Fresno County, California

Fresno County is a located in the  of the  of, south of  and north of. As of 2007, its population was 1,002,284. The is.

History
The area now known as Fresno County, once a semiarid steppe, was discovered by Spaniards during a search for suitable mission sites. In 1846, this area became the property of the United States as a result of the Mexican War.

Fresno County was formed in from parts of,  and  counties. Parts of Fresno County's territory was given to in  and to  in. The original was placed in.

The county is named after Fresno Creek. Fresno in signifies "" and it was due to the abundance of mountain ash or ash trees in the county that it received its name.

The settling of Fresno County was not without its conflicts, land disputes, and natural disasters. Floods caused immeasurable damage to the Millerton area so much so that the county seat was moved to Fresno and the little town never fully recovered. Fires also plagued the settlers of Fresno County. In, the greatest of the early day fires wiped out an entire block of the city of Fresno, and was followed by another devastating blaze in.

At the same time residents brought, electricity, and extensive to the area. Moses Church developed the first, called "Church Ditches," for. These transformed the barren desert of Fresno County into rich soil, thus enabling extensive  farming in Fresno County. Frances Eisen, leader of the wine industry in Fresno County, also began the industry in 1875, when he accidentally let some of his grapes dry on the vine. A.Y. Easterby and Clovis Cole (aka the "Wheat King of the Nation") developed extensive grain and cattle ranches. These and other citizens laid the groundwork for the cultivation of Fresno County - now the nation's leading agricultural region.

To date, over thirty structures in Fresno County are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Fresno Water Tower, which once held over 250,000 US gallons (950 m³) of water for the city of Fresno, the Meux Home, and Kearney Mansion Museum.

Politics
Fresno County today is a strongly county, voting for President George W. Bush by over 55% of the vote in 2004, although it remains closer in Senatorial races.

The cities of, , , and voted overwhelmingly for President George W. Bush. ,, , and did so by much lesser margins and remain GOP-leaning "swing" cities in the county. ,, , , and voted overwhelmingly for Senator John Kerry (D-MA). and did so by smaller margins and compose the Democratic-leaning "swing" cities in the county. The unincorporated portions of Fresno County remain overwhelmingly GOP by a solid 2 to 1 margin.

The most current voter registration figures show that there are more than 498,000 eligible voters in the county of which at least 353,000 are on voter registration rolls. There are 141,000+ Democrats and 165,000+ Republicans, close to 6,000+ registered for various third parties and around 38,000 have declined to state their party.

Historically, Fresno County was strongly Republican from its inception until the Great Depression, when former President forged the New Deal Coalition that the agrarian county identified with. This led to a cycle of elections from 1932 till 1976 in which the county consistently voted, barring Richard Nixon's landslide victory over former Senator (D-SD) in the 1972 Presidential Election.

Since former President Jimmy Carter's defeat by former President Reagan, Fresno became a GOP-leaning swing county which barely voted for Reagan's successor former President and only voting Democratic for  in his 1992 presidential bid. Republicans have won elections in Fresno County by increasing margins since 1996, and widely view it and the rest of the Central Valley as one of their strongholds in largely Democratic California.

In the, parts of California's , , , and congressional districts are in Fresno County. The 18th and 20th districts are held by conservative Democrats and  respectively. The 19th and 21st districts are held by Republicans and  respectively.

In the, parts of the 29th, 30th, and 31st districts are in Fresno County. The 29th district is held by Republican, while the 30th and 31st districts are held by Democrats and  respectively. In the, parts of the 14th and 16th districts are in Fresno County. The 14th district is held by Republican and the 16th district is held by Democrat.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 15,585 (6,017 ). 15,443 km² (5,963 sq mi) of it is land and 142 km² (55 sq mi) of it (0.91%) is water.

Major s are the, , , , and. It is bordered on the west by the and on the east by the. It is the center of a large agricultural area, known as the most agriculturally rich county in the. 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.

Cities and towns






Adjacent counties

 * - south
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest
 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-5.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 33.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 41.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 43.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 63.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 99.svg|20px]]


 * [[Image:California 145.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 168.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 180.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 198.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 201.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 269.svg|20px]]

Rail

 * (abandoned)
 * (abandoned)
 * (abandoned)
 * (abandoned)
 * (abandoned)
 * (abandoned)

Airports

 * service



Public Transportation

 * or FAX is the local bus operator in Fresno.
 * The is the bus service in Clovis.
 * The a.k.a. Dial-A-Ride services Reedley.
 * The (FCRTA) offers a variety of local and intercity transit services around Fresno County.
 * and provide intercity, long-distance bus service.
 *  stops in Fresno.

Agriculture
Agriculture is the primary industry in Fresno County. Ag production totaled $4.8 billion in 2006, making it the number one agricultural county in the nation. Major crops and livestocks include:



Companies based in Fresno County

 * Department Stores
 * Raisins
 * , maker of the
 * , maker of surveillance cameras
 * , now part of

Major employers in Fresno County

 * Commercial/Industrial
 * Pelco
 * Sun-Maid Raisins
 * Pelco
 * Sun-Maid Raisins
 * Pelco
 * Sun-Maid Raisins
 * Pelco
 * Sun-Maid Raisins
 * Pelco
 * Sun-Maid Raisins
 * Sun-Maid Raisins


 * Government

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 799,407 people, 252,940 households, and 186,669 families residing in the county. The was 52/km² (134/sq mi). There were 270,767 housing units at an average density of 18/km² (45/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 54.30%, 5.30% or , 1.60% , 8.05% , 0.13% , 25.90% from , and 4.73% from two or more races. 43.99% of the population were or  of any race. 59.3% spoke, 31.5% and 3.1%  as their first language.

There were 252,940 households out of which 41.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.50% were living together, 15.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 20.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.59.

In the county the population was spread out with 32.10% under the age of 18, 11.10% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 18.50% from 45 to 64, and 9.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 100.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,725, and the median income for a family was $38,455. Males had a median income of $33,375 versus $26,501 for females. The for the county was $15,495. About 17.60% of families and 22.90% of the population were below the, including 31.70% of those under age 18 and 9.90% of those age 65 or over.

Fresno County is also known for having the highest rate of chlamydia in the state, which in in 2006 545.2 cases per 100,000 people, compared with the statewide average of 363.5.

Notable locations

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External links and references

 * Fresno County website
 * Fresno County Public Library
 * Fresno County Sequicentennial
 * National Geographic Magazine, July 2005