A  photo postcard view of Visalia's  Main Street,  looking west,   near its intersection with Garden St.  Circa  1907.

The building to the near left hand side, still stands at 309 E. Main.    It is the building where the Las Palmas  Restaurant was later located.    Just west of this was John Hyde's furniture store.        Across the street from 309 E. Main  is the Harvey House hotel.   According to Terry Ommen's blog,  the Harvey House structure was built around 1904 and it was torn down in 1971.      Down the same side of the street,  at the NW corner of Church and Main St,  is the old Bank of Visalia clock tower.   The 5 story Bank of Italy building now stands at that location (built in 1923).

 This appears to be one of George Besaw's photos,  see the Visalia Armory Building photo I posted on 7/17/2018.    Besaw's armory photo is numbered "171",  and this photo is numbered "168" (in the lower right corner).   Most likely,  Besaw took these images within days of each other.      In the image above, I can just make out a small poster for the play "Peck's Bad Boy" (as was also in the armory photo).     This would seem to indicate, that both of these photographs were taken  around the time of that play;  April 19, 1907.

Photo postcard by Beck, circa 1911.        The big building at the end of the street is the old high school, that was located in the Lincoln Oval.    This appears to be a view looking north from the 500  block of  N. Court Street.    The two-story Victorian home, at the left side of the image, still appears to be at that location.        (Many thanks to the the people at the facebook group Visalia, Gateway to the Sequoias  who pinned down the exact location of this image.)

 

From a postcard, dated 10/4/1909, Lindsay Cal.      Written on the back of the card "This is main street of Lindsay".    I assume that this is Honolulu Street.      One of the businesses here is the Lindsay Drug Co.    According to the 1910 Tulare County directory, this drug store was on Honolulu Street.

Photograph by Robinson & Churchman, circa 1900.        The style of the photograph seems later than 1900.   But apparently the partnership of  Robinson & Churchman had ended by December 1900.     The 12/21/1900 issue of the Daily Visalia  Delta newspaper,  states that the photographer S.E. Churchman had moved to Chico,  and  had opened  a studio there.   

On the back of the photo is written "Dora Garnett".     I would guess that this is Madora (Dameron) Garmett of Visalia (Married to: Marcus Garnett).  She would have been around 28 years old at the time of the photo.    They did have a daughter named Dora, but she would have only been about 6 years old at the time of this photograph.

Photo by Doran Studio of Tulare.  Circa 1910.

An old photo postcard image of the Camp Nelson Hotel, circa 1922.     It was built on the same property as  an earlier version of the hotel, this one  was constructed in 1912.
The image is by Hammond's Studio of Porterville. 

A scan from a glass negatives by Howard Clinton Tibbitts.     He was one of the early Sunset Magazine photographers.  The photo is circa 1911.      Tibbitts listed this image as "Ranch near Visalia".

A small carte de visite portrait, from the studio of A. J. Jones, "Tulare City, California".   Circa 1879. 

 Looking at old voting and census records: It appears  that the photographer Abial J. Jones  worked in Tulare and Fresno Counties from about 1870 to 1900.     Apparently, most of that time was spent in Tulare.        I was a bit surprised by the amount of time he seems to have spent in the Tulare County area...     I have only heard of a few references to A. J. Jone's photographs.

Photograph by Doran Studio of Tulare, circa 1895.

An old photo postcard view of Springville's  Soda Springs, circa 1912.

Written on the back of this postcard: "1923 - Dedication of the Harding Tree in Giant Forest, Calif.".

This sequoia is now more commonly referred to as the President tree.  

An article in the 9/7/1923 issue of  The National Lumber Bulletin states:  "Giant Redwood Dedicated to Memory of Late President  -  A permanent memorial to the late President Harding has just been contributed by California forests...  The second largest tree in the world was dedicated to his memory, August 12,  as the Warren Harding Tree.     In dedicating the giant sequoia...  Col John R. White, superintendent of Sequoia and Grant national parks, declared that..."

Below are three photo postcards of a family farm, each with the inscription "Venice Hill, Calif.  1913".      Venice Hill (or Hills)  is just SE of Ivanhoe,  not far from the Charter Oak.

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This is Visalia Union High School's lightweight football team, from the Fall season of 1924.
They are standing in front of the old gym.    This building was declared unsafe during the 1966-67 school year, and was later torn down.  By that time, the gym was part of Redwood High School.    I've been able to identify a few of the men in this photograph:     Back row center is the coach George L. Righter.     Second row, to the far right is Irwin Boone.      A couple possibles:  Front row, second from the right appears to be Clarence Jones;   Front row, second from the left appears to be Emmet Paregien

A small carte de visite  portrait by the Visalia studio of   E. M. Davidson, circa 1887.

Photo postcard by John Bowers of Long Beach,  showing Lindsay's packinghouse area; circa 1910.   To the right side of the image is Lindsay's ice-house.  Center-right, in the distance,  is the Lindsay railroad depot.

Postcard image of the First Christian Church of Dinuba, circa 1907.
According to Dinuba historian Ron Dial, this church was moved from Monson to Dinuba in 1905.   (Monson is about 3.5 miles SE of Dinuba.)

Postcard image, circa 1912, of the Tulare mansion often referred to as The Oaks.

According to local historian, Derryl A. Dumermuth,   it was built before 1910 by P. J. S. Montgomery.    Mr. Montgomery was the manager of the Paige & Morton Ranch.    Hulett Merritt acquired the property in the early 1920s.    The mansion was torn down in 1959.

The Baptist Church of Tulare.  Located on the NW corner of  King Ave. and M St.   Circa 1912.

Photo postcard of the Congregational Church of Tulare, circa 1912.  

Postcard image of the Christian Church of Tulare,  circa 1910.    Located at the NE corner of Tulare Ave and G St.    This church building still stands at that location, though the structure has been heavily modified.     Local historian, Derryl A. Dumermuth,  wrote that this church was built in 1887 and that the sanctuary is the oldest continuously operating church building in Tulare.

Postcard image of the End of the Trail  in Mooney Grove Park , circa 1920.     It was originally exhibited at the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition of San Francisco.     The statue was purchased by Tulare County in 1919 and placed in Mooney Grove. 

   The sculptor was James Earle Fraser.

In 1968  the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, of Oklahoma City,  acquired this plaster statue.     Soon after, a bronze cast  of the plaster statue was made for Mooney Grove.

Photo postcard image of The Pioneer  statue in Mooney Grove, from 1921.    Like the End of The Trail,  it was first exhibited at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition of San Francisco, in 1915.   Soon after the exposition, it was purchased for Mooney Grove.    It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
The statue was a plaster type  with some internal framing.    After decades of exposure to the elements, it toppled over and was destroyed after a 1980 earthquake.    The sculpture was Solon Borglum.

 Postcard image of the Lemon Cove hotel/store and post office.  Circa 1909.    At that time,  Lemon Cove was one of the starting points for stagecoaches going to mountain areas such as Giant Forest (Sequoia National Park).   Back then, cars had a difficult time making it up to the Park.   Tourists could travel to Lemon Cove by way of the Visalia Electric Railroad.   Note the early gas pump at the left edge of the image.

 Close up:

 An old postcard image of the Giant Forest post office.   This card is postmarked from that post office on  7/27/1917.      The photographer is Lindley Eddy.

 

 Another postcard image by Lindley Eddy.    This one is of the General Sherman Tree,   circa 1910.

 A small portrait from the Visalia studio of  S.W. Watrous,  circa 1884.

 Photo postcard image of men picking oranges.   It's from Exeter, CA.    The message on the back of the postcard is dated 12/15/1911.

 Written on the back of this old postcard: "Gingerich Bros. Garage on Main St. in Porterville Cal. where I worked in 1921. ... V.M.Z.".        A Google Books search reveals that Porterville's Mission Garage was sold to the Gingerich brothers in 1921.
  This might actually be an image of the Mission Garage, circa 1917.   e.g. Many of these cars seem to have the early type of side-lanterns, which auto companies appear to have stopped using, by 1915. And the type of postcard paper used for this photograph was produced between 1904-1918.

Postcard image of  Visalia's Palace Hotel building, on the NE corner of Court and Main Streets.    The photo is dated, in the lower left hand corner: 11/11/1922.    It's very nice to have an exact date on the photograph!

 Postcard image of Exeter's Baptist Church,  circa 1909.     This appears to be a photograph by George Besaw.

 A a postcard image of Visalia's armory building.    Built in 1889, it also served as a theater.
It was located on the NE corner of Court and Acequia Streets.   The photographer was most likely George Besaw.    It's postmarked 10/14/1908
A close-up of the posters reveals that "Peck's Bad Boy" was playing there.

 Close up:

The date of "Friday, April 19" means the photo was most likely taken in 1907.

 Photo by Doran of Tulare.
Someone numbered the people in the photo, and there is a corresponding list of names written on the left margin.   Unfortunately, some of these written names are difficult to decipher.    I would guess that this is a Tulare high school senior class picture; circa 1900. e.g. Checking the names with the 1900 U.S. Census:  most are 17 or 18 years old and listed as students living in Tulare.
Here are the names I can make out and their corresponding numbers on the photograph:  1_ Warren Bradley,   2_ Will Ayers,   3_ Bob Young,  5_ Roy Burnett,  6_ Fred Potter,  7_ Otha Holmes,  8_ Bob Sutherlin,  9_ Ivy Nelson,  10_ Mildred Hicks,   11_ Curly (Alma) Zumwalt,   12_ Elna Dewitt,  13_ Grace Reams,  14_ Irene Carpenter,  15_ Barbara Olive Limegrover,  17_ Mable Cantwell,  18_ Julia Carleton,  20_ Laura Bailey,  21_ Emma Caldwell.        Possibles are:   4_ Otto Bashore,  16_ Mable Wann,  19_ Ethel Nicholson.

 Another photo by the Tulare studio of Doran.   Circa 1898.

 Photo by S. W. Watrous of Visalia, circa 1886.

 Photo by the Visalia studio of Robinson & Churchman, circa 1899.
The man and woman appear to be members of the Salvation Army.    e.g. They are wearing Salvation Army styled jackets, with the "S" insignia on their collars.   

 From the Visalia studio of Robinson & Churchman, circa 1899.

Another Robinson & Churchman photo, circa 1899.

Photograph by Eschol M. Hammond, of Porterville.    It's an image of Porterville's  1922 Armistice Day parade.     This is the intersection of Main St. and Putnam Ave.    The Pioneer Hotel is in the background, with  Claubes' Drug Store on the hotel's first floor.    A car race on Main Street was held, as part of the celebration.    A few of the cars are visible here.    It looks like quite a few  men wore their WWI uniforms to the parade.

Close up:

From an old photo postcard.   It's postmarked "Portersville, Cal., 1911". 

 It's addressed to a Mrs. Thomas Pulford of Los Angeles.
The message written on the back of the postcard reads:   "Oct 21 -- Can you find me here?   We went thru this tunnel 1400ft on the little car.    I received your card & two packages of papers today: Thanks for sending them.       H. and I are thinking of going to Porterville this P.M.    I hope my pictures are good.   H. took this. ---- Bertha".
I'm guessing that this was the magnesite mine east of Porterville, that was owned by the Tulare Mining Company.    Several mining journals, of the period, state that this mine had a 1400 foot tunnel.    One journal, published in 1911, indicates that this tunnel was new... So I'm guessing some 'locals' were curious enough to check-out the new tunnel.

Close up:

Photo postcard, circa 1912.   Porterville's  First Congregational Church was built in 1908.   The church still stands today, with some modifications due to a fire.  i.e. The church was built with a gymnasium, auditorium and pool; these areas suffered damage from a fire in 1937; and were taken out.     

It is located on the SE corner of  Mill Ave. and 4th St.    It was added to the  National Register of Historic Places, in 1999.

An old photo postcard, circa 1910.     The photographer was Lindley Eddy.
This is an image of the Lemon Cove railroad depot with a Visalia Electric Railroad passenger car to the right.   These passenger cars were basically electric trolley cars. 

Postcard circa 1916.     This building housed Dinuba's branch of the Tulare County Library as well its  Chamber of Commerce.

Photo postcard, circa 1919.    Dr Shrodes was a physician and an inventor.

Written on the back of this old photograph: "President Harrison speaking in the Front Street Park (Tulare). About 1885.   Platform in the picture is outlined in Redwood bark.".      The date is actually April 25, 1891.    President Benjamin Harrison stopped in Tulare as part of his 1891 railroad tour of much of the United States.    The platform is said to have been a large cross section from a giant sequoia, with its bark strapped on... you can see this in the first close-up image, below.   The president apparently made a joke about this being his first actual stump speech.

Two close-up images:

There is a military unit at the right side of this close-up image.   The U.S. Army wore spiked helmets with their fancy dress uniforms during the 1880's-90's.

On the left side of this close-up, there are two Chinese gentlemen with their long queue hair braids.

A photo postcard image of the blacksmith shop owned by Thomas Jefferson Clarkson, in Exeter.  Circa 1908.
Clarkson was born in 1860.    He moved to Tulare County in 1871.   And from about 1904, he operated a general blacksmithing and agricultural repair shop in Exeter.    His listing in the 1910 city directory: "Clarkson TJ, blksmith, Pine and Filbert av".

Photo postcard by Lindley Eddy, circa 1914.   This road to Giant Forest (Sequoia National Park) has an interesting history.   The majority of the road, leading to the edge of the park, was built in the late 1880's.   That road was constructed mostly with pick-axe and shovel by the utopian socialist Kaweah Cooperative Colony.    The Colony did this in a failed attempt to set up a logging operation in the Giant Forest area.    
Fun Fact:  The General Sherman Tree  was originally named the Karl Marx Tree, by the Kaweah Colonists.
President Harrison signed a bill creating Sequoia National Park in 1890.   For several years after this, the Kaweah Colony fought unsuccessfully for the ownership of the Giant Forest area.    By 1900, the Colony's road (the only real access to the Park), had fallen into disrepair.   But by 1903, the road was repaired and was extended into the park by U.S. Cavalry buffalo soldiers.    It was these soldiers' job to protect the park, during this time period.   They were under the command of  Capt. Charles Young.   Young was only the third African American to graduate from West Point.
Starting around the time of this photo, automobiles became more common in the park.  Much of the road only allowed for one-way traffic, so specific hours were set for when traffic could move up and then down from the park.
Most of this roadway was abandoned after the opening of a new route in 1926.

An old photograph from the Visalia studio of S.W. Watrous.
On the back of the photo, someone has written: "Guy & wife Ella Rockwell".
I believe this is the wedding photograph of Lorenzo Anson Rockwell and Sarah Ellen Pennebaker, taken in 1880.   Sarah was referred to as "Miss Ella Pennebaker", in one publication from the period.
  They had one child, a boy named Guy Lionel Rockwell.  I'd guess that "Guy" was also Lorenzo's nickname.
Lorenzo worked in the Visalia area as a builder/contractor and  as a school teacher.    In 1884, he moved to Traver and opened a drug store.   He was a trustee on the Traver school board. (This was back when Traver was a boom-town).
Sadly, Ella died in 1884, at the age of 24.   Photograph of Ella's gravestone in the Visalia Public Cemetery.

Photograph by the Visalia studio of C.A. Myers, circa 1893.

Photo by E.M. Davidson of Visalia, circa 1891.

Photo circa 1897,  by Robinson & Churchman.     Photographer Ida Robinson is the earliest female professional photographer, that I know of, who worked in Tulare County.

Photo by E.M. Davidson of Visalia, circa 1891.

Photo by C.A. Myers, circa 1893.

Photo by E.M. Davidson of Visalia, circa 1892.

I rarely see old cabinet card photographs like this, with the date as part of the studio ID.

The photographer, Charles Albert Myers, would have been 22 or 23 years old in 1891.

Photo by the Visalia studio of E.M. Davidson, circa 1888.
Photographer Ellis M. Davidson had his Visalia studio from about 1886 to 1894.   During this time,  Davidson appears to have taken a lot of outdoors photographs.  By doing this, he chronicled a lot of what was going on in Tulare County, during that period.     He has been credited with taking perhaps the most famous late 19th century photograph from this area:   The photo of the mortally wounded train robber John Sontag, at Stone Corral.

Photo by C.A. Myers, circa 1892.    From Myers' Visalia studio at  Holt Block  (the NW corner of Court and Main Streets).