This Year in History

1872

1872

 

1958

photo courtesy of Fresno County Historical Society

This Year in History - 1872

  • The Central Pacific Railroad establishes a railway station in the Central Valley near a large wheat farm. After a store is built near the station, the region grows into the town of Fresno Station, later called Fresno.  A severe flood inundates the city twelve years later.
  • An armed conflict, known as The Modoc War, breaks out in northeastern California involving the U.S. Army and the Modoc people. The war started after the Bureau of Indian Affairs demanded that the tribe relocate its homeland.
  • Ulysses S. Grant is reelected president with the help of California’s six electoral votes. He defeats New York Tribune publisher Horace Greeley. The state’s popular vote was Grant: 51,181, Greeley: 39,060.
  • A powerful earthquake in the Owens Valley and centered near Lone Pine, registers an estimated 7.4-7.9 on the Richter Scale. It kills 27 people and destroys 52 buildings.