If you traverse the fertile plain of California’s central valley, one cannot help but notice

the majestic snowcapped peaks of the sierra Nevada mountains. Seemingly formidable, absent

of conquest, the summer snowmelt provided life for a plethora of Native American people

living in the area. Water, just as life, started to drip and trickle in the early spring months

cutting a path down the mountains building energy as the weeks passed. This calm formless

shapeless trickle moved around hindrances encountered, and built up to a raging torrent

roaring its way down hill into the modern day lakes and reservoirs we enjoy.

This trickle of life, served as the inspiration for Nathaniel Vise to lean forward and

establishing the earliest settlement which grew into our beautiful city of Visalia. Mirroring the

same path as the life sustaining elixir running off of the mountains, our beautiful city roared

into a flourishing agricultural hub of the central valley, which has been served as the seat of

Tulare County since its conception.

-Dustin Stephens