Greenfield (formerly, Clarke Colony) is a city in Monterey County, California, United States in the Salinas Valley, 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 289 feet (88 m). Take a look below for 15 interesting and amazing facts about Greenfield, California, United States.

1. The city was the fastest growing in the county during the 2000s: the population was 12,583 in 2000, increasing to 16,330 in the 2010 census.

2. Its most well-known public event is the annual Harvest Festival.

3. Greenfield is a member of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.

4. In 1902, the California Home Extension Association, founded by John S. Clark, purchased 4,000 acres (1,600ha) of land that had been part of Rancho Arroyo Seco, a Mexican land grant deeded to Joaquín de la Torre in 1840.

5. The land was put up for sale at a public drawing in Los Angeles in 1905. Buyers could purchase an acre with water rights for about $37.50.

6. A purchase of 2.5 acres came with an added benefit — a lot in town.

7. In addition to the acreage, Clark got the water rights to the land. He formed the Clark Colony Water Company, which became the organization for water distribution and filled the city with water from the nearby Arroyo Seco River.

8. The organized water canal system and ideal growing conditions attracted people of Danish, Swiss and other nationalities from surrounding areas to settle in this new colony.

9. Originally, the town was going to be named Clark City, but that was nixed by the U.S. Postal Service which informed the city there were too many “Clark Cities” in the state. Instead, the community named the town after one of its early founders and president of the Association, Edward Greenfield.

10. In the 1930, wells were dug to supplement water being drawn from the river, which created a year-round water supply.

11. The Clark Colony Water Company still holds 1916 Prior Rights guaranteeing delivery to its members a certain amount of water from the Arroyo Seco River before any other agencies. The early canals are still viable and visible throughout the original land acreage.

12. Greenfield was recognized as a municipality by the State legislature and incorporated on January 7, 1947. Greenfield’s first Mayor was Tom Rogers.

13. Greenfield holds an annual harvest festival each third Sunday of October.

14. A northern campus for the Yanks Air Museum of Chino, California is under construction in Greenfield on a 440 acres (1.8 km2) plot known as the Hanson Ranch, which was purchased in 1994 by museum founders Charles and Judith Nichols. In World War II the Hanson Ranch was the site of the Hanson Auxiliary Field.

15. The new airstrip will use the original location and will see World War II aircraft landing there some 75 years later. This planned project will include a museum facility and the 4,250 feet (1,300 m) runway that will support both museum flight operations as well as serve the private aviation needs of both museum visitors and local aviators. The new museum facility is not intended to replace the existing facility in Chino, but to greatly expand the opportunities.