Clovis

History

The city of Clovis began as a freight stop along the San Joaquin Valley Railroad. Organized on January 15, 1890, by Fresno businessmen Thomas E. Hughes, Fulton Berry, Gilbert R. Osmun, H.D. Colson, John D. Gray, and William M. Williams, in partnership with Michigan railroad speculator Marcus Pollasky, the SJVRR began construction in Fresno on July 4, 1891, and reached the farmlands of Clovis M. Cole and George Owen by October of that year. The railroad purchased right-of-way from both farmers, half from each – the east side from Cole and the west side from Owen – and ran tracks up the borderline between the two properties. The railroad agreed to establish a station on the west side of the tracks and to call it "Clovis." The Clovis station, which was named after Clovis Cole, was positioned on the Owen side of the track. Cole and Owen later sold land to Marcus Pollasky for the development of a townsite. Fresno civil engineer Ingvart Tielman mapped the townsite on behalf of Pollasky on December 29, 1891. The original townsite featured streets named for the officers and principal investors of the railroad: (Benjamin) Woodworth, (Marcus) Pollasky, Fulton (Berry), (Thomas) Hughes, (Gerald) Osmun, and (O. D.) Baron. The townsite, named "Clovis" after Clovis Station by Pollasky, was laid out on what was originally Owen's land. The railroad was completed as far as the town of Hamptonville (now Friant) on the banks of the San Joaquin River, just from its point of origin in Fresno. Articles of Incorporation for the San Joaquin Valley Railroad indicate that the corporation intended to build of track, including sidings and spurs, through the agricultural acreage east of Fresno, then north to the timber and mineral resources of the Sierra foothills. At the time, Hamptonville was…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.28 square miles (60.29 km2), all of it land. Clovis is situated midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, bordering Fresno, in the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley. Lying at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, which includes Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks, Clovis has been known as "Gateway to the Sierras" since its incorporation in 1912. The formation of alluvial fans in this part of the San Joaquin Valley has led to a rather flat regional geography. The Clovis area has active and potentially active seismic fault zones. The elevation of Clovis is approximately above mean sea datum According to the Flood Hazard Boundary Map produced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, part of Clovis is within the 100-year flood zone, such as some of the area near the Clovis Towne Center. The groundwater flow in Clovis is generally to the southwest.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  7,163
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,080
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  5,861
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  5,628
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,565
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,466
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  5,130
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,929