Timeline of Fresno, California

Location Quiz Nearby Places 19th century 1900s–1940s 1950s–1990s 21st century See also

Fresno is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States, founded in 1872 and incorporated in 1885. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region.

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Nearby Places

Fresno, California

Fresno is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region, as well as the most populated city in Central California. It covers about 114.7 square miles and had a population of 542,107 as of the 2020 census, making it the fifth-most populous city in California, the most populous inland city in California, and the 34th-most populous city in the nation. Named for the abundant ash trees lining the San Joaquin River, Fresno was founded in 1872 as a railway station of the Central Pacific Railroad before it was incorporated in 1885. It has since become an economic hub of Fresno County and the San Joaquin Valley, with much of the surrounding areas in the Metropolitan Fresno region predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production. Fresno is near the geographic center of California, approximately 220 miles north of Los Angeles, 170 miles south of the state capital, Sacramento, and 185 miles southeast of San Francisco. Yosemite National Park is about 60 miles to the north, Kings Canyon National Park 60 miles to the east, and Sequoia National Park 75 miles to the southeast. Fresno is also the third-largest majority-Hispanic city in the United States with 50.5% of its population being Hispanic in 2020.

Settlement

Diocese of Fresno

The Diocese of Fresno is a diocese of the Latin Church in the Central Valley of California in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The bishop is Joseph Brennan. Since 1922, the diocesan see has been in the City of Fresno with the cathedra at St. John's Cathedral.

Church Landmark

Theodore Roosevelt High School

Theodore Roosevelt High School, is located in southeast Fresno, California. It is a high school established within the Fresno Unified School District. The high school mascot is the Rough Rider named after the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment Theodore Roosevelt organized and helped command during the Spanish–American War. The high school's colors are green and gold. The school was opened in 1928, and was both a junior and senior high school. It now serves grades 9-12. During the 2011–2012 school year 2,184 students attended RHS. The school received publicity in 2014 with the movie documentary Try which focused on Roosevelt's rugby program and the positive effect it has had on the high school students who began playing.

School

Saint John the Baptist Cathedral

Saint John the Baptist Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno on Mariposa Street in Fresno, California. Erected in 1882, St. John Parish is the oldest parish in Fresno. The current Saint John the Baptist Church was dedicated in 1903 and was designated a cathedral in 1922. As of 2025, the rector of the cathedral is The Very Reverend Fr. Salvador Gonzalez Jr.

Church

Community Regional Medical Center

Community Regional Medical Center is a 685-bed regional hospital and trauma center in Fresno, California. It hosts the Medical Education program of UCSF Fresno, part of a leading medical school in the United States. CRMC is owned by Community Medical Centers, a private not-for-profit health system with four hospitals as well as long-term care and other facilities. It began in 1897 with the Burnett Sanitarium, which was sold to the nonprofit corporation Fresno Community Hospital in 1945. Community Regional Medical Center is one of 15 level I trauma centers in California. In 2018, it had the eighth-most Medicare inpatient discharges in California, of 808 total. In 2020, its neurosurgical trauma services were reinstated after a brief suspension of services.

Hospital

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19th century

1856 – Fresno County formed in 1856 with Millerton, a settlement along the San Joaquin River, as the county seat. 1865 – William Helm brings his wife and his sheep to the valley floor area south of Millerton. 1870 - Weekly Expositor newspaper in publication. 1872 – Fresno station founded by the Central Pacific Railroad Company 1874 – County seat of Fresno County moves from Millerton to Fresno due to population growth. 1875 Fresno County Courthouse built. Central California Colony established south of Fresno, creating a successful model for attracting settlers. 1876 – Fresno Morning Republican newspaper in publication. 1877 – Fresno Volunteer Fire Department organized. 1881 - William Helm bought the block bounded by Fresno, R, Merced and S Streets from Louis Einstein. 1882 – St. John Church built. 1884 – Big Fresno Fair begins. 1885 – Fresno incorporated. 1889 – Meux Home built. 1890 Barton opera house opens. Population exceeds 10,000. 1892 - Street cars introduced 1893 – Fresno Free Public Library opens. 1894 Fresno Parlor Lecture Club organized. Fresno Water Tower built. San Francisco-Fresno bike messenger service (during the Pullman Strike) initiated. 1899 – Santa Fe Passenger Depot opens. 1900 – Population: 12,470.

1900s–1940s

1901 Fresno City Railway in operation. Fresno Buddhist Temple founded. 1904 Gottschalks shop in business. First Butcher Shop Opened by Andrew David Green 1906 – Forestiere Underground Gardens begin developing. 1908 – Asparēz Armenian/English-language newspaper begins publication. 1909 – Raisin Day festival begins. 1910 – Fresno Junior College opens. 1911 Fresno State Normal School founded. Sunnyside Country Club opens. 1913 – Commercial Club organized. 1914 – Holy Trinity Church built. 1918 Sun-Maid raisin facility begins operating. Bank of Italy building constructed. 1919 – Fresno Historical Society and Temple Beth Israel founded. 1921 – Fresno State College established. 1922 KMJ 580AM Radio begins broadcasting. Fresno Bee newspaper begins publication. 1923 Fort Washington Country Club established. San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation Building constructed. 1925 – Security Pacific Bank Building constructed. 1926 – Fresno State Stadium dedicated. 1928 – Pantages Theater opens. 1929 Roeding Park Zoo opens. Z. S. Leymel becomes mayor. Chandler Airport opens as area's primary airport. 1932 – Fresno Memorial Auditorium built. 1935 – Academy (social group) formed. 1939 – Tower Theatre opens. 1942 – U.S. Air Force Hammer Airfield and Japanese American internment camp in use. 1944 – Pacific Bible Institute founded. 1946 – Sierra Sky Park Airport residential aviation community established near city. 1947 – Hammer Field National Guard training area and Fresno Air Terminal established, becoming primary hub of commercial aviation instead of Chandler Airport. 1948 – Azteca Theater built.

1950s–1990s

1954 – Peoples Church and Fresno Philharmonic [1] founded. 1955 – Bernice F. Sisk becomes U.S. representative for California's 12th congressional district. 1960 – Mexican American Political Association founded. 1961 – City of Fresno Takes over municipal bus service. 1962 – Farm Workers Association founding meeting held in Fresno. 1964 - Fulton Mall dedicated. 1966 Fresno Convention Center complex built. Fresno County Courthouse rebuilt. 1967 – Catholic Diocese of Fresno established. 1968 - Woodward Park opened in north Fresno. 1969 – Kiddie Kinema movie theatre opens. 1970 Fashion Fair Mall in business. Population: 167,927. 1973 – Good Company Players founded. 1977 – KMTF television begins broadcasting. 1983 – Fresno Metronews begins publication. 1984 Nanaksar Gurdwara founded. Fresno Metropolitan Museum established. 1989 Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill closes. Karen Humphrey becomes mayor. 1990 Vida en el Valle Spanish/English-language newspaper begins publication. Population: 354,202. 1992 – Hmong Times newspaper in publication. 1993 Hmong Today (television program) begins broadcasting. San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center established.[2] Jim Patterson becomes mayor. 1996 – Tahoe Joe's restaurant in business. 1997 Community Food Bank active.[3] River Park shopping center in business. 1998 City website online. Fresno Grizzlies baseball team formed. Fresno Stadium 22 cinema opens. 2000 University High School established. Mormon Fresno California Temple dedicated.

21st century

2001 - Alan Autry becomes mayor. 2002 - Grizzlies Stadium opens. 2003 Save Mart Center (arena) opens. Ani-Jam anime convention begins. 2005 Woodward Shakespeare Festival and Artists' Repertory Theatre founded. Jim Costa becomes U.S. representative for California's 20th congressional district. Coyle United States Courthouse built. 2008 – Neighborhood Thrift shop in business. 2009 – Ashley Swearengin becomes mayor. 2010 Fresno Metropolitan Museum closes. Population: 494,665. 2012 - Fresno meat plant shooting. 2013 Poet laureate inaugurated. Bitwise Industries launches, bringing a technology and entrepreneur community together. Starts with Bitwise Mural District, and more Fresno campuses follow. 2014 - Fresno General Plan adopted, becoming the first one in decades to not expand the Sphere of Influence. 2015 On January 6, Governor Jerry Brown attends a groundbreaking ceremony for California High-Speed Rail in downtown Fresno at the future location of Fresno's High Speed Rail Station. Fresno declares drought; worst recorded precipitation levels in 130 years. Water use reduction/conservation begins. 2017 – 2017 Fresno shootings. 2019 – 2019 Fresno shooting. 2020 - Population: 542,161. 2021 - Former Police Chief Jerry Dyer becomes Fresno's 26th mayor.