This appears to be a photograph of Visalia High School girls' basketball team, from 1913.   Written on the back of this photo:  "Ethel LeVonne at extreme right, 1913",   and with a different pen is written:  "Ethel Smith,  Visalia, Cal.  VHS '13".   This probably refers to Ethel Levonne Smith (1895-1988).  The 1900 U.S. Census list Ethel as a resident of Orosi.  Her father,  Crosby Enoch Smith,  died in Visalia a couple of years before this photo was taken.   Could possibly be the same Ethel Smith whose photo I posted on 8/5/13,  i.e.  A photograph of her as a young girl with her two dogs.

 Photo postcard of a bird's eye view of Springville, CA.   The date of  "June 20, 1915"  is written on the back of this card.

(Added 7/9/14)  Photo postcard view of Springville, CA.   Postmarked 1911. 

Photo by Excelsior Photograph Gallery,  Tulare, CA.  Circa 1890.     Written on the back of this photograph:  "Presented to Clara by Mrs. L. Cox".     The photographer is E.A.S. Wyllie (Edward Arthur Sanders Wyllie).   Wyllie later made a name for himself as a spirit photographer,  e.g.  Taking photographs of ghosts hovering around their living family members...  at least that's what he claimed to be doing (Some of these photos were exposed as frauds).    



Photograph by S.W. Watrous of Visalia, circa 1880.   On the back of the photo is written "Ben Hicks with wife,  California".     This is Benjamin Hicks (1847-1900) with his wife Elizabeth A. March (1853-1922).  Mr Hicks owned farm land north of Visalia.

Another photograph by S.W. Watrous (Stephen West Watrous).  From 1882.   Written at the bottom of this photo:  "Geog. Andrew Belz,  Junior.  4yr 6mo old".   This is  George Andrew Belz (1877-1954) of Visalia.



Photo by Doran Studio of Tulare.  Circa 1895.



Photograph by:   "E. M. Davidson,  Visalia, Cal.".     The large piece of machinery in this photo is a  10-stamp mill.  There is no location on the photo but this might be at  White River, CA, circa 1889.         E.M. Davidson's Visalia studio existed around  the years of 1886 to 1894  (e.g. Davidson apparently moved to Woodland CA by September of 1894).
In an attempt to determine the location of the photo,   I've looked through some  mining literature to see if there were any 10-stamp mills near Visalia, during these years.   Fresno County had at least two of these mills in use between 1886-95,  i.e. One mill at the Abbey (McNally) mine and another at  the Last Chance mine.   And Tulare County had at least one mill of this type  at White River.
These particular stamp mills would have been used to help extract gold from the rocky ore.
The man sitting in this photo appears to be Asian.   Many 19th century miners in California were Chinese.
(Update 4/27/14)  I just realized that this photograph is in one of Annie R. Mitchell's books:  The Way it Was. (1976),  pg. 152.   The image in the book is reversed, and it has a fuller view of the stamp mill.   This is in fact at White River.  Mitchell's book identifies the man on the right  as David Bice James.   James is an important character in both Tulare and Kern Counties' histories,  e.g. Some credit him with starting the Kern River 'gold rush' of the 1850's.  (Article about David B. James:  PDF file)

 Photo postcard view of Porterville,  circa 1910.   This is at the corner of Putnam Ave. and Roche St.,  facing east.  The three closest homes here on the right side are still  at this location.   Notice the spelling of Portersville on this card, which was the spelling that the U.S. Postal Service used at this time.  "Putman" is apparently just a misspelling of Putnam.

The photograph is by John Bowers of Long Beach, CA.    Bowers produced photo postcards of scenes throughout California.    On  1/17/1911,  Bowers was shot to death by one of his employees, under a rather controversial set of circumstances.

 Close-up:

  Note the  horse drawn carriages on Putnam Ave. and the unpaved street.    

Photograph by S.W. Watrous of Visalia,  circa 1891.
   "Holt Block" refers to a large two-story building that was on the NW corner of Main and Court Streets.

Photograph by Robinson & Churchman,   Holt Block,  Visalia, Cal.
On the back is written: "Yours truly,  John W. Parker,  For M.A. Manning,  March 3rd 1901".
I bought this photograph from someone in England.   The seller of the photo wrote that:  They had been told that Parker was a California pioneer from Dinuba,  who made his name from logging giant redwoods on his land,  M.A. Manning was an Englishman and said to be involved in shipping, hence the picture being found over 110 years later in the U.K.        This 1900 U. S. Forest Service publication does indicate that John W. Parker of Dinuba owned 200 acres of land in the Grant Grove area.

  (Added 4/4/14)  According to the 1900 & 1910 U.S. Census, there was a John W. Parker  in the Dinuba and Lemon Cove area.   He immigrated  from England in 1876.   But in these censuses his occupations are listed as  "Book keeper" and  "Laborer" in the "Stock" industry,  and not as a logger or lumberman.    

(Added 1/5/19)  It appears that the partnership of  Robinson & Churchman ended by December 1900.   So I would now assume the date of  "March 3rd 1901",  was the day Mr. Parker signed the back of the photograph.

This appears to be the biplane flown by Harold W. Blakeley during a cross-country race from San Francisco to Bakersfield (with a scheduled stop in Dinuba).  Dinuba's Southern Pacific railroad depot is in the background.   Written on the back of this snap-shot:  "Ray Calender,  Dinuba, Calif.  Tulare Co.   Apr. 22 - 1914.   Blakeley biplane".    Ray Calender is listed as a resident of Tulare County in the 1910 Census,  he would have been about 14 years old at the time this photograph was taken... perhaps he was the photographer.
After Harold Blakeley took off from Dinuba, he had to land his plane in the Ducor area to make some emergency repairs.        He finished the 7 man race in second place.
 



From the studio of E.M. Davidson (Ellis M. Davidson),  Visalia.   Circa 1893

 Three photo postcards from Lemon Cove,  circa 1910

  W. H. Moffett & Son  hotel and store.   The Lemon Cove post office and library were also here.

   This building was destroyed by fire sometime during the 1950s.    The photo is by Lindley Eddy.

The Lemon Cove railroad depot is at the left side of this image.   Very few of the buildings here are still standing,  e.g.  The two homes at the right foreground appear to still be at the southeast corner of  Road 244 and Avenue 328.
  Photo by Lindley Eddy.

 Over the years,  the Lemon Cove Association sold citrus under various labels.

 Close-Up: