Join us for a conversation with Pulitzer-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa, hosted by Fresno DRIVE. Register here!
Westward Expansion
& Civil War
1848
California Gold Rush
In addition to Mexico's presence in Indigenous California was the influx of migration in the search for gold, known as the "California Gold Rush era." A key population that migrated to California were the Chinese, who would later become integral to building the transcontinential railroad and establish roots in Fresno. The killing and genocide of native indigenous populations continue to happen, despite a time era notable for "stimulating the economy."
1852
Yokuts Treaty Repudiated
A total of 18 land treaties were reached between the Federal Government and various Indigenous Californian tribes, among whom the Central Valley Yokuts people were included, only to be rejected by the US Senate's treaty ratification process. This resulted in the marginalization, removal, and death of unknown numbers of native people in the following decades.
1861
Civil War
As California experiences a change in population, the United States is in a Civil War between the North and the South over state's rights and whether slavery should remain intact as the U.S. expands westward. This history is notable for many reasons, though most important is the social reputation and expectations inflicted on Africans and Black Americans as slaves. From 1862 to 1868, the U.S. had three notable events (1) emancipation proclamation (freed enslaved people), (2) 13th amendment ("abolished" slavery, except for crimes), and (3) 14th amendment (defined people born in U.S. as citizens). These events and its corresponding racist impacts will surface later in the timeline.
1869
Transcontinental Railroad Complete
Transcontinental Railroad is complete with the westward line being completed by majority Chinese immigrants as the job was not appealing to White workers, despite White workers being the main recruitment population. The Union Pacific Railroad is completed by a majority of Irish immigrants and railroad labor also included freed slaves and other immigrant groups.
1872
Central Pacific establishes Fresno as a site
Central Pacific establishes site in Fresno, thus founding the City of Fresno. Racial segregation is rooted through upholding the east/west divide of railroad tracks. East of the tracks was city center where homesteaders resided and west of the tracks was home to Chinese immigrants who settled there after the gold rush. The railroad marks the first East/West divide of Fresno and divide of race and class, demarking West Fresno as the "center of vice."
1880
West Fresno's Reputation
West Fresno localizes an area that quartered off Asians, immigrants, and other people of "ill repute."
1881
First Armenians in Fresno
Armenians begin to settle in small waves into Fresno.
1882
Chinese Exclusion Act
The U.S. enacts the Chinese Exclusion Act, barring immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. This act is the first significant law restricting immigration to the U.S.
1885
Harper's Bazaar Publication
Harper's Bazaar publishes the social isolation experienced by Chinese settlers.
“Separated from the main part of Fresno ...is the Chinese quarter. Its isolation tells the story of a peculiar people who tenant it and of the feeling of social ostracism entertained toward them on the one hand, and their own unconquerable clannishness on the other.”
- Henry Bishop (1882) “Southern California” p. 867
1886
City of Fresno creates wastewater collection system
Fresno constructs a wastewater collection system that discharged into a 40-acre sewer farm in Southwest Fresno — this further cemented the social reputation of West Fresno as undesirable and is direct evidence of policymaking that disinvests in West Fresno.
1896
Plessy v. Ferguson
Ruled that racial segregation of Black Americans was constitutional under "separate but equal" — this court case further reinforced Jim Crow laws.
1899
Migration of Sikhs
First Sikhs allowed to land at San Francisco, marked the migration of Sikhs. Fresno and the greater Central Valley is home to roughly half of the 800,000 Sikhs in the United States.
1914
World War I Begins
War between countries of the Central Powers and countries of the Allied Powers.
1918
Fresno's First
General Plan
Upheld the east/west divide of Fresno and established Southeast Fresno as an "industrial area." The plan did not allow for housing in the "industrial area." However, affordable housing was justified in industrial areas because employees of these industries worked long hours with low wages, and living nearby their jobs were "necessary."
1920
Ku Klux Klan
KKK membership exploded and more public display of white supremacy, white supremacy culture and values.
1929 – 1939
Great Depression
Start of the Great Depression, economic turmoil experienced throughout the U.S.
1929
St. Agnes Hospital
The Holy Cross Sisters establish Saint Agnes Hospital in central Fresno, accessible to most Fresnans.
1930 – 1940
Survivors of Armenian Genocide Arrive to Fresno
Survivors of the Armenian genocide gradually make their way to Fresno. Prior to the genocide in Turkey, Fresno sees influx of Armenian immigrants throughout the years. Today, there is roughly 50,000 Armenians living in the Central Valley.
1932 – 1940
Mexican Repatriation
Mexican Repatriation saw the illegal deportation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans to Mexico throughout the great depression. 10 years later, the U.S. would invite Mexican residents back for the sole purpose of labor through the Bracero Program. These events are reminscent of the U.S.' controversial relationship with people of color, labor, and the economy.
1933 – 1939
New Deal Programs
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt enacts a series of programs aimed at addressing the social and economic conditions of the depression.
1933
Federal Housing Authority and Home Owner's Loan Corporation Established
To address a national housing shortage, the federal government created the Home Owner's Loan Corporation (HOLC) program, designed to increase the housing stock. Throughout the U.S. HOLC, produced color coded maps of where they would lend and not lend, explicitly refusing to make loans to Black people or People of Color. These maps are crucial evidence that the U.S. government intentionally created barriers for BIPOC homeownership, a path that has been credited for building wealth. Today, nearly 64% of HOLC graded “Hazardous” areas are minority neighborhoods.
1936-1937
Fresno HOLC Map
Survey and report for the HOLC is published, providing detailed account of neighborhood segregation & systemic redlining processes. In Fresno, segregated neighborhoods meant poor folks, who were primarily people of color, lived in concentrated areas of Southwest, West, and Southeast. Wealthy folks who were primarily white, lived in concentrated areas of North and Northeast Fresno. The HOLC further influenced the development of North Fresno under the guise of "economic development."
Green = "Best"
Blue = "Still Desirable"
Yellow = "Definitely Declining"
Red = "Hazardous"
.jpg)