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.

 The description written under the photograph:  "Hammond's Camp,  Giant Forest.  Storm  May 29, 1918".         "Hammond's" most likely refers to Porterville photographer Eschol M. Hammond.     Besides taking photos around Porterville,  Hammond photographed many areas of the nearby mountains,  e.g.  Taking photos from the summit of Mt. Whitney as early as 1915.

---  Many thanks to Joseph Vicenti,  for this photograph. ---

 Photo circa 1918.   On the back is a studio stamp for Hammond's Studio of Porterville.

 Postcard image of Terra Bella,  circa 1911.

At the left edge of the image is the Hart Block building,  down the same side of the street is Terra Bella's  First National Bank.    Across the street from the bank is the Hotel Terra Bella.

 Another photo postcard image of Terra Bella,  circa 1911.

 Photograph by A. R. Moore of Porterville,  circa 1907.

 Postcard image of Dinuba's L Street,  looking north between Tulare and Kern Streets.   Circa 1910.

 Photo postcard image of  Traver's school.   It's postmarked: "Traver, Cal.   Feb 2, 1911".

The person who sent the card writes: "Dear Leid, I will send this, it is the school of Traver.  Lealand Chester is here...". 

An old photo postcard.  On the back it says: "Miss Pauline Collier,  Porterville Cal.   Nov. 5 1914.  4th Grade".     There's a Pauline Collier listed in the 1910 and 1920 census records for Porterville,  she would have been about 10 years old at the time of this photograph.

Comparing this to other images I have,  this appears to be  Porterville's  Olive Street Grammar School.

Photograph by E. M. Davidson, of Visalia.  Circa 1893.
There is nothing on the photo identifying the people or the place.     But I'm fairly certain this is a photograph of the Genesis Tree, which is in the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest, about 1/2 mile from Balch Park.
     This tree is somewhat of a recent discovery, in that up until the mid 1980's it was considered just one of many big trees in the Balch Park area (It didn't even have a name at that time).   It wasn't until about 1985 that measurements revealed that it was the biggest tree in the Mountain Home Grove (And the 7th largest tree in the world).   
I've read that there is graffiti carved into the tree dating from the late 1800's.  
   Apparently quite a few people stayed in this area during the summer.   e.g. In  Floyd L. Otter's book, The Men of Mammoth Forest,  he states:  "It has been estimated by people who frequented the area during these years(around 1887 to 1900) that 1000 to 2500 people could sometimes be found camping in the Mountain Home-Summer Home-Camp Lena area during the heat of the summer.";  The area described here is basically the  Mountain Home State Forest and Balch Park.
I've laid out most of the reasons why I think this is the Genesis Tree, on a page Here

Close up:

Postcard photo of Traver's Southern Pacific Railroad depot, circa 1913.     According to an old article,   the depot was one of the first buildings in town.   It was moved from Traver in the mid-1930's,  and ended up a dairy barn.    It was actually the last building still there at old Traver, before being moved.     The present town of Traver was  built on the  site of the old town.

An old photo postcard, at its bottom it reads:   "Goddess of Liberty  July 4 - 09  Visalia Calif.".     It appears to be an image of a  horse-drawn float depicting a stylized airship, being piloted by the goddess.   The photo is by Weissenfluh of Visalia.      I believe the building the background is the Tipton Lindsay School, which was located on the  NW corner of  Oak Ave. and Locust Street.

(Added 2/2/19)  Another postcard photo of that float (see the previous image).   This one is also by Weissenfluh;  and dated July 4, 1909.     In the background is the Jacob Building, on the SW corner of Church and Main Streets.

Photograph of a girl, circa 1895.     No photographer is listed, but apparently their studio was in the Holt Block  building of Visalia.   This building was on the NW corner of Court and Main Streets.   The name "Bertha Rouden" is written on the back of the photo.

Photo postcard of Orosi's Methodist Episcopal Church, circa 1911.

Old photo postcard, circa 1915.     This appears to be a Christian tent meeting in Visalia, e.g. It looks like a dirt floor in the image.      During this period, many groups could have held such a meeting in Visalia.     e.g. The Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)  had a meeting in Visalia, in 1914.

  

 Written on the back of this photograph: "Carroll S. Hayes".    Carroll Hayes was the editor of the Traver Tidings newspaper in Traver, CA.        During the mid-1880's Traver was an agricultural boom-town.  

 According to the Tulare County Times:      On the evening of 9/19/1886, Mr. Hayes and his fiancee, Lulu Smith, were visiting the home of Dr. L. M. Lovelace in Lemoore when someone fired a gun through the screen door striking Mr. Hayes in the head and neck with buckshot, killing him instantly.        18 year old Henry S. Beaver was accused and prosecuted for the murder.    Mr. Beaver had asked Lulu Smith to marry him that previous summer, and she had refused.     Beaver was apparently jealous of Carroll Hayes, and had made some vague threats in reference to Hayes, e.g. "Someone will have to kill".    Beaver borrowed a shotgun with buckshot just prior to the murder.
The evidence was circumstantial, and Henry Beaver was eventually acquitted of the charges.

Photo postcard circa 1915.  Group photo of the Visalia Steam Laundry employees.

Close-up:

Lindsay's Fraternal Hall, circa 1908.    Rochdale was a cooperative wholesale store.

Porterville, circa 1909.   Looking north down Main Street, near its intersection with Oak Avenue.

Here's a picture of a boy and two young ladies riding mules, from a photo postcard.  It's postmarked: "Portersville, Cal. Oct. 13, 1911".   The U.S. Postal Service still spelled Porterville (CA) "Portersville", at this point in time.
On the back of this postcard is written:  "Terra Bella Cal. Oct 12 -1911.   Dear Dora:  Here is a photo of Eleanor, Waller and Ruth on the way back from the Mts.  I suppose you will hardly know them...".
The card is signed "Clara and Family", and addressed to:  Miss Dora Haar, Adair, Iowa.

 From a small carte de visite portrait.   The photographer's stamp on the back of this picture states:  "From  S.W. Watrous'  Photographic Rooms,  Main St.  Visalia  Cal.".  (Circa 1882).   I've read that during the Victorian era,  little boys typically wore dresses.   Queen Victoria herself may have started this fashion trend by placing all of her young children in kilts.  

 Cabinet Card photo from Traver, CA.  (Mid to late 1880's)
The photographer is C.C. Curtis (Charles Clifford Curtis).
Traver  was an agricultural boom-town, its growth  built around improved irrigation and the growing & transportation of grain. 
Traver was created on April  8 1884, when town-lots were auctioned on  undeveloped land.   Within 60 days of this auction, the town-site went from 'nothing' to having :  Two hotels,  a post office, one drug store, an agricultural equipment store,  two lumber yards,  a couple of  merchandise stores, two barber shops,  two livery stables,  an express office/railroad depot, and three saloons.
But due to alkaline soil and poor land management the town went bust within 10 years or so.
None of the old 19th century buildings still remain in the present town of Traver.

The photographer's stamp on the back of this small (2.5x4 inch) portrait reads:

C. C. Curtis. Photo. Traver, Cal.

That would indicate that this picture was taken sometime during the mid-to-late 1880's.

This woman appears to me to be Asian (see close up just below). 

 I have read that during this time period Traver did have a Chinese neighborhood.

C. C. Curtis (Charles Clifford Curtis) is considered one of the most important photographers of central California during this period. e.g. He documented the lumber industry of this area, including the cutting of Giant Sequoias.   He was an early member of the Kaweah Colony, an utopian socialist commune in the Three Rivers area.  And some of his photos of this group have survived.   

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 This is a photo of the Porterville Enterprise office. The Enterprise was a weekly newspaper, between 1888 and 1908, edited & published by M.J. O'Clancy. Like many newspapers of the times they also did printing jobs.
On the photo's back is written: "Porterville, Apr. 1895"
(Added 5/11/14)  By the time of this photograph The Enterprise was owned and run by the Lumley brothers (Aubrey and Gerald), who were known for their somewhat audacious behavior.   I believe that Aubrey is the gentleman seated at the left side in this image and Gerald is to the far right, dressed very dapper with a straw boaters hat... although it could be the other way around (The two brothers looked very much alike).

Close-ups from the photo above:

 The typesetting this man (above) is holding forms the word "PICNIC" in large letters.

(About O'Clancy and his newspaper, in 1892) ...
"The Enterprise was established April 21, 1888. On February
16, 1889, the first issue appeared, under the supervision of the present
publisher, Mr. J. O'Clancy, who has worked the journal up to such an extent that
it now lays claim to being one of the leading papers in the county, both in
circulation and influence.
Mr. O'Clancy is a native of Cork, Ireland. He spent the most
of his youth traveling, came to the United States in 1886, and traveled through
Canada to the Pacific Coast. He first entered into the newspaper business on the
San Jose Mercury at San Jose as a reporter. After five months' experience he
took charge of the Fresno Daily Democrat. That journal going under after the
last presidential campaign, he came to Porterville, purchased the Enterprise,
and runs a pretty radical kind of paper, although Democratic in politics."

Excerpt from:
Memorial and Biographical History of the counties of Fresno, Tulare and Kern,
California.(page 214). Published 1892 by Lewis Pub. Co. in Chicago.