About the Birth of Kings County
 
Kings County, the second youngest of the state's fifty-eight counties, was formed in 1893. Mariposa was the original county designation for this territory and all the lands from the Los Angeles County line through the northern reaches of the San Joaquin Valley and from the summit of the Sierras to the summit of the Coast Range.
 
In 1852, Tulare County was carved from the southern portion of this giant county. Fresno County was created from a section of Tulare County in 1856, and ten years later Kern and Inyo Counties were created from the eastern and southern areas. Finally, in 1893, our own Kings County was formed from the western portion.
 
The battle to separate the area which became Kings County began in 1887 or 1888. The Hanford Journal of January 9, 1893 stated that Dr. Butler, who was then a member of the Assembly from this area, had introduced a bill for the creation of a proposed new county out of the western portions of Fresno and Tulare Counties. His efforts failed, as did the efforts of our next assemblyman W.S. Cunningham. The fight for division continued, led by our next Assemblyman Frank A. Blakeley. Most residents of the region felt that it was too great a distance to travel to the county seat for legal transactions and many felt that the western portions of the county were not receiving adequate return for their tax dollars.
 
The battle was a bitter one, with Tulare County vigorously opposing the loss of the Lucerne country, as our area was known in those early days, with its rich and productive soil. Even Lemoore was in opposition, as the feeling was that division at that time would end Lemoore's chances of becoming the center of a new county government.
 
On March 22, 1893,1 a bill creating the county, subject to the approval of the electorate of the territory, was signed by Governor Markham. S.E. Biddle, E.E. Bush, William J. Newport, William Ogden and John H. Malone were appointed to a commission to carry out the purposes of the act. The commission met on April 5 to outline supervisorial districts. On May 23, 1893 an election was held to ratify the act creating the county and to elect its first officials.
 
Petitions were taken to Tulare County asking for a portion of road and school funds. The small amount given was inadequate for the needs of the baby county and makeshift efforts had to be made. Public spirited individuals donated space for necessary offices and the new government began in widely scattered buildings in the downtown area of Hanford.
 
At first, the plan was to name the new county Lorraine. This plan was abandoned and the decision was made to name the county after the Kings River or "river of the holy kings". An exploring expedition led by Gabriel Moraga came upon this river on January 5, 1805 and camped along its banks that night. They rested by its side on the next day, which was the day of Epiphany. In honor of the day, they gave the river the beautiful name of El Rio de los Santos Reyes, which was later shortened to Kings River.
 

 
The Season of Epiphany
by Dennis Bratcher
 
January 6 is known in western Christian tradition as Epiphany. It goes by other names in various church traditions. In Hispanic and Latin culture, as well as some places in Europe, it is known as Three Kings Day Because of differences in church calendars, mainly between the Eastern Orthodox and the western Catholic and Protestant traditions, both Christmas and Epiphany have been observed at different times in the past. Today, most of the Eastern Orthodox traditions follow the western church calendar. The exceptions are some Greek Orthodox Churches and related traditions (e.g., Russian and Serbian Orthodox) that still follow the older calendar and celebrate Epiphany as the Theophany on January 19th.
 
Epiphany is the climax of the Christmas Season and the Twelve Days of Christmas, which are counted from December 25th until January 5th. The day before Epiphany is the twelfth day of Christmas, and is sometimes called Twelfth Night, an occasion for feasting in some cultures.
 
In traditional Christian churches Christmas, as well as Easter, is celebrated as a period of time, a season of the church year, rather than just a day. The Season of Christmas begins with the First Sunday of Advent, marked by expectation and anticipation, and concludes with Epiphany, which looks ahead to the mission of the church to the world in light of the Nativity. The one or two Sundays between Christmas Day and Epiphany are sometimes called Christmastide. For many Protestant church traditions, the season of Epiphany extends from January 6th until Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent leading to Easter. Depending on the timing of Easter, this includes from four to nine Sundays. Other traditions, especially the Roman Catholic tradition, observe Epiphany as a single day, with the Sundays following Epiphany counted as Ordinary Time. In some western traditions, the last Sunday of Epiphany is celebrated as Transfiguration Sunday.
 
The term epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal." In Western churches, it remembers the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King. In some Central and South American countries influenced by Catholic tradition, Three Kings Day, or the night before, is the time for opening Christmas presents. In some eastern churches, Epiphany or the Theophany commemorates Jesus baptism, with the visit of the Magi linked to Christmas. In some churches the day is celebrated as Christmas, with Epiphany/Theophany occurring on January 19th.
 
The colors of Epiphany are usually the colors of Christmas, white and gold, the colors of celebration, newness, and hope that mark the most sacred days of the church year. In traditions that only observe a single day for Epiphany, the colors are often changed after Epiphany to the colors of Ordinary Time, usually green or thematic sanctuary colors, until Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before the beginning of Lent. The colors for Transfiguration Sunday are usually the colors of Holy Days, white and gold.

As with most aspects of the Christian liturgical calendar, Epiphany has theological significance as a teaching tool in the church. The Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the infant Jesus were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as "King" and so were the first to "show" or "reveal" Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ. This act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon s blessing that this child Jesus would be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few.
 
The day is now observed as a time of focusing on the mission of the church in reaching others by "showing" Jesus as the Savior of all people. It is also a time of focusing on Christian brotherhood and fellowship, especially in healing the divisions of prejudice and bigotry that we all too often create between God s children.
 
An Epiphany Prayer

Father, we thank you for revealing Yourself to us in Jesus the Christ, we who once were not Your people but whom You chose to adopt as Your people. As ancient Israel confessed long ago, we realize that it was not because of our own righteousness, or our own superior wisdom, or strength, or power, or numbers. It was simply because You loved us, and chose to show us that love in Jesus.
 
As You have accepted us when we did not deserve Your love, will You help us to accept those whom we find it hard to love? Forgive us, O Lord, for any attitude that we harbor that on any level sees ourselves as better or more righteous than others. Will You help us to remove the barriers of prejudice and to tear down the walls of bigotry, religious or social? O Lord, help us realize that the walls that we erect for others only form our own prisons!
 
Will You fill us so full of Your love that there is no more room for intolerance. As You have forgiven us much, will You enable us with Your strength to forgive others even more? Will You enable us through Your abiding Presence among us, communally and individually, to live our lives in a manner worthy of the Name we bear?
 
May we, through Your guidance and our faithful obedience, find new avenues in ways that we have not imagined of holding the Light of Your love so that it may be a Light of revelation for all people.
 
We thank You for Your love, praise You for Your Gift, ask for Your continued Presence with us, and bring these petitions in the name of Your Son, who has truly revealed Your heart. Amen.
 

Statistics & Facts For Hanford
 
The population of Hanford is approximately 30,897 (1990).

 
The approximate number of families is 11,610 (1990).
 

The amount of land area in Hanford is 29.902 sq. kilometers.
 

The amount of surface water is 0 sq kilometers.
 

The distance from Hanford to Washington DC is 2424 miles. The distance to the California state capital is 182 miles. (as the crow flies)
 

Hanford is positioned 36.32 degrees north of the equator and 119.64 degrees west of the prime meridian.
 

Hanford's elevation is 246 feet above sea level.
 
Hanford is located west of Tulare from Hwy 99 in California's Central Valley
 
Hanford history
 
Hanford is known for "China Alley." This is a 100 year-old Chinatown which was preserved by Chef Winy's family. Many famous people, including US Presidents Eisenhower and Truman, Mao Tse-Tung and Chiang Kai-shek have eaten here

JAMES MADISON HANFORD
by James M. Hanford III, August 1990
 
My grandfather, the man for who Hanford was named, James Madison Hanford, was born at "Dunk-Hill", Walton, New York, December 21, 1827. When he was 22, he traveled from New York by ship to Colon, Panama. From Colon the trip was overland to Panama City where he re-embarked on another steamer for San Francisco. From San Francisco, he made his way to Volcano, California to join his brother Samuel.
 
After many adventures, including owning a hardware store and a gold mine, involvement with para-military groups during the Gold Rush, practicing as Justice of the Peace and teaching school in Volcano -- on August 4, 1869 he joined the Central Pacific Railroad as Special Assistant to the President. The Central Pacific later became the Southern Pacific and my grandfather became Paymaster.
 
From the early 1860s to the late 1880s, the railroad was growing rapidly. Workers were scattered over a vast area and with paper money discounted up to 40%, wages were paid in gold and silver coins. A specially equipped Pay Car was used to distribute wages to employees. It was a remodeled Pullman car with a kitchen, dining room, sleeping quarters, washroom and the Paymaster's office. At one end of the office was a partition made of 1/4" boiler plate with a small sliding window through which the employee received his money. The window weighed 90 pounds and could be dropped quickly in the event of an attempted robbery. There was also an iron slide, controlled by a treadle, which could automatically close the cash till which held quantities of 5, 10 and 20 dollar gold pieces. Two sawed-off shotguns, four repeating rifles and two "six-shooters" completed the car's equipment.
 
In the 1870s, with only one pay car, it took two months to pay all employees. In 1888 three cars were outfitted, and the practice of paying monthly wages was instituted. The cars started from San Francisco and were stocked with enough money to pay all the employees along the way. They would have silver piled in every corner of the car, through the center aisle into an empty berth. There was so much gold they couldn't get it all in the safe -- it had to be stacked along the wall. The pay cars were heavily guarded, their schedules kept secret and they did not run at night. Remarkably, they were never robbed.
 
As a tribute to my Grandfather's honesty as Paymaster, the President of the Southern Pacific gave "Major" Hanford the opportunity to pick a town site on the Goshen-Alcalde branch when it was being built. The Southern Pacific named the station "Hanford."
 
On January 17, 1877, the town was placed on the map by the sale of 68 business lots fronting on the railroad [which had come through] the previous October. This property sold for $11,422.50. The first [business] house was built the following March by a druggist, J. T. Baker. He was burned out three times and finally rebuilt, using brick.
 
My grandfather retired from the Southern Pacific in 1908 after 39 years with the railroad. He passed away at his home in Oakland in 1911. My grandfather was always very proud of the "town" of Hanford, and would be truly amazed if he could see it now.

CSAC Snapshot Info

Official County Website