Boca, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Boca
Former settlement
Boca Location in California
Country	United States
State	California
County	Nevada County
Elevation	5,528 ft (1,685 m)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)

Boca was once a small town in Nevada County, California. Its name comes from the Spanish word for "Mouth." It was located about 5,528 feet (1,685 meters) above sea level. Boca was found along the Southern Pacific Railroad, about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) northeast of Truckee.

History of Boca

Boca got its name in 1868 from Judge Edwin Bryant Crocker. He worked for the Central Pacific Railroad. The town was named "Boca" because it was located at the mouth of the Little Truckee River. In Spanish, Boca means "mouth" or "river mouth."

Judge Crocker's younger brother, Charles, helped build and run the Central Pacific Railroad. Boca's special spot at the river's mouth and on the transcontinental railroad route helped it grow. It started as a small camp for railroad workers.

Boca had very cold winters and lots of trees. Because of this, people started businesses there. They built sawmills, companies that cut ice, and even a brewery in 1876. The cold weather was perfect for making ice and for brewing California's first lager beer. Boca even had its own post office from 1872 to 1945.

Ice and Wood Companies

The first big business in Boca was the Boca Mill and Ice Company. It started in 1868. By 1886, the ice business grew even more. Many ice companies joined together in 1881. They formed the Union Ice Company in 1891.

A dam was built to create a large lake called a reservoir. This reservoir was 180 acres big. The Union Ice Company used it to store logs in the summer. In winter, they cut huge blocks of ice from the frozen lake. The ice was then sent to six ice houses. People said they stored enough ice to supply all of California for 12 years!

Boca was very busy around 1872. It made so much wood and ice that it had its own railway. This railway carried products to and from the mill. But then, new inventions like man-made ice and refrigeration came along. People no longer needed to cut natural ice. The ice company stopped working in Boca in the mid-1920s.

With the ice companies gone, only the sawmills and brewery were left. The brewery burned down in 1893 and was never rebuilt. The sawmills also stopped working because there were not enough trees left. Finally, in 1904, the hotel burned down. The rest of the town was then taken apart. This made way for the Boca Reservoir, which is still there today. Only a few old cement foundations and a cemetery remain from the original town of Boca.

Boca Brewing Company

The Boca Brewing Company started in 1875. It was famous for making California’s first lager beer. Lagers need very cold temperatures to be made. This is why most breweries in California made other types of beer, like porters and ales.

Boca was the perfect place for a lager brewery. It had natural springs for water. It had an endless supply of ice for cooling. The winters were very cold, and the Central Pacific Railroad was nearby. The Boca Brewing Company used natural spring water in its lager. Their beer was even celebrated at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1883.

The company made 25,000 to 30,000 barrels of beer each year. It employed about 80 people. This helped Boca's population grow to almost 300 people. Sadly, the brewery caught fire in 1893 and was never rebuilt.

Anchor Steam's Tribute

In 2012, a company called Anchor Brewing in San Francisco made a special beer. They called it Zymaster No. 1 Lager. It was made to honor the old Boca Brewing Company. They tried to make it like Boca's original California lager. This beer uses barley and mountain water. It is a stronger and more flavorful lager than many others.

Boca's Climate

Boca is located about 5,575 feet (1,700 meters) high. It is known for having very cold winters and warm summers. The area gets a lot of snow because it is in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Boca has a climate called a humid continental climate. This means it has dry summers with hot days and cool nights. The winters are cold and snowy. It gets less snow than nearby Truckee and Tahoe City. This is because of something called the "rain shadow effect" from the mountains. Still, snow can pile up to 90 inches (2.3 meters) deep. In February 1993, there was 70 inches (1.8 meters) of snow on the ground.

On January 20, 1937, the temperature in Boca dropped to -45°F (-43°C). This is the coldest temperature ever recorded in California. On average, the temperature falls below 0°F (-18°C) about a dozen nights a year. It gets above 50°F (10°C) about 266 days a year. Even in summer, nights can be frosty. Only about 98 nights a year stay above 32°F (0°C).