Although Hanford as an incorporated city dates back only a little over 130 years, the foundation for the city which was to be began during the 1850s when immigrants from throughout the nation began to flock to California looking for a place to establish homes. The earliest settlers to spy the land that is now Kings County were impressed by the fact that vegetation near the rivers and creeks showed promise of rich and fertile earth. Those who were not fortunate enough to obtain land near a source of water quickly found that little could be accomplished on this land without water. As a result, by the early 1870s, companies were formed to build ditches to bring water out onto the plains. When the water began to flow, news soon spread that “a country more fertile than the wondrous Nile Valley” existed in Tulare County, and emigration toward this section increased. Water in ditches constructed on a section line was known to percolate, or seep, over the entire 640 acres. Farmers took advantage of this by raising two crops on the same piece of land in one season – that is, when the wheat crop was harvested the land was again plowed and planted to corn, beans, pumpkins, etc. 

The area had the advantage of being within an artesian belt some forty miles in length and from twelve to eighteen in breadth, within which it was said that no one failed to get artesian water who made the effort. Soon, several hundred such wells were in existence and contributed largely to the water supply for irrigation. 

With irrigation, the area quickly became widely known for wheat production. Also, the soil and water of the area proved particularly well adapted for the growing of alfalfa, with ten or twelve tons to the acre per year not uncommon. Every farmer had his alfalfa field. The yield finally resulted in an oversupply and the prices for hay fell so low that the raising of this crop threatened to become unprofitable. Many of the farmers began the raising of livestock in order to consume the surplus product.

In 1865 the California Legislature granted permission to the Southern Pacific Railroad Company to build a railroad line from the bay of San Francisco to San Diego, mostly through coastal counties and then east to the state line. As an incentive to spark railroad expansion, the Department of the Interior granted the Southern Pacific the odd-numbered sections of land within twenty miles of the roadbed. This land could then be sold to generate funds for laying rails and for other railroad expenses.

It was found that three hundred fifty-four Spanish land grants were in existence between San Francisco and San Diego and, ten miles of lieu lands was nearly all in the Pacific Ocean. The Southern Pacific “Big Four” management team of Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins and Charles Crocker began to look elsewhere to find a route that would be more lucrative to the company. The potential of the great central valley, where most of the land was as yet unsettled and where the Laguna de Tache was the only land grant, came to their attention. Therefore, they changed their route so as to enter the center of the San Joaquin Valley and travel southward. Despite the change in route, the odd sections of land were still granted, for a total of 7.5 million acres.

By the late 1870s track had extended as far south as Goshen and an extension of the line was planned from Goshen to Coalinga. Railroad executive Collis P. Huntington asked the auditor/paymaster for the company, James M. Hanford, to select a site along this line for the establishment of a town which would be named after him because of his vital role in the financial control of the far west.

Hanford did just that. The spot chosen was said to have been nothing more than a sheep camp. The town of Hanford was laid out on a section of land owned by the railway. The survey was made in October of 1876, and on January 17, 1877 an auction sale of lots in the town site of Hanford was held. Excursion trains were run from San Francisco, bringing people to the sale from all the stations along the railroad. Sixty-eight lots were sold, bringing a total of $11,422.50 – an average of $167.97 per lot. This may not sound like much today, but it becomes more significant when you remember that at about that time land in the area was selling for $2.50 per acre.

One of the purchasers at the auction was Jasper T. Baker. He immediately built a small store for the drug business, the first to be built in town. Mr. James Manasse was also present at the auction and purchased a lot on Front (Sixth) Street between Douty and Harris streets. He then returned to Grand View, a little town on the Southern Pacific railroad north of Traver, sawed his little store into sections and moved store and contents to Hanford, and thus established another of the pioneer stores of the town.

Hanford grew rapidly from the start. By 1890 the population was 942. While the town had no special boom, it enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity and a lucrative trade from the very beginning. Robinson and Rawlins built many brick buildings, modern for their time, and put in deep artesian wells for a water system beginning in 1891. “Picayune” Johnson, a financier from Visalia, built a flour mill that was later sold to H. G. Lacey. The mill  was operated by descendants of the Lacey family until 2023 . A steam plant erected by Lacey provided the first electricity for the city.

In 1893, when the western portion of Tulare County was broken off to form the new Kings County, Hanford was designated the county seat and became not only the transportation and business center for the local agricultural economy but the center of county government as well. Within the next few years the still beautiful county courthouse and jail were built.

The streets remained unpaved well into the 20th century. They were a quagmire in winter, churned by the hooves of horses and rutted by the wheels of buggies and wagons. In the summer they were deep in dust. It has been said that pioneer mill owner Horatio Lacey once paid men to plant Front Street with grain. Wooden sidewalks, built as part of merchant’s buildings, lined the streets, but foot-crossing from early fall to late spring was a perilous passage on boards laid over the mud.

On several occasions Hanford was subjected to devastating fires, but each time came out of its ashes neater and more substantial than before. One fiery ordeal that was experienced on July 12 1887 was even more destructive than ever before. A great fire spread out from the old Lafayette House, one of the city’s first hotels, and wiped out more than half of the business blocks in town, some of them fine two story bricks. Again Hanford sprang up finer and more substantial than before, and yet the fiery elements were not satiated. The situation was such that insurance companies were threatening that they would no longer insure Hanford buildings unless incorporation took place.

On June 19, 1891 Hanford was visited by fire once again, and lost almost its entire business district. The very next day the citizens called a meeting in Baker Hall to discuss a line of action. The Sentinel reported, “For a long time the question of incorporating the town of Hanford, so as to secure much needed improvements in our streets, provide proper facilities for our fire department, and to establish fire limits, has been considered by our citizens, but no action was taken until after the fire last Friday, when the inadequate facilities the fire department has for putting out fires and the town’s inability to establish fire limits was brought home to the minds of every citizen.

On July 10, 1891 resolutions were taken to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, who called for an election to be held on August 8, 1891. As a result of the election, which resulted in a 127 to 47 vote in favor of incorporation, handwritten articles of incorporation were filed with the Secretary of State in Sacramento on August 12, 1891, marking the formal organizing of the city of Hanford.

Hanford has shown steady growth since its founding. Our strong community pride has made Hanford the envy of many cities of comparable size. We have succeeded in preserving a link to the past while planning for the future.

The move of Kings County government offices from the center of town to a new location a mile away in 1974, and the plan to raze the old county courthouse, posed a threat to the downtown area. Most of the buildings had been constructed during the time from the turn of the century until about the 1920s and many were deteriorating badly. Shoppers were increasingly going elsewhere. There was fear that the district was in danger of failure as an economic entity.

Downtown merchant’s formed a Downtown Improvement District. The merchants actually asked that their business taxes be doubled so that funds would be available for civic improvement and beautification. The increased fees were placed into a special fund that could only be used for programs and projects within the downtown area. Planters and benches have been installed, diagonal parking has replaced parallel, brick has replaced concrete in portions of the sidewalks, business signs have become less obtrusive, and flowers and trees have been planted. Most buildings within the district have been restored or, at the very least, painted. Rather than being demolished, the old courthouse has survived and continues to be one of the main features of our classical town square that also includes our original county jail, civic auditorium and veterans’ memorial building.

Efforts to preserve our heritage and thus enhance the community, included projects such as the preservation of the old Carnegie library building for use as a museum, the restoration of the old telephone building for shops and professional offices, the conversion of one of our 1893 hotels into a showcase for law offices and another into apartments, the restoration of the 1880s Taoist Temple, the renovation of the 1929 Fox Theater, the utilizing of four Victorian home into a bed and breakfast inn and the transformation of our beautiful 1890s courthouse and jail into Courthouse Square.

In 1980 the Historic District was recognized by city ordinance. The goal was to preserve the best of the old while allowing reasonable choices in renovation and in the designing of new structures. The ordinance read in part, “The Downtown Hanford Historic District has been established to promote the preservation of the unique variety of public and private structures that exist in the area. The contributing buildings within the district were constructed during the period of approximately 1890 to 1930. These design criteria are generally intended to promote the architectural styles. The District will thus present a physical display of the development and evolution of the community…”

Hanford takes pride in its new look that was instrumental in winning, in 1985, the California League of Cities prestigious Helen Putnam Award for Civic Excellence. Tourism has become a part of Hanford life, as visitors come to view our many restored landmarks and enjoy our old-world charm. We have been able to maintain the old in a unique blend with the new in a tradition of excellence.