City of Modesto California
Modesto is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of approximately 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 18th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area. Modesto was founded as a village in October 1870, when the Central Pacific Railroad purchased approximately one square mile of land and began selling lots. Modesto was founded as one of the San Joaquin Valley's railroad towns. In the late 1860s, Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker (the “Big Four”) announced plans to construct a railroad down the San Joaquin Valley to connect the northern and southern portions of the state.
MODESTO, CALIFORNIA
October 1870
Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker