Editing Corcoran, California (section)

==History==
Corcoran was founded by [[Hobart Johnstone Whitley]], a prominent land developer from southern California, who took the lead in building Corcoran (the main street of the community is named in his honor). Liking what he saw during a visit to the area in 1905 (a blacksmith shop, small store, scattered homes and a lush, untapped vista with herds of grazing wild hogs, horses and steers) Whitley purchased {{convert|32000|acre|km2}} to start development. Much like in the [[San Fernando Valley]] ([[Van Nuys]] and [[Canoga Park]] his "creations"), Whitley "leveraged" his holdings with the support of important Los Angeles businessmen. Whitley first intended the town be named "Otis", after [[Harrison Gray Otis (publisher)|Harrison Gray Otis]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', and streets as Otis, Sherman, Letts (the Broadway store) and Ross (after his son, Ross Whitley) show the connections. Whitley, it is claimed, purchased and platted some 150 towns over the American West—and Corcoran is one of his last.

Whitley moved a member of his real estate firm, J. W. Guiberson, to the area. Guiberson became one of the many pioneers of the community, building the first home and business structure in Corcoran. His family also helped establish the first church in the community, an event which helped lead to the town's [[Municipal corporation|incorporation]] on August 14, 1914.

The basis of Corcoran's economy then and now is agriculture. Initially, the most successful crops were grains, alfalfa and sugar beets.

In 1933, more than 12,000 workers went on strike against cotton farmers, one of the largest [[California agricultural strikes of 1933]]. Strikers in Corcoran created a tent city that eventually held more than 3,000 people, more than double the town's population. Its lack of water or sewage systems created waves of illness.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Starr|first=Kevin|title=Endangered Dreams: California in the Great Depression|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|location=New York|pages=75}}</ref> Streets were staked out in the tent city, and committees of workers governed the camp.<ref>{{Cite book|last=McWilliams|first=Carey|title=Factories in the Fields|publisher=University of California Press|year=1935|location=Berkeley|pages=221}}</ref>

The [[J. G. Boswell Company]] was established in Corcoran in 1921 and remains a major employer in the city.

The first post office opened in 1901.<ref name=CGN />