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HISTORY OF FRUIT VALE ESTATE AND KEARNEY MANSION
“ . . . . Mr. Kearney is a gentleman whose reputation for enterprise and energy is well known in Fresno County, and his plan proposes the combination of some 5,000 to 6,000 acres of good fruit land ---- 3,000 of which are now coming into bearing----under a simple management and to so conduct the fruit packing that the brand will be its own recommendation in every market of the world . . .”
Collis P. Huntington, 1894
Panorama of Fruit Vale Estate taken from the top of the water tower, 1903
M. Theo Kearney, born Martin Thomas Carney, developed the 5,000 acre Fruit Vale Estate (Kearney Ranch) over three decades from 1867 until his death in 1906. He founded the colony farm system on the property. Today the land is home to Kearney Park where only four of the original structures still stand: Kearney Mansion, its Servant's Quarters, the Carriage House and Ice house. The park is open to the public and the Fresno County Historical Society is headquartered on the second floor of the Servant's Quarters. The Society offers tours of the Mansion and exhibits items from its vast collection on the first floor of the Servant's Quarters Building.
Download the complete history of the property here:
PRESERVATION
Follow the links below for information on Historic Preservation both locally and nationally: