Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California. Kingsburg is located 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Selma at an elevation of 302 feet (92 m), on the banks of the Kings River. Take a look below for 10 fun and awesome facts about Kingsburg, California, United States.
1. The city is half an hour away from Fresno, and two hours away from the California Central Coast and Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.
2. The population was 11,382 at the 2010 census.
3. Kingsburg was established as a railroad town, its site set by the Central Pacific Railroad when it completed the Valley Line in 1873.
4. In the early 1870s, Swedish natives settled in a railroad town called “Kings River Switch”. Kingsburg started out as a flag stop on the Central Pacific Railroad called Kings River Switch.
5. In 1874 Kingsburg was called Wheatville and had a post office, later that year they changed the name to Kingsbury. During this time period, Josiah Draper and Andrew Farley each owned a quarter section, about 160 acres (65 ha), Draper on the east side of the railroad tracks and Farley on the west side of the tracks. So it was suggested that the east side be called Drapersville and the west side called Farleyville.
6. Two years after that it became Kingsburgh and in January 1894 took on its present spelling, “Kingsburg”, which was finally established as a town in 1908. By 1921, ninety-four percent of the population within a three-mile radius of Kingsburg was Swedish-American, giving the community the nickname of “Little Sweden”.
7. To keep up with the town’s Swedish history most retail businesses are designed in Swedish architecture.
8. For much of the town’s history, the fields around Kingsburg were mostly grape vineyards which produce mainly raisins and table grapes; in 2002 a large surplus of raisins and grapes drove the price for these commodities down to an all-time low. Subsequently, farmers were forced to replant the fields with stone fruit, or (particularly on the west side of town) sell their land to developers to help cope with the rising population.
9. Kingsburg is the headquarters of Sun-Maid Growers of California, a producer of raisins and other dried fruits. Kingsburg is home to the world’s largest box of raisins, built by students at California State University, Fresno.
10. One of the unique landmarks in the community is the Kingsburg water tower, which is shaped like an antique Swedish coffee pot. The Swedish immigrant heritage of the community is principally preserved with festivals. The Kingsburg Swedish Festival, which is one of the biggest and best known festivals that bring people in from all over the country, is held annually during the third weekend in May.
