Brief
History:
The area was
inhabited for thousands of years by
American Indians including the Tachi
Yokuts tribe. They continue to live in
the area on the Santa Rosa
Rancheria. It was colonized by Spain,
Mexico and the United States.
An 1805 expedition probably led by
Spanish Army Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga
recorded discovering the river, which they
named El Rio de los Santos Reyes
(River of the Holy Kings) after the Three
Wise Men of the Bible. At the time of the
United States conquest of California
in 1848, the new government changed the
name to Kings River after which the county
was named.
In 1880, a dispute over land titles
between settlers and the Southern Pacific
Railroad resulted in a bloody gun battle
on a farm
5.6 mi (9.0 km) northwest of
Hanford; seven men died. This event became
known as the Mussel Slough Tragedy.
Kings County was formed in 1893 from
the western part of Tulare County. In
1909, by an act of the state legislature,
208
square miles (540 km2) of Fresno
County territory was added to the
northwest portion of Kings County.
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