Visalia Through the Years

Words by Lifestyle Staff

The first settler to make a written record of the area was Pedro Fages sometime in 1722. Fast forward to today, Visalia is known for its downtown charm, beautiful neighborhoods, and rich history. Here are some interesting highlights to give you a glimpse into our city’s back story.

THE EARLY YEARS

1852

Visalia is the oldest town between Stockton and Los Angeles. Pioneers first settled here in a broad area referred to as Four Creeks, which represented the many watershed creeks and rivers flowing through the area from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. These waterways helped create the oak forest. The settlers petitioned the state government for county status, and on July 10, 1852, Tulare County came to be. That November, one of the first inhabitants of the town, Nathaniel Vise, helped to construct a fort on the block located at Garden, Bridge, Race, and Oak streets, remembered today as Fort Visalia. He recorded the town as having 60-80 inhabitants, half of which were children. Visalia was born and named after Nathaniel’s ancestral home of Visalia, Kentucky.

THE EARLY YEARS

1852

Visalia is the oldest town between Stockton and Los Angeles. Pioneers first settled here in a broad area referred to as Four Creeks, which represented the many watershed creeks and rivers flowing through the area from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. These waterways helped create the oak forest. The settlers petitioned the state government for county status, and on July 10, 1852, Tulare County came to be. That November, one of the first inhabitants of the town, Nathaniel Vise, helped to construct a fort on the block located at Garden, Bridge, Race, and Oak streets, remembered today as Fort Visalia. He recorded the town as having 60-80 inhabitants, half of which were children. Visalia was born and named after Nathaniel’s ancestral home of Visalia, Kentucky.

1874

Visalia was first incorporated during the Civil War. In 1874, the city had a second incorporation and formed a Common Council. They appointed a president, Summerfield Sheppard, to represent its 1,000 citizens. A building boom also happened during these years and the town continued to steadily grow.

1890

The Sequoia trees in what is now Sequoia National Park were being cut down and sold for their wood. Local Visalia Delta newspaper editor, George Stewart, led the effort by advocating to save the trees. As a result, when the park was established on September 25, 1890, the groves were protected, and are now part of the reason people travel from all over the world to experience these amazing trees. Among them stands the largest living single stem tree, General Sherman.

20TH CENTURY

Visalia Electric Railroad

Editor-Publisher Ben Maddox of the Visalia Daily Times proposed an electric interurban railroad for Tulare County sometime around 1891, at which time steam locomotives were being used. On September 10, 1904, the Visalia Electric Railroad was born and March 10, 1908 marked its official start. In 1916, construction on a new depot was completed and opened on September 12.

Prominent lumberman William R. Spalding purchased the first ticket: a round-trip fare to San Francisco. After railroad travel faded in the 1940s, the building was remodeled into a restaurant in the 1970s and still stands today at 207 E. Oak Avenue.

VISALIA FOX THEATRE

The theater began construction in 1929 and opened on February 27, 1930. It was noted for its high clock tower, located on top of the building, and for the tower’s nighttime lighting effects. Some other notable features include the interior Middle East decor and the twinkling lights at the top of the ceiling. It is renowned as the most recognized and symbolic landmark in Visalia.

Terminus Dam

Many floods have occurred over the city’s lifetime due to snowmelt. The flood of 1906 filled the downtown area with water about a foot high and it didn’t clear for 10 days. In winter of 1955-1956, an early rain season resulted in premature snow melt causing two separate floods on the Valley floor. A large tree flowed from the mountains, becoming lodged under the downtown area in Mill Creek. A little over a year later another flood occurred. The public called for a dam to be built to prevent future floods, and in 1962 the Terminus Dam was completed forming the reservoir Lake Kaweah.

HIGHWAY 198

The first development bond for the highway was approved for construction in 1910 and was added to the state highway system in 1934. Sections of the highway were upgraded to a freeway during the 1960s.

Early High Schools

In 1951, Mt. Whitney High School opened as Visalia High School, as a means to provide more room for the rapid growth of students that followed WWII. In 1955, the old high school site
that had been serving as a middle school, reopened as Redwood High School. Visalia High School was then renamed Mt. Whitney High School.

FUN FACTS

Oak Tree Tradition

When Visalia was founded, it was located in a large valley oak woodland, covering a 400-square-mile area. In 1909, the Mooney family proposed turning their land consisting of 100 acres of oak trees into a county park. They sold the ranch to the county at a low price and the land was preserved as Mooney Grove Park. In 1922, the first tree planting program was launched with the planting of the oak sentinels along Highway 198. The year 1971 brought an ordinance requirin a permit to remove an oak tree and a fine for failing to secure a permit.

BUTTERFIELD STAGE COACH

During the first half of the 1800’s, the mail was mainly transported by ship. In 1858, the stagecoaches of John Butterfield’s Overland Mail Co. Butterfield began delivering mail across the country and Visalia was one of the timetable stops for the stages on their way to or from San Francisco. The new 2,800 mile transportation route now only took 23 days to complete. During the very first stop in Visalia, at close to midnight on October 8, 1858, Visalians gave an anvil salute to greet the first coach to arrive from St. Louis. A plaque commemorating the moment can be viewed at the site of the stop located on Main Street between Church and Court streets in downtown Visalia. Turn to pages 45-46 to learn more.

SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOUR

Downtown Visalia has a self-guided tour where you can learn about days past when horses were the only mode of transportation. Discover iconic landmarks like the original jailhouse, the Palace Hotel, or a locomotive light still standing in its original location. The tour takes about an hour to complete, with a guided brochure available at Visit Visalia in downtown Visalia. To get the tour to-go, download the app through their website visitvisalia.com