Visalia, California, United States

🇺🇸 Visalia is a city situated in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in the United States. As the county seat of Tulare County, Visalia serves as the economic and governmental centre to one of the most productive agricultural counties in the country.

Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks are located in the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains, the highest mountain range within the contiguous United States. Visalia is 36 mi (58 km) west of Sequoia National Park, and 43 mi (69 km) south of Fresno.

History The area around Visalia was first settled by the Yokuts and Mono Native American tribes hundreds of years ago. When the first Europeans arrived is unknown, but the first to make a written record of the area was Pedro Fages in 1722.

Workers weighing and sacking sugar at the Pacific Sugar Company in Visalia, c. 1900

When California achieved statehood in 1850, Tulare County did not exist. The land that is now Tulare County was part of the vast County of Mariposa. 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.

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 the Kaweah 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. Visalia is named for Nathaniel Vise's ancestral home, Visalia, Kentucky.

Early growth in Visalia can be attributed in part to the gold rush along the Kern 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 to John Butterfield's Overland Stage route from St. Louis to San 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 stop downtown and commerce was brisk if a bit risky.

The next memorable event was the arrival of the telegraph in 1860. Visalians then could get timely information of the events taking place on the East Coast that would ultimately develop into the Civil War. During the war, many citizens of Visalia could not 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-South Equal 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.

The second incorporation in 1874 moved Visalia into city status with a common council and an ex-officio mayor and president. In 1893, the train bandits and murderers John Sontag and Chris Evans were apprehended, badly wounded, outside Visalia in what is called the Battle of Stone Corral. Sontag died three weeks later in police custody in Fresno; Evans was sent to Folsom State Prison. In 1904, the Visalia Electric Railroad was incorporated.

In October 1933, Visalia was the site of a fact-finding committee appointed by Governor James Rolph and charged with investigating labor violence in the San Joaquin cotton strike. Labor activist Caroline 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 unidentified Visalia Ransacker. More recently, Visalia served as a host city for the Amgen Tour of California in 2009 and 2010.

Cityscape The city is divided into neighborhoods, some of which were incorporated places or communities. 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 a rich architectural history, including many extant buildings dating to the mid- to late 1800s. Throughout the town centre are many historic brick structures, including the Bank of Italy (currently Bank of the Sierra) and the Art Deco/Beaux-Arts Visalia Town Center Post Office, both of which are registered with the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to many other historic buildings and Victorian houses, Visalia is also home to a distinctive Fox Theatre, which was restored by a community group known as "Friends of the Fox" and currently serves as a live venue for music and stage performances.

Geography 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.

The highest point in the Visalia–Porterville area is Mount Whitney. Located at the far reaches of the Sierra 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 the Venice Hills and the entire Sierra Nevada foothills east of the city. Four main streams run through the city. The major stream is the St. John's River, which begins at the diversion dam in the Kaweah River and is largely seasonal. The others are Mill Creek, Cameron Creek, and Packwood Creek. Many smaller creeks also flow through the city. The Friant-Kern Canal runs just east of the city along the western edge of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Geology Visalia is subject to earthquakes due to its proximity to the Pacific Ring of Fire. The geologic instability produces numerous fault lines both above and below ground, which altogether cause around 10,000 earthquakes every year. One of the major fault lines is the San Andreas Fault. No major earthquakes have hit the Visalia area. Most quakes are of low intensity and are not felt. The San Joaquin Valley and metropolitan areas are also at risk from blind thrust earthquakes. Parts of the city are also vulnerable to floods.

Economy The economy of Visalia is driven by agriculture (especially grapes, olives, cotton, citrus, and nursery products), livestock, and distribution and manufacturing facilities (electronics and paper products are significant manufacturing sectors). Light manufacturing and industrial/commercial distribution represent the fastest growing portion of Visalia's employer base.

Economy: Top employers According to the city's June 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city include: 1 Tulare County; 2 Kaweah Delta Medical Center; 3 Visalia Unified School District; 4 Visalia Mall; 5 VF Outdoor; 6 Walmart; 7 Graphic Packaging; 8 College of the Sequoias; 9 City of Visalia; 10 UPS.

Culture • Visalia was featured in several episodes of season two of the TV series 24, though many characters mispronounced its name. When the show was supposedly showing downtown Visalia, residents noticed there were Los Angeles palm trees in the scene. • Ken Park, a controversial 2002 film directed by Larry Clark and Edward Lachman, was filmed on location in Visalia. Never released in the United States, the film is much better known in Europe and abroad. • Kevin Costner attended Mt. Whitney High School for one semester in Visalia. His movie Bull Durham mentions the town's professional baseball team, the Visalia Oaks (now the Visalia Rawhide), which has been in Visalia for more than 60 years (book-ending a brief stint of the team as the Central Valley Rockies). • As a minor league team for the Oakland A's, the Visalia Oaks were mentioned twice during the 2011 movie Moneyball. • The town is also mentioned in the book They Say, in which Ida B. Wells comments on the town being a hot and dusty small village. • In the film Big Trouble in Little China, Jack Burton's trucking company hails from Visalia. It can be seen on the passenger-side door early in the film. • Visalia appears in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas where it is parodied as Montgomery.

Media The major daily newspaper in the area is the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register owned by Gannett. A number of smaller regional newspapers, alternative weeklies, and magazines are published, including the Valley Voice. Many cities adjacent to Visalia also have their own daily newspapers whose coverage and availability overlaps into certain Visalia neighborhoods.

Sport Visalia is home to the Visalia Rawhide (a "single-A" class team of the Arizona Diamondbacks) of Minor League Baseball. The Rawhide compete in the California League at Recreation Park.

It is also home to the Visalia Vapor Trailers, the longest-active official National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) car club.

Religion About 233,293 Christians are in the metropolitan area (85,000 in the city proper). Churches of the Catholic, 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 Nazarene Church, and Visalia Community Covenant Church.

Visalia has a multiethnic population practicing a variety of faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Baháʼí, Sufism. Immigrants from Southeast Asia have formed the Lao Buddhist Temple of Visalia, one of two Buddhist temples in the Visalia Area.

Education: Universities College of the Sequoias, a community college, is the only public college located in Visalia.

Universities with branch campuses located within the city limits: • Fresno State • Chapman University • Fresno Pacific University • Brandman University

Private colleges in Visalia include: • San Joaquin Valley College • University of Phoenix

Visalia is the only major city in the Central Valley with a population over 100,000 that does not have a local four-year university.

Visalia is also the largest primary statistical area in the United States without an NCAA member school.

Libraries The Tulare County Public Library operates its largest branch, the Visalia Branch, in Downtown Visalia. There are other smaller libraries in Visalia, such as the Visalia Learning Center.

Freeways and highways California State Route 99, known as the Pearl Harbor Survivors Memorial Freeway, is the major north–south highway that heads north to Fresno and south to Bakersfield. California State Route 198 runs east to Sequoia National Park and west to San Lucas. California State Route 63, Mooney Boulevard, heads north towards Orosi and Kings Canyon National Park, and south to Tulare. California State Route 216, Lovers Lane, heads east to Woodlake.

Public transportation Visalia Transit (formerly Visalia City Coach) operates public transportation to, from and within the communities of Visalia, Goshen, Farmersville and Exeter. 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.

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.

Orange Belt Stages has a bus stop in Visalia for commuting Amtrak rail passengers with Visalia as their final destination. The nearest Amtrak stations that offer commercial rail transportation services are located in Hanford and Fresno. The Sequoia Shuttle provides an alternative form of transportation from Visalia and Three Rivers to Sequoia National Park.

The Loop is an easy, safe and free way for all school-aged kids to get to community centres and recreation centres throughout Visalia where activities for youth are happening.

In late 2015, city officials unveiled the V-Line, a bus line that connects Visalia and Fresno. Its stops, in order, are the Visalia Transit Center, Visalia Municipal Airport, Yosemite International Airport, Fresno State University, and Fresno Courthouse. The bus fare is $10 each way. There are offers ranging from discounted to free for students, seniors, and disabled riders. This bus line has several amenities such as free WiFi and charging ports.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority has plans to build a high speed rail station 20 miles west of Visalia named Kings–Tulare Regional Station, which will service the city of Hanford as well as Visalia. Originally planned to be at-grade, the High-Speed Rail Authority has now built a viaduct crossing California State Route 198, which the station will be situated atop.

Transport: Air Visalia has one airport, the Visalia Municipal Airport (IATA: VIS, ICAO: KVIS, FAA LID: VIS).

Other nearby commercial airports include: • (IATA: FAT, ICAO: KFAT, FAA LID: FAT) Fresno Yosemite International Airport, owned by the city of Fresno; serves the San Joaquin Valley. • (IATA: PTV, ICAO: KPTV, FAA LID: PTV) Porterville Municipal Airport, owned by the city of Porterville; serves the Southeastern Sierra Nevada and the South Valley of the Porterville area • (IATA: BFL, ICAO: KBFL, FAA LID: BFL) Meadows Field Airport, also known as Kern County Airport #1, serves the South Valley.