San Joaquin Valley
Time Line

1772	First non-native visited the San Joaquin Valley. Pedro Fages crossed the southern end of the valley from Tejon Pass to San Luis Obispo via Buena Vista Lake.
1776	a) Father Francisco Garces visited the southern San Joaquin Valley. Father Garces traveled north from the Tejon Pass to the White River. b) Father Pedro Font and Jose Joaquin Moraga explored the northern San Joaquin valley and noted the abundance of Tule Elk.
1804	Father Juan Martin visited the "swamp country" around Tulare Lake. He estimated that at least 4,000 Indians were living around the lake.
1806	Father Pedro Munoz and Second Lieutenant Don Gabriel Moraga visited the San Joaquin Valley as far south as the Kings River and noted salmon and beaver. Moraga changed the name from Valle de los Tulares to San Joaquin Valley.
1827	First non-native American visited the valley. Jedediah S. Smith traveled through the valley looking for game to trap.
1829	Ewing Young, a trapper with the Hudson Bay Company trapped the valley streams.
1833	Joseph Riddeford Walker trapped in the valley and then exited the valley via Walker Pass.
1843	Tejon Ranch established by land grant. Ranch is approximately 100,000 acres.
1844	John C. Fremont made the first of several visits to the San Joaquin Valley. He camped on the Kaweah River and noted the abundant elk, antelope, and wild horses.
1845	a) Wheat was first planted in the valley near Stockton and on the Tejon Ranch. b) Edward Meyer Kern, one of Fremont's party, visited the Kern River on Christmas Day.
1848	Gold discovered.
1849	John Woodhouse Audubon traveled through the valley from the Tejon Ranch to the "gold country". He observed abundant wildlife.
1850	STATEHOOD. California becomes a state.
1850's	James Capen "Grizzly" Adams hunted and roamed the valley.
1851	The first irrigation canal in the San Joaquin Valley was built on the Tejon Ranch.
1852	a) Tulare County established (Split from Mariposa and San Diego Counties.) b) Wheat. San Joaquin Valley produce 112,309 bushels. c) Grapes. First vineyard started at Centerville on the Kings River.
1853	Cattle in the San Joaquin Valley number 15,621.
1854	a) Visalia settled by Nat Vise. b) Closed season for both antelope and elk throughout California.
1855	Merced County established. (Split from Mariposa County.)
1856	Fresno County established. (Split from Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare Counties.)
1857	Monache Indian Reservation established 3.5 miles east of Porterville.
1860	Livestock census of the San Joaquin Valley reported 226,248 cattle and 78,568 sheep.
1862	Tulare Lake reached its highest recorded level, 486,000 acres.
1863	Thomas Baker settles on Kern Island which becomes Bakersfield.
1864	Oranges were planted for the first time in the valley near Centerville on the Kings River.
1866	a) Kern County established. (Split from Los Angeles and Tulare Counties.) b) Cotton grown for the first time in the valley in Merced County.
1868	Tulare Lake to San Francisco Bay. Only recorded commercial trip from the lake to the bay was made by a scow carrying one ton of honey.
1870	a) Livestock census of the San Joaquin Valley reported 288,483 cattle and 901,892 sheep. b) Wheat becomes the major valley industry during this decade.
1872	a) Southern Pacific Railroad reaches Tulare County. b) Carp are introduced into California waters.
1873	a) Tule River Indian Reservation moved from Monache site to the present location. Indians number only a few hundred at most. b) Tule Elk are protected. A law is passed making it a felony punishable by two years in prison to kill an elk. Many feel the law is too late. c) Catfish are introduced into Tulare Lake.
1874	a) Elk found on Henry Miller's Ranch near Buena Vista Lake in Kern County. b) City of Visalia incorporated. c) 7,521,096 bushels of wheat produced in the San Joaquin Valley.
1875	a) Irrigation diversions on the Kaweah River number 18. b) The steamboat Mose Andross begins four years of activities on Tulare Lake. Livestock, freight, and passengers were transported between the five landings on the lake.
1880	Reclamation of Tulare Lake bottom begins.
1884	Wheat hits its peak in the valley with 1,300,631 acres planted and 17,997,212 bushels harvested.
1885	City of Fresno incorporated.
1886	Swans were sold by the wagon load on Main Street of Visalia for $1 each.
1888	a) City of Tulare incorporated. b) Fish from Tulare Lake shipped to San Francisco from Hanford and Lemoore by railroad between September and December totaled 134,100 pounds. c) Almost 1,000 miles of irrigation canals exist in Kern County.
1890	a) Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks are established. b) The first oil well drilled in the valley near Coalinga. c) Rabbit drives are common in the valley during the next decade. d) Steam-powered wheat harvesters used in the valley by the end of the decade.
1891	City of Hanford is incorporated.
1893	a) Kings County is established. (Split from Tulare County.) b) Gun size is limited. Hunting in California with a shotgun larger than 10 gauge is prohibited.
1894	Catfish and carp are so abundant in Tulare Lake that commercial fishing on the lake ends.
1898	City of Bakersfield is incorporated.
1899	a) Tulare Lake goes dry for the first time in recorded history. b) Oil is discovered on the Kern River.
1901	a) Night shooting of game is prohibited in California. b) Daily bag limits for game established in California.
1905	Sale of dove and all shorebirds is prohibited in California.
1912	White Pelicans are still abundant in the valley. There are 750+ nests at Buena Vista Lake and 1,000+ at Tulare Lake.
1913	Sale of all game except ducks and geese is prohibited in California.
1914	Avian botulism is a problem in Tulare Lake.
1922	a) Grizzly Bear are eliminated from California. The last known bear was killed in the foothills of Tulare County. b) "San Joaquin Valley Pronghorn Antelope" numbers are reduced to only 29 animals. This small herd which was located in western Fresno County was shot to extinction a short time later.
1927	Tule Elk number 72.
1931	Los Banos Wildlife Management Area established by the State of California.
1931/ 1932	Tule Elk Reserve established in Kern County. 953 acres are purchased for the reserve.
1938	Tulare Lake appeared again and covered 140,000 acres.
1949	Mendota Wildlife Management Area established by the State of California.
1953	a) Kern River dammed; Lake Isabella formed. b) Kings River dammed; Pine Flat Reservoir formed.
1956	Pixley National Wildlife Refuge established.
1961	a) Kern National Wildlife Refuge established. b) Tule River dammed; Lake Success formed.
1962	Kaweah River dammed; Lake Kaweah formed.
1969	Tulare Lake appeared again and covered 88,700 acres.
1972	10,888,000 acres of land irrigated in the Tulare Lake basin.
1983	Tulare Lake appeared again and covered 82,000 acres.
1987	Crop Value (Gross) Fresno County: $2,274,000,000 Tulare County: 1,609,000,000 Kern County: 1,381,000,000 Merced County:     942,500,000 Kings County: 640,100,000 Madera County 430,600,000 TOTAL $7,277,200,000