taken the lead in promoting community events and beautifying the town.  A couple of my favorite events are the Arbuckle Pumpkin Festival on October 6 and the Arbuckle Car Show on October 27. I will get some photos of the Pumpkin Festival for Sacramento Valley Water and also of the Car Show.  If you attend the Car Show stop by and say hello as I will be there with my 1960 Ford Pickup. The pickup allows me to have an excuse to sit in a lawn chair and visit with lots of people from all over the valley. Come to the car show hungry as local chefs grill a great Tri Tip Steak for lunch.

If you would like to know more about Arbuckle and the surrounding area, I would recommend that you obtain a copy of Arbuckle and College City by Helen D. Young.  Most Colusa County Libraries have a copy and used editions are available on Amazon.  Mrs. Young (I still call her Mrs. Young as she was my high school typing teacher and typing is probably the most practical skill I learned at Pierce) has done a wonderful job of chronicling the history of the two communities.