Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Reedley, CA

In 1888 the Pacific Improvement Company, a Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary, platted the townsite of Reedley on the east bank of the Kings River in Fresno County.

The town was named for Thomas Law Reed, a wheat rancher who gave the railroad company a half interest in 360 acres of the land where the town was to be built.

An irrigation system completed in 1884 diverted Kings River water onto some 30,000 adjoining acres, turning the Reedley area into highly productive farmland.

As early as 1855, James Smith had established a ferry and hotel on the high east bank of the Kings River where Reedley now stands.

Reedley incorporated on February 18, 1913.

Reedley proudly calls itself 'The World's Fruit Basket,' reflecting an economy built on fruit and vegetable farming in the San Joaquin Valley.

An early colony of German Mennonite settlers, who began arriving in 1905, strongly shaped Reedley's culture and traditions, and the town's first church was organized that same year.

Before orchards took over, the Reedley area was wheat country in the Gold Rush era, farmed with huge gang plows drawn by long teams of mules.

Reedley is a centerpiece of Fresno County's Blossom Trail, a 62-mile self-guided driving tour through orchards in spring bloom.

The Reedley Museum documents the history of the city and its farming families.