Fresno

Fresno is the county seat of Fresno County, California. Fresno has about a half million people living within the city limits, and double that in the entire metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest city in California and the largest inland city in the state. It is located in the San Joaquin Valley portion of California’s expansive Central Valley.

The San Joaquin Valley is California’s top agricultural producing region, sometimes called “the nation’s salad bowl” for the fruits and vegetables grown in its fertile soil. Well-suited for farming, the region is hot and dry in summer with long, sunny days. Winters are moist and often blanketed with heavy fog.

The County of Fresno was formed in 1856. It was named for Fresno Creek, which in turn was named for the abundant mountain ash trees lining the stream. Fresno is the Spanish word for ash tree. The settlement originally was focused to the northeast of Fresno’s current location in Fort Miller. But heavy rains in 1867 overflowed the San Joaquin River and forced resettlement.

Visalia

Named after the founder’s hometown of Visalia, KY, Visalia is located in Tulare County approximately 185 miles north of Los Angeles, 220 miles south of San Francisco and 45 miles southeast of Fresno.

The city was founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1874. It currently has a land area of 27.68 square miles and approximately 108,000 people call Visalia home.

The City Council is composed of five members who are elected at-large to alternating four year terms. The City Council selects one of its members to serve as Mayor. A City Manager is appointed by the City Council to direct all City functions.

Historically, Visalia’s economy has been based upon agriculture and related industries. A variety of new industries have become important to Visalia’s economy in recent years, including manufacturers of school yearbooks, business forms, metal products, electronic components and food and fiber processing plants.

It is the County seat and principal trading center for the Tulare County, which is in the top three most productive counties agriculturally. Over the past ten years, the City has averaged about 40 percent of the retail sales in Tulare County, while having about 27% of the population.

The climate of the area is warm and dry in the summer, mild in the winter with low humidity. Average January temperatures range from 55 degrees to 37 degrees. July average temperatures range from 98 degrees to 68 degrees. Average yearly rainfall is 9.86 inches.