Located in the heart of San Joaquin Valley, Modesto is a vibrant community proud of its active residents, great traditions, educational opportunities, and multicultural lifestyles.
Modesto offers the diversity and facilities of a metropolitan city, but proudly still maintains an atmosphere of small town hospitality.
The 15th largest city in California with a population exceeding 200,000, Modesto is also the seat of Stanislaus County. Centrally located on Highway 99, Modesto is easily accessible from throughout California. Just west of the valley and over the coastal mountain range lies the San Francisco Bay Area, only a 90-mile drive away from Modesto.
Known for its rich soil and excellent farming, Modesto is home to dairy, nut, fruit, wine and poultry farms. In the fall local farms offer a variety of farmers markets and roadside produce stands.
Founded in October 1870, Modesto was known as one of the wildest towns of the central valley. A frontier boomtown, Modesto has since developed into a major American city. Remaining true to its early history, Modesto is now the center of one of the largest and most diverse agricultural regions in the United States.
Originally the city was planned to be named 'Ralston' after William Chapman Ralston. Ralston was a millionaire banker and a director of the Central Pacific Railroad. He was known as "the most resourceful and daring of the West Coast's financiers." Instead, the city was named 'Modesto', the Spanish word for 'modest' at Ralston's request.
The day Prohibition ended in 1933 was a significant day in the United States, but also an unusually prominent day in Modesto's history as well. On this day, two brothers, Ernest and Julio Gallo, opened a small winery in Modesto. Seventy years later the winery that Ernest and Julio opened that day is the largest winery in the world employing thousands of workers in Modesto, the Napa Valley and other locations throughout California.
The pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined streets of historic downtown Modesto offer a charming blend of parks, historic buildings, specialty shops, businesses, restaurants and cafes. Many of Modesto's landmarks are located downtown including the historical Modesto Arch, located at Ninth and I Streets. The Modesto Arch was erected in 1912 to promote economic development. A contest was held for a slogan to put on the arch. The winning entry, "Nobody's got Modesto's Goat," was bypassed in favor of the second place, and present city slogan, "Water, Wealth, Contentment, Health".
In addition to a rich business life, Modesto has a thriving artistic community featuring galleries located in the historic downtown area offering everything from traditional and contemporary art to ethnic and cultural artifacts. The third Thursday of each month all downtown galleries open for free art walk offering exhibits open to the public.
In addition to fine arts, Modesto offers a wide array of performing arts including local favorites, the Townsend Opera Players who present four productions a year, the Central West Ballet and the Modesto Symphony Orchestra which features six concerts annually.
In February 2010, the average sales price for a single family home or condo in Modesto was $142,843. This information comes from the MLS, and while deemed reliable, is not guaranteed.
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