Timeline of Fresno, California

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Fresno, California, USA.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

19th century

• 1856 – Fresno County formed in 1856 with Millerton, a settlement along the San Joaquin River, as the county seat.^[1]
• 1865 – William Helm brings his wife and his sheep to the valley floor area south of Millerton.^[2]
• 1870 - Weekly Expositor newspaper in publication.^[3]
• 1872 – Fresno station founded by the Central Pacific Railroad Company^[4]
• 1874 – County seat of Fresno County moves from Millerton to Fresno due to population growth.^[5]
• 1875
  • Fresno County Courthouse built.
  • Central California Colony established south of Fresno, creating a successful model for attracting settlers.^[4][6]
• 1876 – Fresno Morning Republican newspaper in publication.^[7]
• 1877 – Fresno Volunteer Fire Department organized.^[8]
• 1881 - William Helm bought the block bounded by Fresno, R, Merced and S Streets from Louis Einstein.^[9]
• 1882 – St. John Church built.
• 1884 – Big Fresno Fair begins.^[10]
• 1885 – Fresno incorporated.^[11]
• 1889 – Meux Home built.^[12]
• 1890
  • Barton opera house opens.^[11]
  • Population exceeds 10,000.^[4]
• 1892 - Street cars introduced ^[4]
• 1893 – Fresno Free Public Library opens.^[13]
• 1894
  • Fresno Parlor Lecture Club organized.^[14]
  • Fresno Water Tower built.
  • San Francisco-Fresno bike messenger service (during the Pullman Strike) initiated.^[15]
• 1899 – Santa Fe Passenger Depot opens.
• 1900 – Population: 12,470.^[16]

20th century

1900s–1940s

• 1901
  • Fresno City Railway in operation.
  • Fresno Buddhist Temple founded.^[17]
• 1904
  • Gottschalks shop in business.
  • First Butcher Shop Opened by Andrew David Green
• 1906 – Forestiere Underground Gardens begin developing.
• 1908 – Asparēz Armenian/English-language newspaper begins publication.
• 1909 – Raisin Day festival begins.^[18][19]
• 1910 – Fresno Junior College opens.
• 1911
  • Fresno State Normal School founded.^[18]
  • Sunnyside Country Club opens.
• 1913 – Commercial Club organized.^[11]
• 1914 – Holy Trinity Church built.
• 1918
  • Sun-Maid raisin facility begins operating.
  • Bank of Italy building constructed.
• 1919 – Fresno Historical Society^[8] and Temple Beth Israel founded.
• 1921 – Fresno State College established.^[16]
• 1922
  • KMJ 580AM Radio begins broadcasting.
  • Fresno Bee newspaper begins publication.^[20]
• 1923
  • Fort Washington Country Club established.
  • San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation Building constructed.
• 1925 – Security Pacific Bank Building constructed.
• 1926 – Fresno State Stadium dedicated.^[18]
• 1928 – Pantages Theater opens.
• 1929
  • Roeding Park Zoo opens.
  • Z. S. Leymel becomes mayor.
  • Chandler Airport opens as area's primary airport.
• 1932 – Fresno Memorial Auditorium built.^[16]
• 1935 – Academy (social group) formed.^[21]
• 1939 – Tower Theatre opens.
• 1942 – U.S. Air Force Hammer Airfield and Japanese American internment camp in use.
• 1944 – Pacific Bible Institute founded.^[22]
• 1946 – Sierra Sky Park Airport residential aviation community established near city.
• 1947 – Hammer Field National Guard training area and Fresno Air Terminal established, becoming primary hub of commercial aviation instead of Chandler Airport.
• 1948 – Azteca Theater built.

1950s–1990s

• 1954 – Peoples Church and Fresno Philharmonic founded.
• 1955 – Bernice F. Sisk becomes U.S. representative for California's 12th congressional district.^[23]
• 1960 – Mexican American Political Association founded.^[24]
• 1961 – City of Fresno Takes over municipal bus service.
• 1962 – Farm Workers Association founding meeting held in Fresno.^[25]
• 1964
  • Fulton Mall dedicated.
• 1966
  • Fresno Convention Center complex built.
  • Fresno County Courthouse rebuilt.
• 1967 – Catholic Diocese of Fresno established.
• 1968 - Woodward Park opened in north Fresno.
• 1969 – Kiddie Kinema movie theatre opens.^[26]
• 1970
  • Fashion Fair Mall in business.
  • Population: 167,927.^[5]
• 1973 – Good Company Players founded.^[27]
• 1977 – KMTF television begins broadcasting.
• 1983 – Fresno Metronews begins publication.
• 1984
  • Nanaksar Gurdwara founded.
  • Fresno Metropolitan Museum established.^[28]
• 1989
  • Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill closes.
  • Karen Humphrey becomes mayor.
• 1990
  • Vida en el Valle Spanish/English-language newspaper begins publication.^[29]
  • Population: 354,202.^[30]
• 1992 – Hmong Times newspaper in publication.^[31]
• 1993
  • Hmong Today (television program) begins broadcasting.
  • San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center established.
  • Jim Patterson becomes mayor.
• 1996 – Tahoe Joe's restaurant in business.
• 1997
  • Community Food Bank active.^[32]
  • River Park shopping center in business.
• 1998
  • City website online.^[33][34]
  • Fresno Grizzlies baseball team formed.
  • Fresno Stadium 22 cinema opens.^[26]
• 2000
  • University High School established.^[22]
  • Mormon Fresno California Temple dedicated.

21st century

• 2001
  • Alan Autry becomes Mayor
• 2002
  • Grizzlies Stadium opens.
• 2003
  • Save Mart Center (arena) opens.
  • Ani-Jam anime convention begins.
• 2005
  • Woodward Shakespeare Festival and Artists' Repertory Theatre founded.
  • Jim Costa becomes U.S. representative for California's 20th congressional district.^[35]
  • Coyle United States Courthouse built.
• 2008 – Neighborhood Thrift shop in business.^[36]
• 2009 – Ashley Swearengin becomes mayor.
• 2010
  • Fresno Metropolitan Museum closes.^[28]
  • Population reaches 494,665 people.^[37]
• 2013
  • Poet laureate inaugurated.^[38]
  • Bitwise Industries launches, bringing a technology and entrepreneur community together. Starts with Bitwise Mural District, and more Fresno campuses follow.
• 2014
  • Fresno General Plan adopted, becoming the first one in decades to not expand the Sphere of Influence.
• 2015
  • On January 6, Governor Jerry Brown attends a groundbreaking ceremony for California High-Speed Rail in downtown Fresno at the future location of Fresno's High Speed Rail Station.^[39]
  • Fresno Declares Drought; worst recorded precipitation levels; 130 years. Water Use Reduction/Conservation Begins.
• 2017 – 2017 Fresno shootings.
• 2019 – 2019 Fresno shootings.
• 2020
  • Population reaches 542,161 people.^[40]
• 2021
  • Former Police Chief Jerry Dyer becomes Fresno's 26th mayor.

See also

• History of Fresno
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fresno County, California
• Timelines of other cities in the Northern California area of California: Mountain View, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose