Fresno California: Encyclopedia II - Fresno California - Origins and history

Fresno California - Origins and history

The County of Fresno was formed in 1856. It was much larger than it is today, comprising its current area plus all of what became Madera County and parts of what are now San Benito, Tulare, Kings, Inyo, and Mono counties.

The center of settlement was not then at what became Fresno, but to the northeast, at Millerton near Fort Miller. Millerton, then on the banks of the free-flowing San Joaquin River, became the county seat. Other early county settlements included Firebaugh's Ferry, Scottsburg, and Elkhorn Springs.

The San Joaquin River flooded on Christmas Eve, 1867, flooding Millerton. Some residents rebuilt, others moved. Flooding also destroyed the town of Scottsburg that winter. Rebuilt on higher ground, Scottsburg was renamed Centerville.

In 1867, Anthony Easterby purchased land bounded by the present Chestnut, Belmont, Clovis and California avenues. Unable to grow wheat for lack of water, he hired Moses J. Church in 1871 to build an irrigation canal. Church then formed the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company, a predecessor of the Fresno Irrigation District.

In 1872, the Central Pacific Railroad established a station near Easterby's farm. Soon there was a store. Around the station and the store grew the town of Fresno Station, later called Fresno. Many Millerton residents, drawn by the convenience of the railroad and worried about flooding, moved to the new community.

Two years after the station was established, county residents voted to move the county seat from Millerton to Fresno. When the Millerton Dam was built, the site of Millerton was inundated by the waters of Millerton Lake. In extreme droughts, when the reservoir shrinks, ruins of the original county seat can still be observed.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Origins and history", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki