[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16112]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE CITY OF TURLOCK, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 23, 2008

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the city 
of Turlock upon their celebration of their 100th Anniversary.
  In 1871, John Mitchell, a prominent land owner in Turlock, came to an 
agreement with the railroad. The railroad agreed to build a train 
depot, a switching yard and telegraph station on a portion of Mr. 
Mitchell's property. In return, Mr. Mitchell gave the railroad a twenty 
five mile right of way passage through his vast land holdings. The land 
consisted of over 100,000 acres of wheat that spanned from, what is 
now, Ceres to Atwater and west to the San Joaquin River. It was a win-
win situation for all; while the railroad was able to expand, Mr. 
Mitchell was able to move products.
  Over the next 20 years, growth in the area was slow. It did, however, 
experience a great amount of financial success. During California's 
Golden Wheat era of the mid to late 1800s this area was shipping an 
extraordinary amount of wheat across the United States and around the 
world. Turlock was booming, but it did not last long. With the over 
planting of crops, the poor farming practices, and depleted soil the 
production of wheat fell drastically. The Golden Wheat era was over by 
1890. It only took 3 years for Turlock to fade away, and in 1893 John 
Mitchell, the founder of Turlock, passed away. Mr. Mitchell had brought 
life to Turlock; he was responsible for bringing the railroad and he 
financed many farmers and businesses. With a nationwide economic 
collapse on the horizon, Turlock faced two more problems; water and 
fire. The farmers in Turlock desperately needed an irrigation system to 
keep their crops going, and then a massive fire destroyed downtown 
Turlock.
  Fortunately, luck changed for this small farming town. In 1901, 
irrigation was funded. Small farmers were back in business, and Turlock 
began to thrive again. John Mitchell's heirs hired a land promoter and 
sold his vast holdings into small farming lots. People began to flock 
to Turlock. By 1907, Turlock was experiencing record breaking activity 
in commercial and residential construction. The push for incorporation 
began to take hold. A special election was held on January 21, 1908 and 
Turlock was incorporated with about 1800 residents. A board of 
trustees, a treasurer, a clerk and a marshall were all elected into 
office. Today Turlock has a population of over 69,000 and is home to 
California State University, Stanislaus.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate the city of 
Turlock on 100 years. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing 
Turlock many years of continued growth and success.

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