Written on the back of this photograph:   "During the demolition of  old Visalia House.   Clock on corner is where Bank of America now stands.    Mose Pettersen  took this picture  10/6/16".      The Visalia House was on the NE corner of Church and Main Streets.    The 5 story Hotel Johnson was built on that site in 1917,  which was torn down in 1968 (after a fire).

The Visalia House was a true Old West hotel,  built in 1859 the upstairs was originally one large room where lodgers rented a space to put down their bedrolls.   It was later divided into separate rooms.    

Note the room prices, next to the hotels name:  Room prices are 25 cents,  50 cents or $1.00.      

In 1888,  after the famous stagecoach bandit Charles Boles (aka  Black Bart) was released from state prison,  he stayed for a short while at the Visalia House.   And it appears this was the last place he was ever seen.       Boles had written someone saying that he was tired of being shadowed by detectives from Wells Fargo and that he just wanted to get away from everyone.         Thus his disappearance.

A cabinet card  photograph by E.A.S. Wyllie of  Tulare.    This is a political cartoon Wyllie produced in 1889,  to protest  the cost of  the license for photographers in Tulare.      Wyllie was known for these types cartoons that combined drawings and photos.   He also produced them in New Zealand  before moving to Tulare.

Photograph from the Traver studio of  J. W.  Bledsoe, circa 1887.      This is only one-of-two photos I've seen with Bledsoe's  Traver studio mark  that actually appears to be studio photo.     Other Bledsoe photos with the Traver mark, that I've seen, seem to have been taken outdoors when he was traveling through  areas like Owens Valley or the high Sierras.

According to a street map of  Traver, from that time period:  Bledsoe and photographer  C.C. Curtis used the same studio building.

The studio mark on the back:

A card de vista photograph by the Visalia studio of  Kiefer & Sammis,  circa 1867.     This studio produced some of the earliest photos in Tulare County with studio identification marks/stamps.

A small card de vista photo by the studio of  E. M. Davidson,  circa 1889.

On the back of the image someone wrote:   "Bro Jim Blair",  and in another handwriting: "Lemon Cove, Pogue Family".
This appears to be an image of James Henry Blair (1860-1939).

James was part of the Blair/Moffett/Pogue clan,   many of whom came out to California on the same wagon-train.      e.g. James's sister,  Nancy Melvina Blair (1843-1891), was married to James William Center Pogue (1839-1907) who created the town of  Lemon Cove.       Many of these families eventually settled in the Exeter, Woodlake, Lemon Cove & Ivanhoe areas.     James Blair married Susan Elizabeth Brotherton (1866-1943).        According to the published Blair-Moffett family history,   he had a ranch in the Woodlake area.   At first he raised cattle and sheep.    He later switched to growing "fruit and grapes".

Photograph by  E.M. Davidson of  Visalia,  circa 1891.       I have a suspicion that  this photo was taken at someone's home, as opposed to Davidson's studio.    e.g. Davidson used scenic backdrops and props in his studio photos.   He did take a lot of photographs away from the studio.   And what looks to be a nightshirt strikes me as something unusual for a little  girl to wear to a photo studio.

An old school photo,  circa 1911.    Written on the back: "Tipton School chlidren, Tulare Co., Cal".

This looks like the old two-story wooden Tipton schoolhouse that was used before 1915.    e.g. Comparing it to another image of that Tipton school:   It's the same type of siding, the same type of narrow window's, similar molding and the same type of window shutters.

Cabinet card photograph by J. Hardy of  Tulare,  circa 1884.

Photograph by Doran of Tulare,  circa 1896.

Photograph  by E. J. Kildare of  Visalia,  circa 1875.      Written on the back of the photo:  "Uncle George & Aunt  Louisa  Caldwell ..."      This is George Marion Caldwell (1851-1892) and his wife Matilda Louisa Kelly (1858-1935).     I would guess that this is their 1875 wedding photo.

Louisa was born in Visalia, a child of Greenberry Marion Kelly (1835-1884) and Sarah Jane Henderson (1839-1917).         George's parents were:  George Caldwell (1808-1881) and Lydia Williams (1813-1899).     They had moved to Visalia by 1860.

One California history book,  published in 1905,   talks about George Marion Caldwell and spoke of his ranch two and a half miles southwest of Visalia.     I suspect it was located on-or-near the present Caldwell Avenue.

A small  carte de visite   photograph by  E. J. Kildare of  Visalia,   circa 1875.

On the back of the photo someone wrote:   "Alice McNamara a daughter of Dr. Asay of Visalia".
This appears to be an image of Almira Alice Asay (1858-1887).   She was married to the lawyer Thaddeus Morgan McNamara (1854-1924).   Her father was Dr. Jacob Lambert Asay (1836-1925).

Photo by Doran of Tulare, circa 1899.     Written on the back of the photograph: "To Mary & Edith Weaver from S. S. Hesse.  March 12th, 1899".

This is probably Samuel S. Hesse.    He was listed as living in Alila (Earlimart) in the 1900 U.S. Census.    There is also property recorded for "S. S. Hesse"  near Alila, in the Tulare County 1892 Thompson atlas.

Photo postcard,  postmarked from Visalia  on July 4, 1922.     At the right lower corner it says:  "Kodak Shop  Visalia Cal".      From the signage and store names,  this appears to be at the intersection of  Main and Locust Streets in Visalia  (Looking in a NW direction, down Main St.).      The circular sign at the left edge of the photograph is for  McBride's Business College.    McBride's moved to this location (212 W. Main Street) in February of 1922.      Doing a search through old newspapers,   it looks like the only circus that was in Visalia between February and July 4th of 1922 was the Al G. Barnes Circus.    Barnes  had a circus parade on Main St., on  3/30/1922.

Photo by E. M. Davidson of Visalia, circa 1890.

Written on the back: "Sophia Wegman Unger,  Coraline Wegman".     Written below that in a different handwriting: "George Wegman's Sisters".    And it looks like the same hand added the name "BELZ" to the end of "Coraline Wegman".    Sophia Wegman and Caroline Wegman were 1st cousins, not sisters, and as far as I can tell neither had a brother named George.

Caroline Wegman (1851-1913) was a daughter of George John Wegman (1821-1896) and Caroline Wennerholdt (1821-1903).   She was married to Andrew G. Belz (1832-1913).

Sophia Wegman (1866-1945) was a daughter of Phillip Wegman (1828-1907) who was George J. Wegman's brother.    Sophia was married to Phillip Unger (b. 1867).

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

There are several things written on the back of the photograph, in different writing...

One set of writing appears to have the women's names: "Arza Patterson, Alice Stevens".    Under that, in a different handwriting: "Neighbors of Eliza Baker".
And to the side, in a third style of writing: "M: Ferguson, A.D. 2/13/89".

I was able to find Arza Patterson (1866-1942) in a few family trees.    She was born in Visalia.   On 2/13/1889 she married Andrew Darwin Ferguson (1868-1943).    I couldn't find any solid info on Alice Stevens.            I looked at the 1880 census to see if they were neighbors of Eliza Baker in Visalia,  I couldn't find the two women's names near Eliza Baker's.

On the back of the photograph is written:   "Bertha Levy on left, Julia Levy on right".   And in another handwriting: "Momma at 14".            

These are the daughters of Julius and Dora Levy of  Visalia.      Julia (1864-1923) didn't have any children,  so the "14" reference would apply to her older sister Bertha (1862-1953).    This would mean that the photo was taken around 1876, which also coincides with the time period that this photographer was is Visalia (The photographer was E. J. Kildare).
Another photo of Julia Levy:

Photograph is of Julia,  circa 1887.      On the back of it someone wrote: "Julia Levy,  scholar and grade school teacher."    Records indicate that Julia taught at Tulare High School,  during the 1890s.

Photo by E. M. Davidson of Visalia, circa 1888.

The writing on the back of the photo looks like it says:    "Will C. Stuben, oldest son of  Zane".     The oldest son of Zane Steuben, of Visalia, was William Elmer Steuben (1869-1923).   

He is standing next to a penny-farthing bicycle.   The high front wheel of these bikes allowed for faster speeds and smoother rides, but they also caused more serious injuries,    e.g. If the rider fell from the bike.    With the advent of the safety bicycle (the modern bicycle),   the penny-farthing became obsolete during the early 1890s.      Safety bikes had a chain and gear system which allowed higher speeds with smaller wheels, and they also had pneumatic tires for softer rides

This is a postcard view of the intersection of (what is now) highway 99 and the 198.     Circa  1921.       This appears to be a view from the 198,  looking east.       The buildings on the right are  Fred A. Kame's  Plaza Garage and I believe a restaurant that he also owned at that time. 

Photo postcard image from Sequoia National Park, by Lindley Eddy.      Circa 1912.      Looking closely at the image it appears Mr Eddy added the "Visalia Cal" to the photograph,  most likely placed directly on the negative.