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San Joaquin County, California
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==History== San Joaquin County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. The county was named after the [[San Joaquin River]], which flows north through it. In the early 19th century, Lieutenant [[Gabriel Moraga]], commanding an expedition in the lower great [[Central Valley (California)|California Central Valley]], gave the name of ''San Joaquin'' (meaning [[Joachim]]) to the [[San Joaquin River]], which springs from the southern [[Sierra Nevada]]. San Joaquin County is the site of the [[San Joaquin Valley]]'s first permanent residence. Prior to incorporation in 1850, the area now encompassing San Joaquin County was inhabited by the [[Yokuts]] and [[Miwok]] native peoples. These communities lived in villages throughout the region, consuming diverse diets that reflected the flora and fauna of the California Delta. Acorns from [[Quercus lobata|Valley Oak]] trees, salmon from the [[San Joaquin River|San Joaquin]], [[Mokelumne River|Mokelumne]], [[Calaveras River|Calaveras]], and [[Stanislaus River|Stanislaus]] rivers, and [[Tule elk|Tule Elk]] were staples of the native diet, which was supplemented with various native berries and plants. The native population of San Joaquin County fell dramatically during a statewide epidemic of malaria in 1828, and a subsequent rebellion of native peoples in the Central Valley, led by Chief [[Estanislao]]. Between 1843 and 1846, during the era when California was a province of independent Mexico, five Mexican land grants were made in what would become San Joaquin County: [[Rancho Campo de los Franceses]], [[Rancho Pescadero (Grimes)|Pescadero (Grimes)]], [[Rancho Pescadero (Pico)|Pescadero (Pico)]], [[Rancho Sanjon de los Moquelumnes|Sanjon de los Moquelumnes]], and [[Rancho Thompson|Thompson]]. The largest of these grants was the Rancho Campos de los Franceses, secured by [[Charles Maria Weber|Charles Weber]] and Guillermo Gulnac, which was eventually developed into the city of [[Stockton, California|Stockton]]. As the Gold Rush drew miners to the Sierra Nevada, Stockton grew into a major logistical and mercantile hub for the San Joaquin Valley and [[mother lode]], which allowed for the City and County populations to rise significantly between 1850 and 1870. As the state's gold economy waned in the 1870s, San Joaquin County transitioned into a major national center of agriculture, which it remains to this day. Reclamation of the California delta, which began in 1869, strongly benefited this agricultural growth. The importance of agriculture to the region's economy led to the creation of a dynamic industrial engineering sector in Stockton, [[Lodi, California|Lodi]], and nearby [[Rio Vista, California|Rio Vista]] in the 1880s. Notably, the Sperry Flour Company, [[Holt Manufacturing Company]], the operation of [[R. G. LeTourneau]], Samson Ironworks, and the canning empire of [[Tillie Lewis]] were firms of national and international significance. Holt Manufacturing, led by [[Benjamin Holt]], would pioneer the industrial manufacturing and sales of the tractor, while [[R. G. LeTourneau]] patented the bulldozer in 1926. ===Importance to railroads=== The [[Central Pacific Railroad]] in the 1860s utilized San Joaquin County's exceptionally flat terrain to construct a rail line from [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] to Stockton and then southwest through Altamont Pass to the San Francisco Bay. Notably, the Mossdale Bridge crossing the San Joaquin River was the last link on the [[first transcontinental railroad]] from the [[Missouri River]] to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. In 1909, a second railroad, the [[Western Pacific Railroad|Western Pacific]], utilized the same route through Stockton to reach the Bay Area. In the early 1900s, the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe Railroad]] constructed from [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]] and [[Fresno, California|Fresno]] went through Stockton to travel northwards, reaching [[Oakland, California|Oakland]]. Smaller lines constructed at Stockton were the [[Tidewater Southern Railway|Tidewater Southern]] to [[Modesto, California|Modesto]] and the [[Central California Traction Company|Central California Traction]] to Sacramento. Both started as electrically powered. These railroads encouraged the growth of farms, orchards, and ranches in San Joaquin County and adjacent counties.<ref name="moss 1991">{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Olive |title=From the Ohio to the San Joaquin: a biography of Captain William S. Moss 1796-1883 |date=1991 |publisher=Heritage West Books |location=Stockton, California |isbn=0962304808 |page=209 (photo of Mossdale bridge) |quote=The Central Pacific Railroad bridge crossing the San Joaquin River at Mossdale, completed on September 6, 1869, was the first railroad connection linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Martin|first=Van Covert|date=1890|title=Railroad Bridges- San Joaquin County: First bridge across San Joaquin River. Central Pacific Railroad, built 1869. Replaced by Steel Bridge 1895. Mossdale Crossing|url=https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/hsp/8617|journal=Historic Stockton Photographs, Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Libraries}}</ref> ===Tracy tire fire=== On August 7, 1998, a [[tire fire]] ignited at S.F. Royster's Tire Disposal just south of Tracy on South MacArthur Drive, near Linne Rd. The tire dump held over 7 million illegally stored tires and was allowed to burn for more than two years before it was extinguished. Allowing the fire to burn was considered to be a better way to avoid groundwater contamination than putting it out.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z9o0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=LSEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6405,5839950&dq=tracy+tire+fire&hl=en Rubber Threat: Tracy tire fire highlights old problem.] ''Lodi News-Sentinel.'' August 18, 1998.</ref> However, the cleanup cost $19 million and local groundwater was still discovered to be contaminated.<ref>Breitler, Alex. [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-139973811/byproducts-1998-tire-fire.html Byproducts from 1998 tire fire found in water], ''Record.'' December 20, 2005.{{Dead link|date=January 2022|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Somers|first=Janet|date=December 12, 2006|title=Mystery couple purchases tire fire land for pennies|url=https://www.ttownmedia.com/tracy_press/mystery-couple-purchases-tire-fire-land-for-pennies/article_b198ffa3-0926-5f2e-ab58-c9679e9974bc.html|access-date=January 8, 2022|website=Tracy Press|publisher=Tank Town Media|language=en}}</ref>
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