The Early American Period

TRANSFORMATION OF THE VALLEY 1849-1900

Gold and opportunities brought an invasion of European and Yankee adventurers who transformed the valley into their “Garden of the Sun.” Few Mexicans or natives survived this wild west period fraught with racism. 

The Gold Rush. At the same time Mexico signed the Treaty, turning over all their Northern territories, gold was discovered in California, maybe already known and kept secret until after the war. The irony was that the Spanish had come to the Américas seeking gold for over 300 years and left just 26 years before it was discovered in California territory. Mexico left at the time it was discovered.  A flood of 49ers, gringos and Europeans from all over, outnumbered 10 to 1 the small Mexican and Californio population that still existed. For some new “Americans” it was a chance for fortunes, but for others bust. This Gold Rush period that first brought in Mexicans and Peruvians, then Chinese and the 49ers was chaotic and rife with injustice and killings for anyone who was perceived as a “foreigner.” Mexicans and natives became “foreigners in their native land.” The initial Mexican miners were driven from the mines and opportunities to make a business or living were cut off. Many returned to Mexico, others suffered injustices and a culture that denigrated them.

Transformation of the Valley. The rest of the 19th century the Valley experienced a great shift from Spanish and Mexican heritage to a multicultural mix of determined “pioneers” whose stories began to dominate the history of the Western U.S. frontier. They: 

  • carved out Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Inyo, and Amador counties, 
  • connected the state through steamboats, pony express, stagecoach and railroads, 
  • granted land to settlers and the railroad, 
  • brought lumber from the mountains to the valley floor by flumes,  
  • irrigated the dry valley for crops with canals for irrigation, 
  • controlled the floods with dams, and 
  • put their names on valley towns and streets and buildings.  

These newcomers built the valley for themselves and marketed it nationwide as a “Garden of the Sun.” It was a garden planted with the seeds of Spain and Mexico and watered with prejudices.

Los Vaqueros. Extreme prejudice against natives, Mexicans, and Chinese permeated the frontier society and the nation, expressed in physical violence and legal injustices. The Asian Exclusion Act was a national expression that did make the Mexican population more needed, if not wanted. The most valuable to the ranching industry were the vaqueros, their skills and horsemanship crossing over into English from Spanish vocabulary—vaqueros to buckaroos, lariata, rodeo, and so on. The valley, known for horses and cattle, had its center in the Visalia area. The Visalia Saddle Shop sold a prized Mexican-stye saddle designed by Jesús Salazar. When we looked for one for the exhibit, we found one in Visalia’s Museum, known as the Visalia stock saddle, but the craftsmanship in leather and silver was of Mexican origin. 

Joaquín Murrieta. Stop to hear the story of the bandit (or hero) Joaquín Murrieta, told on the short video through an annual commemorative ride of Charros in Western Fresno County. Joaquín is the second example of a valley name with significance, as his fame lives on to today in books, movies, and television programs of the bandit hero who took vengeance on the invaders and operated hidden in the Mexican population. It’s a great basic story, whether true or exaggerated into myth. During a period in the mid-1850s -1860s he and the other infamous Tiburcio Vásquez dominated the Central Valley until captured and killed. Read their stories and most of all how the Mexican American community of the Valley’s west side recreates Joaquin Murrieta’s story every final Sunday in July for over the past 40 years. It is the spirit of Joaquín Murrieta that became a symbol of Mexican American resistance in this period.