Visalia might be the oldest city in this part of the Central Valley, but it’s not the oldest European settlement in our region. Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots, the story of Pubelo San Emigdio.
Located just west of the “Grapevine” on modern Interstate 5 is the site of an ancient Chumash village called Tashlipun. It sat in the shadow of Mt. Pinos and along a creek that flows from that peak to the valley floor. Spanish explorer Don Pedro Fages passed through the area in 1772 and called the area La Canada los Muertos.
In 1806, Father Jose Maria de Zalvidea explored the area, and renamed the canyon and creek after Saint Emygdius, the patron saint of earthquakes, giving us San Emigdio. It makes sense, given that the San Andreas fault is just a few miles away.
Soon, El Pueblo San Emigdio began to grow, perhaps as an arm of Mission Santa Barbara. It had 25 to 30 adobe homes, 2 general stores, a school a church and 2 graveyards.
In 1842, the pueblo became part of the first Mexican-era land grant in the area, and was awarded to José Antonio Dominguez, becoming (with a slightly different spelling) Rancho San Emidio. The ownership would later pass through the hands of John C. Fremont, Edward Fitzgerald Beale and James Ben Ali Haggin’s Kern County Land Company.
In 1996, the Wildlands Conservancy acquired the land, today’s Wind Wolves Preserve. The old rancho is reportedly the only Mexican-era land grant in the state that remains largely undeveloped.
