Fair Oaks, in the gently undulating foothills along Highway 50, has something in common with its vast neighbor, Sacramento. Early land speculators, politicians, and Chicago businessmen formed a partnership to sell off one of their "Sunset Colonies," deservedly dubbed Fair Oaks, promising water systems and a suburban railroad to help colonists grow prize citrus. The farmers came, but when the investors retreated east, a railroad and water had not appeared...