A rail line was built from Goshen in Tulare County to this spot in Fresno County about 40 miles West-South-West.
The year was 1877, and wool was the main commodity that was shipped from here courtesy of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The Central Hotel, opened in the late 1890s, was sometimes used by the sheep ranchers.
It was owned by the Mouren Family.
They also built a 10-thousand-gallon water tank made out of redwood.
Ground water on the west side of the Valley wasn’t good for drinking.
They called it “sour”.
Joseph Mouren was known to sell his fresh water at a rate of 1 cent per gallon.
Even adjusting for inflation, that wasn’t a terrible price.
Well, this portion of the San Joaquin Valley is known to be dry.
So dry, that the only thing that seemed to grow was a type of brush that most people found “disagreeable”, and that’s where this name actually comes from.
The French have a word that means “a disagreeable person”, or “a grumpy old man”, or just plain “rude”.
That word is, “huron”, but Americans pronounce it Huron, on the map of Fresno County.
Oh by the way, irrigation allowed for the introduction of several viable crops in this area and by World War II cotton was very popular and it still is.
With Josie Robles behind the camera, I’m AJ Fox
