In 1864 it was determined that the Central Pacific Rail Road would extend eastward from Sacramento over the Donner Summit route as part of the transcontinental rail line. Planners for the California Pacific Rail Road Company decided to build a line from South Vallejo to Sacramento that would also connect to Marysville and Woodland at a junction in Davisville. Construction and grading of the rail bed began in Vallejo in December 1866, the first rails were laid in April 1868, construction of the first Davis depot began in July 1868, and the first passenger and freight service between Vallejo and Davis Junction began on August 24th, 1868, with a fare of $3.00. In the 1850s, the area was used primarily for agriculture and raising livestock. In November 1867, private promoters of the California Pacific Rail Road line purchased about 3,000 acres of the Jerome C. Davis and Isaac Davis farm along Putah Creek and planned a train station and junction on slightly higher ground that remained dry during the rainy season. Calling themselves the Proprietors of Davisville, they laid out a speculative town with a grid of plots and streets next to the junction of the railroad line from Vallejo to Sacramento and from Davisville to Woodland and points north. After the original depot was built and rail service began in 1868, businesses, homes, and the first post office appeared near the tracks, and the town of Davisville was born.