With a population of over 210,000, Modesto, California is the 16th-largest city in that state. The city is the center of the agricultural region of the San Joaquin Valley and has been supplying the world with fruits, nuts and wine for much of the past century. The city is convenient to many of northern California's other major urban centers, especially San Francisco and Sacramento, while providing residents with ample opportunity for cultural and outdoor activities. When moving to Modesto, you will quickly discover these unique opportunities of all that the city has to offer.
Economy:
Modesto — thanks to the fertile farmland in the surrounding valley — has long been an agricultural center, and much of the city's economy still depends on agriculture. Crops grown in the area include almonds, apricots, melons, tomatoes, wine grapes, peaches and walnuts. Half of the city's biggest employers are associated with agriculture, most notably the Ernest and Julio Gallo Winery. The Winery is the world's largest and, along with the Gallo Glass Company (the world's largest manufacturer of wine bottles), employs thousands of Modesto residents. Other agricultural industries include fruit canneries and cereal-and snack-packaging facilities. Non-agricultural sectors represented in Modesto are primarily county and city government, the medical field, education and metals manufacturing. Despite its agricultural richness, Modesto historically has a high unemployment rate.
Tourism:
Modesto boasts an unusually impressive selection of musical offerings for a city of its size. The Modesto Symphony Orchestra performs six times per year, while the MoBand (the Modesto Band of Stanislaus County) puts on a summer concert series throughout the warm months. During the summer, festivals such as X-Fest (the Xclamation Festival) and Graffiti Days bring visitors and locals into the streets of Modesto for music, performance and displays. Throughout the year, Modesto lives up to its nicknames of "Garden City" and "Rose City" with hanging flower baskets and flower pots lining the streets of the downtown area. The Modesto Garden Club also maintains a working flower clock that requires 25,000 flowers planted per year. The most-visited landmarks in Modesto are the McHenry Mansion and Museum, both of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Travel to Modesto is available by air through the Modesto City-County Airport, with flights to San Francisco, and twelve daily Amtrak passenger rail routes. Three public transit companies operate within Modesto: the Modesto Area Express, the Stanislaus Regional Transit, and the San Joaquin Regional Transit District. Moving companies are constantly transporting people and their belongings to Modesto, making this city a go-to destination for tourism and moving.
History:
The site of Modesto was chosen as the end of the Central Pacific Railroad line on November 8, 1870. The original plan was to name the anticipated town Ralston, after William Chapman Ralston, the director of the Central Pacific Railroad. Ralston objected to the honor, and his modesty in the matter brought about the new name of Modesto (from the Spanish word for "modest). The town was incorporated on August 6, 1884 and grew to a population of 4500 by 1910. Farmers in the surrounding valley originally produced grain products but switched to fruits and nuts with early 20th-century irrigation projects. The population of Modesto has grown rapidly in recent years, doubling from 100,000 to 200,000 between 1990 and 2001.