Visalia, California

"Visalia" redirects here. See also Visalia, Kentucky.

Visalia is a city in Tulare County, California, United States. It is the county seat of Tulare County. In 2005 the city had a population of 107,555 which makes it one of the largest inland cities of California.

Geography

Visalia is located at (36.324100, -119.307347).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 74.0 km² (28.6 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 102,000 people, 30,883 households, and 22,915 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,237.0/km² (3,204.2/mi²). There were 32,654 housing units at an average density of 441.1/km² (1,142.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.52% White, 1.92% African American, 1.35% Native American, 5.11% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 17.79% from other races, and 4.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.62% of the population.

There were 30,883 households out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 20.7% of all 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 was 3.37.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.3% under the age of 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 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,349, and the median income for a family was $45,830. Males had a median income of $36,670 versus $26,717 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,422. About 12.9% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.4% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Visalia has 6 public high schools: Redwood High School, El Diamante, Visalia Charter Independent Study, Golden West, Mt. Whitney, and Sequoia. Mt. Whitney and Redwood are centrally located. El Diamante is a new school on the west side. Golden West is in the east and Sequoia (a continuation school) is in the northwest.

Visalia has one public college level institution, College of the Sequoias, a community college.

History

This area now known as greater Visalia was once the domain of the Yokut Indians. The abundance of wildlife, seeds, acorns and roots made it a relatively easy existence for these original inhabitants of the valley. The first men of European descent to enter the valley most likely came as part of expeditions of the Spanish Military and the Coastal Missions. Historical records indicate that Pedro Fages reached the central San Joaquin Valley in about 1772 and was the first to make a written record of this area.

The Spanish were reluctant to settle in this area because of climate and the perceived danger from the local native American population. An influx of European trappers, traders, explorers, miners and settlers affected the lifestyle of the native Yokuts since the Europeans brought a non hunter-gatherer culture as well as diseases the Yokuts had no resistance to. This decimated the population of the Yokuts and their way of life was virtually destroyed.

The first building was a log stockade called Fort Visalia. It was built in 1852 in fear of attack by native Americans.

Early Visalia history indicates that a school and a Methodist Church were established the same year and the following year a grist mill and a general store were built.

In 1853 Visalia became the county seat of Tulare County, then an extensive County encompassing parts or all of Madera, Fresno, Kings and Kern Counties.

When the railroads came through the California Central Valley creating such cities as Tulare, Fresno, and Modesto, Visalia was passed by. While cities like Fresno and Modesto experienced bursts of growth in the first half of the 20th century, Visalia remained small. Throughout the 1980s until the mid 1990s Visalia experienced a massive increase in population, growing from around 25,000 in the 1970s to over 100,000 today.

Downtown

Culture

The Central California Chinese Cultural Center

The Central California Chinese Cultural Center is located in Visalia. It documents the history of 19th century Chinese immigrants. The center includes a Confucian temple and an exposition room housing cultural artifacts, paintings and rare architectural finds. The centre is built in Chinese style.

Tulare County Mooney Grove Museum

The Mooney Grove Museum is the largest and most complete museum in the county and has many historical items. Among the items are historic bowls, weapons, and tools from the local historical group of Native Americans, the Yokuts. The museum is located in at Mooney Grove Park.

Shopping

Points of interest and trivia

To the northeast of Visalia is Sequoia National Park in which groves of Giant Sequoia trees live including the General Sherman tree, the largest tree on earth.

Kevin Costner attended Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, and his movie Bull Durham mentions the town's professional baseball team, the Visalia Oaks, which has been in Visalia for more than 60 years.

Visalia's Mooney Grove Park was home to the plaster statue "The End of the Trail" by James Earle Fraser from 1920 to 1967. In 1968 a bronze copy was placed in Mooney Grove. The original was moved to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, OK.

Visalia is the medical center of Tulare and Kings Counties.

Visalia was featured in several episodes of Season 2 of the TV series 24.

Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, is located in Tulare County.

External links

Cities in California | Tulare County, California

Visalia | Visalia

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