Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately 230 miles southeast of San Francisco and 190 miles north of Los Angeles. As of 2005, the city is estimated to have a population of 107,555 people and a metropolitan area of 410,874. Settled in 1852, it is the oldest permanent inland settlement between Stockton, CA and Los Angeles.
As the county seat and largest city of Tulare County, Visalia serves as the economic center to the region recently referred to as Sequoia Valley, known as the most productive single agricultural area in the United States. Sometimes referred to as the 'Gateway to the Sequoias,' it lies in the shadow of the tallest mountain range in the contiguous United States, the Sierra Nevada (US) (see Mount Whitney, which is located in Tulare County), and is the closest major city to Sequoia National Park, home to the largest living beings on Earth, the Giant Sequoia trees.
Oak traditionEnjoying and caring for oak trees has been a Visalia tradition for nearly 100 years. City neighborhoods lined with these graceful trees show the foresight of early community leaders. When Visalia was founded in 1852, it was located in the largest valley oak woodland in California. Nourished in the fertile soils of the Kaweah River delta, valley oaks covered a 400 square mile area. As Visalia's population grew, more trees were cut down for firewood and to make room for new crops. Fewer trees remained. In the 1890s, Visalians saw the oak tree as a renewable source of community pride and identity that deserved preservation. Community leaders worked together to protect the valley oak. In 1909 they proposed that Tulare County purchase 100 acres of oak trees on Mooney Ranch and preserve the land as a park. Mooney Grove Park is still one of the largest valley oak woodlands in California. In 1922, local groups started the first tree planting program, putting into the ground the oak sentinels now lining Highway 198. In 1971, the city passed an ordinance requiring a permit to remove an oak tree. In 1974, maintenance and preservation guidelines were added. Removing a Valley oak tree without a permit can be a $1,000 fine. Source: Visalia Beautification Committee website.
'The End of the Trail'Visalia was home to the original 'The End of the Trail' statue by James Earle Fraser from 1920 to 1968. [1] The city acquired it when they found that the famous statue was being discarded by San Francisco city officials after having no means to display it once the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition was over. Today the original statue is at the National Cowboy & Western Museum in Oklahoma City, OK, but before it was moved for good a true-to-scale bronze replica was made and placed in the same spot in Mooney's Grove Park where the original had stood for 48 years. The bronze replica can still be found in that very spot.
DowntownVisalia's downtown district is home to numerous shops and restaurants. There is a minor league baseball park called Recreation Park, which is home of the Visalia Oaks. The historic Fox Theatre is located downtown and is a venue for several performing arts and musical events. The convention center features events including home and garden shows, concerts and seminars.
Culture The Central California Chinese Cultural CenterThe 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.
Tulare County Mooney Grove MuseumThe 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 at Mooney Grove Park.
ShoppingBeautiful Downtown Visalia is a frequent shopping destination. Visalia's two largest indoor shopping centers are Visalia Mall and Sequoia Mall. Newer developments are Packwood Creek Shopping Center and the Costco Shopping Center.
Points of interest and triviaKen 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 more well known in Europe and abroad.
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's Grove Park was home to the original plaster statue 'The End of the Trail' by James Earle Fraser from 1920 to 1967. In 1968 a bronze copy was placed in Mooney's 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.
Visalia is named after Visalia, Kentucky native Nathaniel Vise, and the town was laid out and surveyed by Col. Thomas Baker, for whom Bakersfield is named. The two were very close friends.
The town was established after a growing population of settlers outgrew their haphazardly designed civilian living area at Fort Babbit in the Four Creeks area outside of present day Visalia.
Visalia will be the first city in the central San Joaquin Valley to have a full service Marriott Hotel. Located downtown next to the convention center, the 8 story hotel (formerly the Radisson Hotel) will be completely renovated and open in November 2006.
V-town is a colloquial term used by many adolescents and young adults to refer to Visalia.
Provident Skate Park is a popular skateboarding site for young skaters in Visalia.
DemographicsAs of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 102,000 people, 30,883 households, and 22,915 families residing in the city. The population density was (3,204.2/mi˛). There were 32,654 housing units at an average density of 441.1/km˛ (1,142.7/mi˛). 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 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 , 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.
EducationVisalia has 6 public high schools: Redwood High School, Mt. Whitney, Golden West, El Diamante, Visalia Charter Independent Study and Sequoia. Mt. Whitney and Redwood are centrally located. Golden West is in the east and Sequoia (a continuation school) is in the northwest. El Diamante, a high school on the west side, opened for the 2002-2003 school year. Visalia has one public college level institution, College of the Sequoias, a community college.
Famous Visalians
