[8] The Gold Rush of 1849 brought violence, disease and overwhelming loss for the tribes.

[9] Joseph Libbey Folsom purchased Rancho Rio de los Americanos from the heirs of San Francisco merchant William Alexander Leidesdorff, and laid out the town called Granite City, mostly occupied by gold miners seeking their fortune in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Though few amassed a great deal of wealth, the city prospered due to Joseph Folsom's lobbying to get a railway to connect the town with Sacramento.

The railway was abandoned in the 1980s[10] but opened up as the terminus of the Gold Line of Sacramento Regional Transit District's light rail service in 2005.

A few former gold-rush era towns are located in and around Folsom, including Prairie City, Salmon Falls, and Mormon Island.

Though the sawmill did not work out, the Livermores soon realized that the natural force of running water could provide enough power to transmit to Sacramento, and the Folsom Powerhouse, now a National Historic Landmark,[12] was opened.

At the time it was opened, it had the longest overhead run of electricity (22 miles) in the country.

Folsom is also home to the largest private employer in the Sacramento area, Intel.

The planned community development area of 3,250 acres (1,320 ha) south of Highway 50 includes additional housing, schools and parks along with office and commercial buildings.

Carpenter Hill in Folsom has the highest elevation in Sacramento County, at 831 feet (253 meters).

[15] Folsom's climate is characterized by long, hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters.

[25] The city operates the Folsom Public Library, located in the Georgia Murray Building.

The 32-mile American River Bike Trail, which starts in Sacramento, runs through Folsom along Lake Natoma.

[30] There is also a pedestrian bridge over East Bidwell Street that opened on November 6, 2010, as part of a new segment on the Humbug-Willow Creek Trail.

Another bridge was built over Folsom Lake Crossing in 2014 as part of the Johnny Cash Trail, a public art experience and bike trail honoring the singer Johnny Cash, which was opened on October 14, 2017.