Central Valley Roots

A "spaceship" at Fresno and "P" Streets: The story of Fresno's City Hall 14.11.2026 1:30 ↓

Canadian architect Arthur Erickson collaborated with a local firm to created this futuristic landmark in downtown Fresno.

A modest proposal: How Modesto got its name 13.11.2026 1:30 ↓

Banker William Ralston balked at the idea of a town named in his honor.

The matriarch of the Bakersfield Sound: Bonnie Owens 11.11.2026 1:30 ↓

She's best known as the ex-wife of both Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, but Bonnie Owens was a country star in her own right.

The story of influential Fresno-born artist and author Leo Politi 11.11.2026 1:30 ↓

Politi was a champion of diversity and inclusivity in an era before those terms became commonplace.

Delano's Filipino heritage 10.11.2026 1:30 ↓

Delano's Filipino population played an important role in the farm labor movement.

The unsung hero of the Bakersfield Sound: Don Rich 09.11.2026 1:53 ↓

Don Rich's guitar playing was a key part of the "Bakersfield Sound" pioneered by Buck Owens and his Buckaroos. After Rich died in 1974, Owens said his music was never the same.

Betrayal: 18 "secret" treaties between the U.S. and California tribes went unratified and hidden for 50 years 08.11.2026 2:13 ↓

The United States Senate never ratified the 1851 treaties, and ordered them sealed for 50 years.

Fresno's earliest pioneer: William Helm 07.11.2026 1:45 ↓

When rancher William Helm established his home on the Fresno plain in 1865, he had no neighbors for as far as 12 miles in any direction.

This Fresno-based business has local roots that go back to 1874 06.11.2026 1:30 ↓

The Penny-Newman Grain Company began in 1874 as pioneering Fresno retail store Kutner & Goldstein.

An oasis on the Kern River: The story of Hart Park 05.11.2026 1:30 ↓

For a century, Kern County residents have turned to Hart Park to cool off, celebrate and enjoy the outdoors.

When wheat kings ruled the valley: The rise and fall of Clovis Cole 04.11.2026 2:14 ↓

Clovis Cole grew his wheat farming empire to 40,000 acres, but saw it all collapse amid crop failures and bad business deals.

FDR's Ponderosa Way: A Depression-era project to stop California wildfires 03.11.2026 1:30 ↓

This firebreak was a Great Depression-era project that aimed to stop wildfires, but today is largely forgotten.

How Abraham Lincoln influenced Fresno's development 02.11.2026 1:30 ↓

Fresno owes its existence in no small part to three laws signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1861-1862.

Fresno's German Syndicate: The land speculators who sparked the Valley's growth 02.11.2026 1:53 ↓

A group of German immigrant land speculators placed a big bet on the potential of the Fresno area in the late 1860s. While most of them eventually went broke, they left a legacy that still exists today.

The story behind Bakersfield's Big Shoe 02.11.2026 1:30 ↓

The building shaped like a shoe is an example of the "programmatic architecture" that once was common across Southern California.

If Clovis is "A Way of Life," what exactly does that mean? 30.10.2026 2:07 ↓

We track down the origins of the city's "Way of Life" slogan, and learn who coined the phrase back in 1970.

Fresno's foremost founding father: Anthony Easterby 29.10.2026 2:13 ↓

Anthony Easterby's farm proved the potential of irrigated agriculture and led the Central Pacific Railroad to found the new town of Fresno nearby.

The curious case of Fresno State's search for a new campus 28.10.2026 1:30 ↓

After World War II, leaders agreed Fresno State needed to move to a new campus. But where to build it proved to be a big problem.

The birth of CSU Bakersfield 27.10.2026 1:30 ↓

When state leaders decided to build a new state college in Kern County, they evaluated sites all over the county.

Royal Porter Putnam and the birth of Porterville 09.07.2026 1:29 ↓

Nestled close the Sierra foothills in Tulare County, Porterville began as a ferry crossing on the Tule River.

Fresno's Maynard Dixon: A pioneering artist of the American West 08.07.2026 1:29 ↓

Dixon's landscape paintings ranged in styles from impressionism to angular modernism, all while capturing the beauty of the Southwestern landscape.

A man-made landmark in Yosemite: The Ahwahnee Hotel 07.07.2026 1:29 ↓

The grand hotel has been a Yosemite Valley icon since 1927, and has hosted presidents and royalty.

Two Fresno-area musicians who had counterculture rock hits in the 1960s: Barry McGuire and Terry Talbot 06.07.2026 1:30 ↓

Barry McGuire and Terry Talbot had their own big hits during the anti-war movement, before they both moved to Fresno and shifted their careers into worship music.

Fresno's Duncan Ceramics Building: a colorful landmark for over 50 years 03.07.2026 1:30 ↓

Fresno-area artist Stan Bitters designed the collection of glazed ceramic reliefs starting in 1969.

The history behind Fresno's Fig Garden Village shopping center 02.07.2026 1:29 ↓

Fig Garden Village was built in the "Town and County" style in the 1950s using reclaimed timbers, bricks and an eclectic design that has made it popular for close to 70 years.