StaniStory: Change and Continuity in Stanislaus County

Biographical information about the publisher McHenry Museum & Historical Society (McHenryMuseum.org, Est. 1965); authors Keith Highiet (metals recycler, ModestoJunk.com, Est. 1920) and David Seymour (history professor, MJC.edu, Est. 1921); and major benefactor Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation (Est. 1985), are shared here.

Read by Mary Lou Dieterich, details of these unincorporated places are summarized (in order of year founded): Knights Ferry, La Grange (French Bar), Grayson (Graysonville), Hills Ferry (Dutch Corners), Crows Landing, Roberts Ferry (Dickinson's Ferry), Westport (Westport Landing), Wood Colony, Salida (Murphy's Ferry, Murphy's Switch), Westley, Mountain View (Half Way House), Valley Home...

Read by Mary Ann Sanders, details of these incorporated cities are summarized (in order of year founded): Riverbank (Islip, Burney's Ferry, Burneyville), Waterford (Bakersville), Modesto, Oakdale, Turlock, Ceres, Newman (center of the West Side / Westside), Hughson, and Patterson.

Read by Betty Ustach, details of these places are summarized (in order of year founded): Adamsville, Crescent City, Tuolumne City, 26 Mile House, Buena Vista, Don Pedro Bar, Empire City, Heath and Emory, Mahoney's Landing, Langworth, Paradise City, and a trio of Sierra Railroad-founded sites: Cooperstown, Paulsell, and Warnerville. A "Fun Facts" item, 'The 1860s Luke Church House...

Read by Mary Ann Sanders and Betty Ustach, Stanislaus County has changed much over time, and quite rapidly over the past two-hundred years. Yet, some things remain similar to the past. People have come from all over the world for a better life here, and the soil remains fertile.

Read by Betty Ustach, local government in Stanislaus County is composed of people who are chosen by the local citizens to represent them. Nine communities in the county have incorporated themselves into official cities: Ceres, Hughson, Newman, Modesto, Oakdale, Patterson, Riverbank, Turlock, and Waterford.

Read by Mary Lou Dieterich, Ann M. Veneman was the highest ranking political official to come out of Stanislaus County.

Read by Mary Ann Sanders, Joan L. Mitchell invented the JPEG file transfer system.

Read by Betty Ustach, Odessa Johnson was the first African-American woman hired by Modesto High School in 1962.

Read by Mary Lou Dieterich, Esto Broughton was the first woman elected to the California State Assembly from Stanislaus County in 1919.

Read by Mary Ann Sanders, learn about two women who were early Modesto Businesswomen.

Read by Betty Ustach, Thomasa Perez Griffith was an immigrant woman who made her mark in Oakdale.

Read by Betty Ustach, the impact of women in many areas locally has been profound: Tomasa Perez Griffith (businesswoman and social advocate), Luella Hughson and Grace Covell (businesswomen), Esto Broughton (attorney and politician), Odessa Johsnon (educational leader), Joan L. Mitchell (computer scientist and inventor), and Ann M. Veneman (government and human rights leader).

Read by Mary Ann Sanders, the main roadways throughout Stanislaus County connect vehicle travelers from towns and cities both within and out of the county. This has influenced where houses and businesses have been built over time, and has led to a rise in the number of commuters living here.

Read by Betty Ustach, people from all over the world have come to call Stanislaus County their home. Many in particular have Mexican heritage; a large movement of immigration from that country to this area began when the U.S. created the Bracero Program in 1942 (during World War II).

Read by Mary Lou Dieterich, in the 1930s a drought combined with dry winds to cause major damage to U.S. Great Plains states. It was called the "Dust Bowl" and it caused over two million people to migrate from the area. Many settled in Stanislaus County, including Florence Owens Thompson. She became immortalized as the face of the time in one of the most famous photos in history; the pho...

Read by Mary Ann Sanders, brothers Ernest and Julio Gallo founded the E&J Gallo Winery in 1933. The operation would go on to become the largest-ever business in the county, and the largest family-owned winery in the world.

Read by Betty Ustach, along with irrigated crops, animal farming also rose in greater importance in Stanislaus County. Some "Fun Facts" covering 'Food Firsts' in the area are included here too.

Read by Mary Lou Dieterich, the bringing of irrigation to Stanislaus County allowed for farmers to grow higher value crops which require more frequent watering than what nature provides on its own locally.

Read by Mary Ann Sanders, damned rivers create man-made lakes as sources of water for irrigated canals to bring snow-melt from the Sierra mountains to otherwise-dry land throughout Stanislaus County. In fact, the residents of Modesto got together to elect Christopher Columbus "C.C." Wright to the California Assembly for him to enact the unanimously-passed landmark Wright Act of 1887. Thi...

Read by Betty Ustach, the McHenry's were a pioneer family who left an indelible mark on the city of Modesto.

Read by Mary Lou Dieterich, the Central Pacific Railroad selected a spot on their new north-south rail line in the Central Valley to be the site of Stanislaus Conty's first train depot: Modesto in 1871. It was originally offered to be named for silver scion and banking magnate, William "Chap" Ralston, but he "modestly" declined the offer. The name Modesto is the Spanish lan...

Read by Mary Ann Sanders, the first public school in Stanislaus County was established in 1854 near the Orestimba Creek at a place called Newsome's Bridge. At around the same time, Knights Ferry established its first school. In 1874, the first major school building in the county was built in Modesto: the Fourteenth Street School. The county's first high school was established as Modesto Hi...

Ready by Betty Ustach, harvested wheat was transported by horse and mule across Stanislaus County's rivers in flat-bottomed barges and in steamboats to the port city of Stockton in San Joaquin County, where it was shipped out all over the world.

Read by Mary Lou Dieterich, the valley floor area of the county was found to be highly adaptable to growing wheat. Modesto and Stanislaus County were known as the "King of Wheat" in the 1860s and 1870s.