The area around Visalia was first settled by theYokuts andMono Native American tribes hundreds of years ago.[13] When the first Europeans arrived is unknown, but the first to make a written record of the area wasPedro Fages in 1722.[14]
Workers weighing and sacking sugar at the Pacific Sugar Company in Visalia,c. 1900
When California achievedstatehood in 1850, Tulare County did not exist. The land that is now Tulare County was part of the vastCounty of Mariposa.[15] In 1852, some pioneers settled in the area, then called Four Creeks. The area got its name from the many watershed creeks and rivers flowing from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. All the water resulted in a widespread swampy area with a magnificent oak forest. The industrious group of settlers petitioned the state legislature for county status, and on July 10 of that same year, Tulare County became a reality.[16]
One of the first inhabitants of a fort built by the settlers was Nathaniel Vise, who was responsible for surveying the new settlement. In November 1852, he wrote, "The town contains from 60–80 inhabitants, 30 of whom are children of school age. The town is located upon one of the subdivisions of theKaweah River and is destined to be the county seat of Tulare." In 1853, that prediction became a reality and Visalia has remained the county seat since that time.[17][18] Visalia is named for Nathaniel Vise's ancestral home,Visalia, Kentucky.
Early growth in Visalia can be attributed in part to thegold rush along theKern River. The gold fever brought many transient miners through Visalia along the way, and when the lure of gold failed to materialize, many returned to Visalia to live their lives and raise families. In 1859, Visalia was added toJohn Butterfield's Overland Stage route fromSt. Louis toSan Francisco. A plaque commemorating the location can be found at 116 East Main Street. Included in the early citizens were some notorious and nasty individuals who preyed upon the travelers along the Butterfield Stage route. Many saloons and hotels sprouted up around the stage stopdowntown and commerce was brisk if a bit risky.[19][20]
The next memorable event was the arrival of thetelegraph in 1860. Visalians then could get timely information of the events taking place on theEast Coast that would ultimately develop into theCivil War. During the war, many citizens of Visalia were unable to decide whether Visalia should stand on the side of the North or the South, so they simply had a mini Civil War of their own on Main Street. No one really knows the outcome of the war, but apparently it was concluded to the satisfaction of the participants and life returned to normal. The federal government, however, was not so easily convinced, and reacting to concern about sedition, banned Visalia's pro-SouthEqual Rights Expositor newspaper and established a military garrison. Camp Babbitt was built in 1862 to stop overt Southern support and maintain law and order in the community. During these Civil War years, Visalia was incorporated, which gave the town new rights.[21]
The second incorporation in 1874 moved Visalia into city status with a common council and an ex-officio mayor and president.[22] In 1893, the train bandits and murderersJohn Sontag andChris Evans were apprehended, badly wounded, outside Visalia in what is called theBattle of Stone Corral. Sontag died three weeks later in police custody in Fresno; Evans was sent toFolsom State Prison.[23] In 1904, theVisalia Electric Railroad was incorporated.[24]
In October 1933, Visalia was the site of a fact-finding committee appointed by GovernorJames Rolph and charged with investigating labor violence in the San Joaquin cotton strike. Labor activistCaroline Decker led hundreds of strikers in a march on the courthouse, and led the questioning of strikers during the investigation. In the mid-1970s, the area was known for the serial burglaries of the then unidentifiedVisalia Ransacker.[25] More recently, Visalia served as a host city for theAmgen Tour of California in 2009 and 2010.[26]
Visalia is irregularly shaped and covers a total area of 36.3 sq mi (94 km2), of which 36.3 sq mi (94 km2) are land and 0.05% is covered by water. Visalia is located at 36°19'27" North, 119°18'26" West (36.324100, −119.307347).[27]
The highest point in the Visalia–Porterville area isMount Whitney.[28] Located at the far reaches of theSierra Nevada roughly 58 mi (93 km) east of the city, it reaches a height of 14,505 ft (4,421 m), and was long famous as the highest mountain in the lower 48 states. The hilliest parts of the Visalia area are theVenice Hills and the entire Sierra Nevada foothills east of the city. Four main streams run through the city. The major stream is theSt. John's River, which begins at the diversion dam in the Kaweah River and is largely seasonal. The others areMill Creek,Cameron Creek, andPackwood Creek. Many smaller creeks also flow through the city. TheFriant-Kern Canal runs just east of the city along the western edge of the Sierra Nevada foothills.
The city is divided into neighborhoods, some of which wereincorporated places orcommunities. Also, several independent cities around Visalia are popularly grouped with the city of Visalia, due to its immediate vicinity. Generally, the city is divided into these areas:Downtown Visalia, North Visalia, the Eastside, Southwest Visalia, the Industrial Area,Mooney, and the Westside.
Visalia has asemi-arid climate (BSk, under theKöppen climate classification), and receives just enough annual precipitation to stay out of Köppen'sBWk (desert climate) classification. Visalia enjoys plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with an average of only 26 days with measurable precipitation annually.[29]
Visalia averages 10.32 inches (262.1 mm) of precipitation annually, which mainly occurs during the winter and spring (November through April) with generally light rain showers, but sometimes as heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. Years of average rainfall are rare; the usual pattern isbimodal, with a short string of dry years (perhaps 7–8 in [180–200 mm]) followed by one or two wet years that make up the average. While the Sierra Nevada mountains farther east in Tulare County tend to receive snow every winter, snowfall is extremely rare in Visalia. The greatest snowfall recorded in the city was 2 in (5.1 cm) on January 25, 1999.[30] The city falls within USDAplant hardiness zone 9b (25 to 30 °F; −4 to −1 °C).[31][32]
Climate data for Visalia, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1898–present
Visalia's Valley Oak Ordinance, adopted in 1971,[34] regulatespruning and removing valley oak (Quercus lobata) trees.[35] The area was once a dense oak woodland and the city is trying to maintain a healthyurban forest partly through preserving Mooney Grove Park, one of the largest valley oak groves in California. Also, just outside the city limits is theKaweah Oaks Preserve, which is a 322-acre (1.3 km2) nature preserve. It protects one of the last remaining valley oakriparian forests in the San Joaquin Valley.
In conjunction withMajor League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Rawhide were organized into the Low-A West at the Low-A classification.[36] In 2022, the Low-A West became known as the California League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization, and was reclassified as a Single-A circuit.[37]
Owing to geography Visalia suffers fromair pollution in the form ofsmog, agricultural and otherparticulates. The Visalia area and the rest of the San Joaquin Valley are susceptible toatmospheric inversion, which holds in the exhausts from road vehicles, airplanes,locomotives, manufacturing, and other sources. Unlike other cities that rely on rain to clear smog, Visalia gets only 11.03 in (280.16 mm) of rain each year; pollution accumulates over many consecutive days. Issues of air quality in Visalia and other major cities led to the passage of early national environmental legislation, including theClean Air Act. More recently, the state of California has led the nation in working to limit pollution by mandatinglow emission vehicles. Particulate pollution can also be high during the winter due to frequent low-level inversions and during longer periods of dry weather. The same low-level inversions that cause high pollution levels in the winter also cause the frequent dense fog, locally known asTule fog.
As a result, pollution levels have dropped in recent decades. The number of stage 1 smog alerts has declined from over 100 per year in the 1970s to almost zero in the new millennium. Despite improvement, the 2006 annual report of theAmerican Lung Association ranked the city as the 11th-most polluted in the country with short-term particle pollution and year-round particle pollution.[38] In 2007, the annual report of theAmerican Lung Association ranked the city as the fourth-most polluted in the country with short-term particle pollution and year-round particle pollution.[39] In 2008, the city was ranked the third-most polluted and again fourth for highest year-round particulate pollution.[40]
Visalia city, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The2010 United States census[61] reported that Visalia had a population of 124,442. The population density was 3,431.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,324.9/km2). The racial makeup of Visalia was 80,203 (64.5%)White, 2,627 (2.1%)African American, 1,730 (1.4%)Native American, 6,768 (5.4%)Asian, 164 (0.1%)Pacific Islander, 27,249 (21.9%) fromother races, and 5,701 (4.6%) from two or more races. There were 57,262 people (46.0%) people ofHispanic orLatino origin, of any race.
The Census reported that 123,116 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 606 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 720 (0.6%) were institutionalized.
There were 41,349 households, out of which 18,102 (43.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,219 (51.3%) wereopposite-sex married couples living together, 6,508 (15.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,909 (7.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 3,282 (7.9%)unmarried opposite-sex partnerships. 8,383 households (20.3%) were made up of individuals, and 3,330 (8.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98. There were 30,636families (74.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.42.
The population was spread out, with 37,406 people (30.1%) under the age of 18, 12,461 people (10.0%) aged 18 to 24, 33,922 people (27.3%) aged 25 to 44, 27,779 people (22.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 12,874 people (10.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.
There were 44,205 housing units at an average density of 1,218.9 per square mile (470.6/km2), of which 25,380 (61.4%) were owner-occupied, and 15,969 (38.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%. 73,980 people (59.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 49,136 people (39.5%) lived in rental housing units.
African Americans make up 2.2% of Visalia's population. According to the survey, there were 2,574 African Americans residing in Visalia.
Native Americans make up 0.7% of Visalia's population. According to the survey, there were 827 Native Americans residing in Visalia.
Asian Americans make up 5.0% of Visalia's population. According to the survey, there were 5,762 Asian Americans residing in Visalia. The seven largest Asian American groups were the following:
Pacific Islander Americans make up 0.1% of Visalia's population. According to the survey, there were 138 Pacific Islander Americans residing in Visalia.
Multiracial Americans make up 2.9% of Visalia's population. According to the survey, there were 3,350 multiracial Americans residing in Visalia. The four main multiracial groups were the following:
White & Black: 0.4% (468)
White & Native American: 0.9% (1,007)
White & Asian: 0.5% (534)
Black & Native American: 0.1% (68)
Hispanics and Latinos make up 40.6% of Visalia's population. According to the survey, there were 47,251 Hispanics and Latinos residing in Visalia. The four main Hispanic/Latino groups were the following:
According to the census, 41.1% of households had children under 18, 54.9% were married couples, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 20.7% of households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size 3.37.[64]
The age distribution was: 31.3% under 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females, there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.[64]
The median income for a household was $53,975, and for a family was $61,823. Males had a median income of $46,423, females $34,265. Theper capita income was $23,751. 14.8% of the population and 13.2% of families were below thepoverty line. 21.4% of those under the age of 18 and 9.4% of those aged 65 or older were below the poverty line.[67]
About 233,293Christians are in themetropolitan area (85,000 in the city proper). Churches of theCatholic, Methodist, Presbyterian. Lutheran, Baptist, Church of Christ, Assemblies of God, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Pentecostal,Seventh-day Adventist Church,Eastern Orthodox Church,Oriental Orthodox Church, Mennonite, and other denominations can be found throughout the city. Some of the larger Protestant Christian congregations include Radiant Church, Visalia First Assembly, Neighborhood Church, Gateway Church, Grace Community Church, Christ Lutheran Church, Visalia Christian Reformed Church, Visalia Nazarene Church, and Visalia Community Covenant Church.
The economy of Visalia is driven byagriculture (especiallygrapes,olives,cotton,citrus, and nursery products),livestock, and distribution and manufacturing facilities (electronics and paper products are significant manufacturing sectors).[69] Light manufacturing and industrial/commercial distribution represent the fastest growing portion of Visalia's employer base.[70]
The Tulare County Public Library operates its largest branch, the Visalia Branch, inDowntown Visalia. There are other smaller libraries in Visalia, such as the Visalia Learning Center.[72]
Visalia City HallFormer Visalia Courthouse on Court Street. Photographed byJohn Margolies in 2003. Since 2020 it was remodeled into the Darling Hotel.[76]
Of the 51,718 registered voters in Visalia; approximately 31.9% areDemocrats and 49.1% areRepublicans. The remaining 19.0% are Independents or are registered with one of the many smaller political parties, like theGreen Party or theLibertarian Party.[77]
Visalia is acharter city with a city charter approved by the electorate that acts as a "constitution" for the city.[78] Until the November 2012 elections, Visalia voters elected at large the five-memberCity Council that serves as the city's legislative and governing body. The city council members serve four-year terms, and they select one member to serve asmayor and one to serve asvice mayor. The City Council hires a powerfulcity manager that serves as executive officer, administers city operations, and carries out city policies. Every odd-numbered year either two or three members are elected by the people to serve a four-year term. Each March, the City Council meets and chooses one of its members as mayor and one as vice-mayor. The current mayor of Visalia is Bob Link and vice mayor is Steve Nelsen.
The City of Visalia had been threatened with a lawsuit from a network of civil-rights attorneys claiming the city violated theCalifornia Voting Rights Act, passed into law in 2002. On March 5, 2012, the Visalia City Council voted to put on the November 2012 ballot an initiative to change the way that Visalia voters elect their city council.[79] The measure passed and, as of the November 2016 elections, Visalia holds district elections in which the candidates must live in one of the five areas (or "districts") forming the city, and only residents of that area cast their votes.[80]
Visalia Unified School District serves the entire city of Visalia, as well as several surrounding communities, with a student population of about 30,000.[85]
Visalia Transit (formerly Visalia City Coach) operates public transportation to, from and within the communities of Visalia,Goshen,Farmersville andExeter.[86] The Visalia Transit also provides Dial-A-Ride curb-to-curb para-transit service on a shared-ride, demand-response basis to locations within the city limits of Visalia, Goshen and Farmersville.[87]
Tulare County Area Transit (TCaT) provides the public transit services between Visalia and smaller communities throughout the greater Visalia area. Service includes Fixed Route and Demand Responsive services that are offered Monday through Saturday.[88]
Orange Belt Stages has a bus stop in Visalia for commuting Amtrak rail passengers with Visalia as their final destination.
Amtrak Thruway18 provides daily connections to the nearest Amtrak station inHanford. The bus continues on toSanta Maria, with several stops in between.[89]
The Loop is an easy, free way for all school-aged children to get to community centers and recreation centers throughout Visalia where activities for youth are happening.[91]
In late 2015, city officials unveiled the V-Line, a bus that connects Visalia and Fresno. Its stops, in order, are the Visalia Transit Center, Visalia Municipal Airport,Fresno Yosemite International Airport,Fresno State University, and theFresno Courthouse, which is walking distance to theFresno Amtrak station. The bus fare is $10 each way. Discounted fares are available for students, seniors, and disabled riders. This bus has amenities such as free WiFi and charging ports.[92]
Santa Fe Ave and Oak Ave intersection showing active SJVR (former SP) tracks; former ATSF diamond crossing was also here.
Visalia is currently served by theSan Joaquin Valley Railroad as part of its Goshen Subdivision, which runs fromGoshen, California (a connection with theUnion PacificFresno Subdivision) toExeter, California. This line was originally built by the Visalia Railroad (incorporated May 19, 1874) and was later acquired by theSouthern Pacific in 1895. SP sold the line to the SJVR in 1992.[94] The railroad primarily serves the Visalia Industrial Park, on the western side of the city limits.[95]
TheVisalia Electric Railroad ran eastward from the city, and at one time had lines extending toWoodlake andStrathmore, with the line to Woodlake being electrified. The VE was operational from 1906 to 1990, when the line was abandoned and pulled up east of Exeter.[94]
In 1887, the Visalia and Tulare railroad was established between its two namesake cities. The railroad ceased operation by October 1900, a victim of competition and an accident with a wandering calf on May 7, 1900, which injured several people.[94]
^Duke, Thomas Samuel (1910). "SONTAG AND EVANS, NOTORIOUS TRAIN ROBBERS, MURDERERS AND JAIL BREAKERS. (From Police Records and George Sontag's Statement to the Author.)".Celebrated Criminal Cases of America. San Francisco: James H. Barry Company. pp. 276–286.OCLC3811019.Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. RetrievedNovember 29, 2012.By Thomas Samuel Duke, Captain of Police, San Francisco; Published with Approval of the Honorable Board of Police Commissioners of San Francisco, 1910. (Public Domain Free Download)
^"Visalia Rawhide: Home". Web.minorleaguebaseball.com. August 28, 2012. Archived fromthe original on January 14, 2012. RetrievedOctober 24, 2012.
^Burgess, Phil,National Dragster editor. "The Drag-on Lady: Racer, pioneer, mom", written April 30, 2008, atNHRA.comArchived October 2, 2018, at theWayback Machine (retrieved September 25, 2018)
^abHernandez, Luis (December 16, 2016)."Gubler is Visalia's mayor".visaliatimesdelta.com.Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. RetrievedJuly 16, 2020.
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