California State Historical Landmarks - Tulare County
 

Tulare County is the heart of California farm country. While most regions welcome visitors with a convention and visitors bureau, Tulare welcomes guests with a farm bureau. Cattle, crops and crop-related events make this a great vacation trip for those hoping for a simpler lifestyle where casual attire is the norm. Located at the base of the Sierra Nevada Range, the centrally located region is 185 miles north of Los Angeles and 225 southeast of San Francisco. This gateway to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, one of the most dramatic landscapes in North America, offers a great choice of affordable hotel accommodations in cities such as Visalia. At  Sequoia National Park's eastern boundary is the tallest peak in the continental United States,  Mt. Whitney, measuring 14,494 feet in elevation. You can access the perfect forests with towering Giant Sequoia trees, just an hour's scenic drive from downtown Visalia. The climate of the area is warm and dry in the summer and mild in the winter with low humidity. Average January temperatures range from 55 degrees to 37 degrees. July average temperatures range from 98 degrees to 68 degrees. Average yearly rainfall is 9.86 inches.

NO. 388 FIRST TULE RIVER INDIAN RESERVATION - A reservation was originally established in 1857, and Indians from a widespread area were brought here. The natives of the vicinity, the Koyeti tribe towards the west and the Yandanchi tribe toward the east, were branches of the Yokuts Indians that occupied the San Joaquin Valley. The Tule River Indian Reservation was moved to its present location, 10 miles to the southeast in 1873.
Location: Alta Vista School, 2293 E Crabtree Ave, Porterville

NO. 410 CHARTER OAK OR ELECTION TREE - Under this tree on July 10, 1852, a party commanded by Major James D. Savage conducted the election by which Tulare County was organized. Woodville, site of Wood's cabin, and the first county seat, was located about one-half mile south of this marker. This general area, the delta of the Kaweah River, was also known as the 'Four Creeks County.'
Location: On Charter Oak Dr 0.3 mi W of Rd 180, 7 mi E of Visalia

NO. 413 TAILHOLT - Tailholt began as a gold mining camp about 1856 during the Kern River gold rush, when gold was obtained from placer and shaft operations. Mining has been carried on intermittently since the time of discovery, with a considerable settlement here during active periods. The town's name was changed to White River about 1870.
Location: SW corner of County Hwy M109 (old Springville stage rte) and County Hwy MI2, 8.0 mi S of Fountain Springs

NO. 471 BUTTERFIELD STAGE ROUTE - This route, following an earlier emigrant trail, was laid out in the 1850s as part of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road. It was used from 1858 to 1861 by the Butterfield Overland Mail stages to carry the first overland mail service on a regular schedule between St. Louis and San Francisco.
Location: SW corner of Hermosa St (Ave 228) and State Hwy 65, 1 mi W of Lindsay

NO. 473 TULE RIVER STAGE STATION - Here Peter Goodhue operated an emigrant trail stopping place on the bank of the Tule River from 1854 until the river changed its course in 1862. This became a Butterfield Overland and mail stage station, 1858-61. It was kept in 1860 by R. Porter Putnam, who in 1864 founded Porterville.
Location: Porterville Public Park, SW corner of N Main St and W Henderson Ave

NO. 648 FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - The settlement of Fountain Springs was established before 1855, 1-1/2 miles northwest of this point, at the junction of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road and the road to the Kern River gold mines. From 1858 to 1861, Fountain Springs was a station on the Butterfield Overland Mail route.
Location: SW corner of County Rds J22 and M 109 (old Springville stage rte), Fountain Springs

NO. 934 TEMPORARY DETENTION CAMPS FOR JAPANESE AMERICANS-TULARE ASSEMBLY CENTER - The temporary detention camps (also known as 'assembly centers') represent the first phase of the mass incarceration of 97,785 Californians of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Pursuant to Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, thirteen makeshift detention facilities were constructed at various California racetracks, fairgrounds, and labor camps. These facilities were intended to confine Japanese Americans until more permanent concentration camps, such as those at Manzanar and Tule Lake in California, could be built in isolated areas of the country. Beginning on March 30, 1942, all native-born Americans and long-time legal residents of Japanese ancestry living in California were ordered to surrender themselves for detention.
Location: Tulare County Fairgrounds, Tulare