Fresno County 150 1896-2006 Celebrating the Journey 1856-2006
  Fresno County Sesquicentennial - Celebrating 150 Years of History
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Wagon Train
Caruthers April 8-9
Clovis April 13 & 17
Firebaugh April 5-6
Fowler April 9-10
Santa Fe Depot Downtown Fresno April 19
Friant April 17-18
Kerman April 7-8
Mendota April 6-7
Reedley April 11-12
Sanger April 12-13
Scout Island April 18-19
Selma April 10-11

CLOVIS
April 17
Clovis Rodeo Grounds

  Mr. & Mrs. Stephen H. Cole and their son, CLOVIS, came to Fresno from Vevay, Indiana, in 1873. Stephen homesteaded a piece of land near present-day Balfe Ranch.

  When Clovis was 16, his father gave him four horses and Clovis started a teamster business hauling lumber from the mountains. In a few years, he homesteaded a piece of land near present-day Clovis. He added to his holdings by purchasing 480 more acres of land for $4 an acre which later became the townsite of Clovis. By 1840, he owned 40,000 acres of land that he planted in wheat. Clovis Cole was said to be the wheat king of the nation.

The Coles went into the real estate business. When Marcus Pollasky’s San Joaquin Railroad was built on the east side of the valley, one of its three stations was constructed at 4th and Clovis avenues on land donated by Cole. The station was named Clovis.

In 1891, Ingvart Teilman surveyed the land for a townsite and the Fresno Flume & Irrigation Company built a flume from Shaver Lake to the new town. The terminus of the flume was on 60 acres the company purchased from Cole. Also on this site was built a large lumber and finishing mill, a storage yard and a distributing plant. It was called the Clovis Mill.

In February1893, the Clovis post office was established and Clovis was incorporated on February 27, 1912.

Historical Information from "The Heartland's Heritage", written by Catherine Rehart

Clovis Map

Clovis Wagon Train Schedule Garfield Elementary School - 1915, image courtesy of the Pop Laval Photographic Collection
   
Assembly Information: Monday, April 17th
  4:00 pm
  Clovis Rodeo Grounds
  748 Rodeo Drive
   
Participating School: Polk School - Central Unified School District
Superintendent: Marilou Ryder
     
Schedule: 8:00 -- 9:00 am Preparation for Departure
  9:00 am Head to Grange Grove!
     
  Stop Along The Way For A Tour Of The Fort Miller Blockhouse
     
  4:30 pm Arrival Time at Grange Grove
  5:00 pm Dinner
  6:00 pm Participation in Millerton Ceremony
  7:00 -- 9:00 pm Wagon Train Activities
  6:00 am Rise
  9:00 pm Camp Lights Out
  10:00 pm Gates Locked
     

Please Contact Carole Lester, Fresno Historical Society for further details.
559.441.0862 fresnocounty150@aol.com