Reedley Tourism Information & Maps

1883 Thomas Law Reed leases land from the 76 Land and Water Company and plants wheat

1888 Southern Pacific Railroad brings a branch line into the area and plots the town and names it in Reed’s honor, TL Reed begins selling town lots

1890 Reedley’s first Grammar School is built

1892 A devastating fire nearly destroys the town

1900 First Japanese arrive; Volunteer Fire Department started; Reedley Culture Club formed; New Post Office built; First transcontinental train rolls through the San Joaquin Valley on the Santa Fe tracks.

1902 Reedley Chamber of Commerce started. T.L. Reed is elected first president; “Main Street” (current downtown area) destroyed by disastrous fire – rebuilding begins using brick.

1903 Water lines are laid; The first Swiss Mennonite settles in Reedley; Reedley State Bank built.

1904 Santa Fe RR Spur tracks built to Piedra; The first vehicle is driven in Reedley.

1905 The first Finnish farmer locates in Reedley; Reedley High School is built.

1907 Electricity arrives in Reedley; Farmers, Merchants’ and First National Banks are built; the Reedley Ledger newspaper is created;.

1908 The first fire plug was placed on the corner of 10th and G Street

1908 Cemetery Bridge (now Olson Avenue bridge) is built over the Kings River;

1910 Town defeats incorporation; Reedley Library becomes a Fresno branch.

1911 Founder T.L. Reed dies; Branch Line of S.F.R.R. built to Minkler and Piedra; Finnish Hall started; Lincoln Grammar School built; Reedley Hotel finished; Reedley Grand Theatre opened; Reedley Y.M.C.A. organized.

1912 First telephone directory issue for Reedley; Reedley’s L.B. Cary is elected and serves the California Assembly for two terms.

1913 Fire Department is formally chartered; Alarm boxes are installed around town to help identify the location of the fires along with a siren to signal a fire

1913 February 18 – Reedley becomes incorporated; J.J. Eymann is the first mayor; the first fire station is built; J.W. Shipe becomes the Town Marshall; wooden sidewalks are replaced by cement; sewer bond passes 7 to 1; City buys Reedley Water Works from private citizen; First City steel water tower is constructed.

1915 Gas comes to Reedley.

1916 First troop of boy scouts organized; Street numbering started.

1917 First City Hall building built; American Red Cross – Reedley Branch organized; Study & Civic Clubhouse built; Reedley joins the County Farm Bureau.

1918 Reedley High School is established

1918 Spanish Influenza outbreak in Reedley; American Legion Post organized; Permanent paved streets were being laid.

1920 Pioneer Park is established.

1921 The sidewalk clock on G Street is installed; Chamber of Commerce incorporated.

1922 City adopts zoning map; Planning Commission organized by ordinance; Legion hall dedicated; Reedley Lions Club organized.

1923 Dedication of new Reedley High School (present location); City Band Shell erected; General Grant Junior High School built; First fruit packing shed built in Reedley; Second steel water tower erected.

1926 Reedley Junior College started with classes being held at Reedley High School.

1927 City’s first stop signs installed.

1928 First City fire truck purchased; Girl Scout troops organized.

1929 Fire consumes the top floor of the Grand Hotel

1930 First City swimming pool built by American Legion on City property; The first all-purpose fire truck carrier with pump, tank, hose and ladders is purchased.

1932 The City purchased a new Seagrave fire engine

1933 Greyhound Bus Service begins.

1939 Reedley Hospital opens to the public; Natural gas arrives in Reedley.

1946 Reedley College becomes a full Community College

1946 Reedley Fiesta is organized; Chamber gets patent pending on slogan “The World’s Fruit Basket”.

1947 Mid Valley Fire District located an engine in Reedley

1947 Work begins on Pine Flat dam; Fire Department accepts mutual aid agreement with Mid Valley Fire Department; City joins Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District.

1950 National Guard Armory dedicated; Kings River flood takes out lower bridge; population listed as 4,135; Kings View opens its psychiatric hospital.

1951 First July 4th live fireworks show held by Eagles/Legion.

1951 New City swimming pool opens; Disabled American Veterans organized; Olson Avenue bridge replacement completed.

1952 St. LaSalle School built.

1953 Sequoia Safety Council organizes.

1954 The school district votes to move Reedley College to its own campus

1954 City purchases property that will eventually develop into C.F. Mueller Park.

1955 Little League instituted.

1956 Reedley College is moved to its present location on 420 acres, which was once part of the historic Thomas Law Reed Ranch, 300 acres remain as farmland.

1956 Present Reedley College campus opened.

1959 Reedley Rotary Club chartered. Reedley’s G.A. Garrigus wins Assembly election.

1960 Department of Motor Vehicles opens a Reedley office; Present City hall is opened; Population listed at 5,850.

1963 Reedley College joins the SCCCD; Reedley firemen drive a new American LaFrance fire engine from New York to Reedley

1963 Reedley celebrates 50 years; Jefferson school is dedicated; Reedley has over 326 businesses.

1965 Voters pass unification and form Kings Canyon Unified School District.

1971 City’s sewer plant expansion is dedicated. Population is listed at 8,500.

1973 City’s first Industrial Park opens; Reedley’s Community Center is dedicated; Upper Manning Bridge is widened.

1974 Camacho Park / Drainage Basin Development starts; Reedley’s police department is the first in the County to have a K-9 corp; A Senior Citizens group is organized; The high school’s auditorium is destroyed by fire.

1976 Olson Bridge is rebuilt; Reedley Historical Society is formed.

1978 New Fire Station opens; First Japanese Americans are elected to serve on the Reedley City Council.

1979 Reedley Airport is dedicated.

1980 Reedley College was renamed Kings River Community College

1980 Cable TV opens their headquarters in Reedley.

1981 The City purchases a “Jaws-of-life” rescue tool as a result of citywide fundraising

1981 Reedley High’s Performing Arts Theatre is completed.

1982 Dial-A-Ride City service begins.

1985 The 9-1-1 emergency system goes into effect locally.

1986 The first woman City treasurer is elected; the Reedley Downtown Association is formed.

1988 The first woman is elected to serve on the Reedley City Council. The City celebrates its 75th and 100th anniversaries; Overcrowding Ordinance is adopted.

1989 Reedley feels the Bay Area’s devastating Oct 17th earthquake; Reedley Redevelopment Agency formation begins; Senior Volunteer program initiated by the police department; Rescue 5 pickup unit is added to the Fire Department’s EMT force.

1990 New Ladder/Pumper truck arrives at the Fire Department; population is at 15,791; City and Fresno County enter into tax sharing agreements; Ground is broken for the Senior Citizens multi-purpose room; Police Department introduces reserve officers on bikes;

1991 The City adopts a new logo, only to abandon it later; the Redevelopment Agency becomes official; the City Council adopts the Kings River Specific Plan.

1993 City Hall expands with a million dollar remodeling job.

1994 The Fire Department formed the Swiftwater Emergency Response Team (SERT)

1994 Reedley’s population is now 18,885, third largest in Fresno County; the City’s first-ever bank robbery occurred with an arrest the same day; Garbage service is automated; the first woman was elected Mayor.

1996 Reedley Senior Center is dedicated November 13, 1996

1996 Utility users tax is voted down.

1997 The Rails to Trails concept moves forward.

1998 By popular demand, the name ‘Reedley College’ was restored

1999 New Type 1 pumper added to Fire Department

1999 Reedley High School Marching Band will appear in the Rose Parade on 1/1/2000; Groundbreaking ceremony for the Rails to Trails project.

2000 Rails to Trails – 1st trees planted on the new Rail Trail

2001 Rails to Trails Phase 1: Convert old rail corridor to landscaped Pedestrian/Bicycle Trail from Manning Ave to 13th Street – Almost a mile of tree lined trail; Citizens Park/Drainage Basin Complete

2002 Rails to Trails Phase 2: 13th Street to Dinuba Ave. to make the trail 1.3 miles long.

2003 Skate Park, Basketball courts, New children’s play area, & Senior Center Outdoor Dining area are added to Mueller Park; Rails to Trails Phase 3: Dinuba Ave. to Buttonwillow Ave. to make the trail 2.25 miles long; David Powell becomes Reedley’s first full-time Fire Chief.

2004 TL Reed Elementary opens its doors

2005 Two new pumpers added to the Fire Department; Fire Department enlists two part-time Code Enforcement Officers.

2006 Waste Water Treatment Plant expansion, providing sufficient capacity through 2022

2007 Fire Department hires full-time Code Enforcement Officer

2008 The voting public passes Measure G, adopting the Public Safety Sales Tax; Rails to Trails Phase 4: Manning Ave. to Kings River Overlook Gazebo to make the trail 2.50 miles long; In the February Special Election, the voters of Reedley approve a ½ cent Public Safety Sales Tax measured for enhanced Police & Fire Services; Construction begins on the Silas Bartsch Campus

2009 Sports Park is completed; Reedley switches to meters for all water services; Fire Department hires full-time Battalion Chief funded by Measure G; New Medical Response vehicle added to Fire Department; Silas Bartsch School opens to over 400 students and is opened for grades K-6th

2010 Sports Park Phase 1 is completed; Dinuba/Buttonwillow roundabout is completed; Airport adds AWOS System; South Korean Monument is dedicated; two rescue boats are purchased for the Fire Department; Reedley changes from flat rate to metered billing for water use; Silas Bartsch School becomes a completed K-8 in the 2010/11 school year.

2011 Construction of 1.5 million gallon Water Tower at Sports Park begins; Fire dispatching moved from Reedley PD to CalFire; Sierra Kings Medical becomes Adventist Health

2012 City and KCUSD plans Central Valley Transportation Center for joint use; three new Clean Fuel Natural Gas garbage trucks have been added to the fleet; CalOES assigns Water Tender apparatus to Reedley

2013 Reedley celebrates 100 years since its incorporation, and 125 years since its founding; Work begins on replacing the Manning Bridge, one of the largest Public Works projects in the City’s history; Construction for Well 14 at the Sports Park begins; Reedley entrance monument on Manning Ave. is erected

2014 City adds solar panels at City Hall, Community Center, & at the Waste Water Treatment Facility; KCUSD opens new Aquatic Center at Reedley High School; Sports Water Tower becomes operational, adding 1.5 million gallons of water storage capacity to the City.

2015 Reedley’s City logo is affixed to an F-15 based out of the Fresno Air National Guard base as part of the ‘Cities of Honor’ program.

2017 New 101 foot aerial platform ladder tuck added to the Fire Department

2019 New boat launching facility constructed at Cricket Hollow Park