"100th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Railroad to the San Joaquin Valley"

"100th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Railroad to the San Joaquin Valley". Fresno means ash tree in Spanish. For many years, this section of California was known as the "Fresno Country” because of the ash trees that grew along its waterways. One of its rivers was named Fresno. Fresno City was established on the west side of the slough near modern day Tranquility, as a stage stop for the Butterfield Line. In the spring of 1872, Leland Stanford, one of the builders of the Central Pacific Railroad, decided that the station in this area should be at the “Sinks of Dry Creek”, rather than at Sycamore, on the banks of the San Joaquin River, the present-day Herndon. It is said that his decision was influenced by viewing the expanse of irrigated green grain standing nearby, in sharp contrast to the surrounding arid plain. The first railroad station depot was located 7/10 of one mile southeast of this park., 1872 – Fresno Station Established by the Railroad , 1874 – County Seat moved from Millerton to Fresno , 1885 – City of Fresno Incorporated. , As originally laid out, the streets of Fresno were parallel and perpendicular to the railroad tracks. In 1885, this “Old City” was 2.94 square miles, with a population of 3,000. By 1935, the city had grown to 8.93 square miles, and a population of 56,599. In 1972, it comprised an area of 43.55 square miles, and boasted a population of 173,800.,