|
California State...
|
|
|
|
|
| |
California Counties
|
|
Click Image to Enlarge
California Counties
The U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight counties.
On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were
Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San
Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the counties
of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was
renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yola, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro
to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename
Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.
The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Fresno County, California
Fresno County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Fresno
Year Organized: 1856
Square Miles: 5,963 |
Court House: 1100 Van Ness Avenue
County Courthouse
Fresno, CA 93721-2016
|
Etymology - Origin of County Name
Named after Fresno Creek. Fresno in Spanish signifies "ash
tree" and it was because of the abundance of mountain ash or ash trees in the
county that it received its name.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Fresno County was formed in 1856 from parts of Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties. Parts of Fresno County's
territory were given to Mono County in 1861 and to Madera County in 1893. The original county seat was placed in
Millerton.
The county is named after Fresno Creek. Fresno in Spanish signifies "ash tree" and it was due to the abundance of
mountain ash or ash trees in the county that it received its name.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 6,017 square miles (15,585 kmē),
of which, 5,963 square miles (15,443 kmē) of it is land and 55 square miles (142 kmē) of it (0.91%) is
water.
Major watercourses are the San Joaquin, Kings River, Delta-Mendota Canal, Big Creek, Friant Kern Canal
and Helm Canal. It is bordered on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Sierra Nevada. It
is the center of a large agricultural area, known as the most agriculturally rich county in the United
States. The county withdrew 3.7 billion gallons of fresh water per day in 2000, more than any other
county in the United States.
Fresno was actually named after two particular ash trees that grew near the town of Minkler on the Kings
River. One of the trees is still alive and standing.
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Madera County
- Northeast: Mono County
- East: Inyo County
- Southeast: Tulare County
- South: Kings County
- Southwest: Monterey County
- West: San Benito County
- Northwest: Merced County
Cities and Towns:
|
- Clovis |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Coalinga |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Firebaugh |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Fowler |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Fresno
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Huron |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Kerman |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Kingsburg |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Mendota |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Orange Cove |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Parlier |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Reedley |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- San Joaquin |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Sanger |
city |
Incorporated Area |
|
- Selma |
city |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
|
|
Online High Schools
|
|
|
|
|
| |
County Resource Guide
|
|
|
The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
|
|
| |
|
