Photo postcard image of a granite quarry that was east of Porterville, circa 1909.    According to one website,  R. Johnson of  Visalia owned the quarry around that time.    And a  1903 Visalia Delta article states that "Robert Johnson, the quarry man" was called out on business to Porterville.  There was also a Robert E. Johnston (1851-1936), who was a tombstone carver, and owned a quarry east of Porterville.  I’ve been informed that his last-name was often misspelled, so it’s quite possible that this is the same person.

 

An old photo postcard showing a peach picking crew in Visalia.    It's postmarked Oct. 26, 1909.

 

 

Photo postcard of Dinuba, circa 1916.     I believe this photo was taken from the water tower at the corner of  Tulare and I Streets, looking in a SE direction.      The large building at left center was Dinuba's old high school (at the same site as their current high school).   Their grammar school is the white two story building at the left upper-hand corner.   Some of the homes in the foreground (on I Street) are still there.

Photo postcard of Tulare's K Street, circa 1908.     I believe this is a view looking north down K, towards its intersection with Kern Ave.    Some buildings that you would normally see from this view (around 1912) are missing.  For example, the domed First National Bank of Tulare hadn't been built yet, on the NW corner of K and Kern.   A building trade journal published 6/26/1909 indicates that the bank's construction was not complete at that time.   From the style of script at the photo's bottom, this appears to be a George Besaw postcard.

Photo postcard circa 1910.   It's postmarked from "Portersville, Cal.", I can't make out the date.    It was sent by Ida E. Dunham to someone in Long Beach.     Ida Elizabeth (Goldberg) Dunham (1869-1958) appears to have lived in the Globe area (east of Porterville), around this time.    

I would assume these are her children, from L to R:  Wynn M. Dunham (1902-1918), Anna Moyer Dunham (1906-1986) and Loyal Falk Dunham (1905-1940).

Photograph from the studio of S.W. Watrous of Visalia, circa 1890.    The name "Ann Besse" is written on the back of the photograph.   Ann Besse (1829-1907) is listed in the 1900 Census as living with her daughter's family in Tipton.  The family in this photo maybe that of her daughter's (Carrie), around the circa date of 1890-91.   Their names were: Carrie Elizabeth (Besse) McDaniel (1861-1956), Robert Andrew McDaniel (1850-1925) and Robert M. McDaniel (1889-1953).

Written on the back of this old photo:  "Florence Nevora Weishar - Jan 8, 1905 - Age 2yrs 5mo 7days."
This was taken at her father's Visalia studio (Photographer Frank A. Weishar of Robinson & Weishar).

An old postcard view, looking east on Pine Street in Exeter.      The old Exeter High School building is at the end of the street.  This structure was finished by March 6, 1911.    I would guess that the image is circa 1911.    There are no cars or trucks in the photo.    Apparently, this was before Exeter's water tower was built.

An old photo postcard of Springville, postmarked 1915.    I believe this is near the present-day  corner of CA-190 and Tule River Drive, looking in an eastward direction.

An old photo postcard image of Springville, circa 1909.

This is the staff of the weekly Visalia Delta Newspaper,  dated 1884.   The paper was  one of the precursors to the  Visalia Times-Delta.            The photograph is by S.W. Watrous of  Visalia.
In the front row:  Kate Dineley,   Elizabeth (Lizzie) Barnett,   Florence Dineley (Kate's sister).
Back row (L to R): <unknown>,  Joseph McMillan,  George W. Stewart (editor and publisher),   Clarence Lillie.
They were all pretty young... Florence Dineley would have been just 16 or 17.   The eldest was apparently George Stewart, who turned 27 in 1884.      Mr. Stewart was an important early advocate for the preservation of  giant sequoias.     He has been called  the “Father of Sequoia National Park”.    He used the newspaper to drum-up support to save some of the big trees from logging,  and to push for the formation of a national park.   ----  Many thanks to Joseph Vicenti, for this wonderful photo.

Photo postcard by Lindley Eddy,  circa 1922.    These were some of the tourist cabins in Sequoia National Park.

Cabinet Card photograph by E.J. Kildare of Visalia,  circa 1875.

Photo postcard of orange pickers, near Exeter.   Circa 1908.   Written on the back of the card:  "Compliments of  T. J. Hurly   Merryman Ranch.  Exeter, Cal".    The Bonnie Brae Orange Ranch (see my 4/26/16 post) was  part of the greater Merryman family property.

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The three postcards below are of Exeter's Armistice Day parade,   circa 1923.   

Armistice Day started as an annual commemoration of the end of  World War I.       It was later changed to Veterans Day;  honoring persons who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

It appears that all the girls in this image have bobbed haircuts.    The unpaved road would lead me to believe the image was taken in 1919 or 1920,   but the young women's hairstyle makes me think it was a little later than that.

The Emperor Grape/Exeter Chamber of Commerce float.

The Visalia Chamber of Commerce float, at the Exeter parade.       

The photography studio appears to be Steiner of Exeter.

 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.

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).

 Photo postcard image of Exeter's  Pine Street, circa 1911.

Photo postcard.    Post-marked: "Portersville Cal., Feb. 24, 1907". 

 There's no ID  for the children with the card.      I haven't been able to pin-down the exact location yet. There were several palm tree lanes like this in the Porterville/Lindsay area.      This could be the palm lane near the ranch of J. H. Williams of Porterville.

(Added 5/5/17)  From an old photo postcard, circa 1908.     I believe this is the same Palm Ave.  that's in the previous image.

A snapshot of sunbathers at the old Bartlett Park swimming hole,  Porterville.    Circa 1916.      Along the Tule River,  this area is now under  Lake Success.           (Update/Correction, 7/5/17):  Actually there was no Bartlett Park in 1916.    I just received the following information from  Laurie Schwaller, of the Tulare County Treasures:
" In 1923, the Porterville Chamber of Commerce sponsored a fundraising drive to acquire land for a park on the Tule River.  The necessary funds were raised very quickly.  The land was purchased (about 34 acres?) and then donated to the County, with the understanding that it would be developed and maintained as a County park by the County Forestry Board, headed by William Pitt Bartlett of Porterville.  Bartlett had served on the Forestry Board since its creation and had a great deal to do with the development of Mooney Grove Park and Cutler Park (as well as Murry Park in Porterville).  The new park was named Tule River County Park.  I have heard that the land on which it was situated had been used as a swimming hole for a number of years previously.
In February, 1929, the Board of Supervisors, in response to a petition signed by many organizations, businesses, and individuals in Porterville, renamed the park as W. P. Bartlett Memorial Park, to honor the seriously ill Mr. Bartlett.  Bartlett died July 5, 1929."

Another snapshot from the old Tule River swimming hole.

Photo postcard, circa 1910.     Looking east down Tulare Ave. ,  Tulare CA; near the intersection with J  Street.      This appears to be a George Besaw postcard.

An old photo postcard, of the 1906 flood in Visalia. (Visalia flooded several times that year.)
The image is of the old county courthouse, on the NW corner of Church Street and Center Ave.
The high curbing and corner stones are still present today.

Another postcard image from the 1906 Visalia flood.   This is an image of the old Odd Fellows hall on the NE corner of Church and Center.