Browse Items (174 total)

A 1913 view of Coalinga and the surrounding oil derricks. The town of Coalinga originally started in the late 1800's when coal was discovered in the foothills. The market for coal eventually dropped when oil was discovered and Coalinga changed into…

The Silver Tip oil well just outside of Coalinga, California. The well blew in with the greatest gusher known in California at that time. The oil flow was estimated at 10,000 - 20,000 barrels a day. The roar of the well could be clearly heard in the…

Photo of an automobile parked in front of the ticket office of the Coalinga Motor Car Company Auto Stage Line. The 1910 Coalinga city directory gives the address as 168 5th Street and lists Mr. Henry T. Chrisman as the firm's president and manager.…

Electrical generators located inside Power House Number 3, part of California Edison's Big Creek Project in the Sierra mountains. Hailed by the press as "the Electrical Giant of the West" for its then 99,000 kilowatts of rated capacity made it the…

Dam #4 is located at an elevation of 4,810 feet in California's Sierra Mountains. The dam is of concrete gravity arch construction, built in 1913 across Big Creek. The dam is a part of the Big Creek Hydroelectric System of six dams, eight tunnels,…

A 1920's winter scene high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California in the town of Big Creek. The only identifiable building is the Big Creek Post Office. In 1902, John S. Eastwood, engineer for the Pacific Light and Power Company, selected Big…

Summer scene showing the Big Creek Hotel in Big Creek, California. High in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California the hotel was built in 1914 by William Thrower. In 1902, John S. Eastwood, engineer for the Pacific Light and Power Company, selected…

Panoramic view of Wonder Valley about 35 miles east of Fresno. A saucer-shaped valley surrounded by low-lying hills with the Sierras in the distance. Large cattle ranches originally covered the valley. Del Piedra, meaning "stone" in Spanish, grew up…

Located at an elevation of 4,819 feet at the town of Big Creek, California, being the first power house on the Big Creek Project to be placed in commercial operation. Has provided electricity to Southern California since November 1913. Generators…

Busy, daytime street scene in downtown Fresno. Photo taken from corner of Fulton and Mariposa looking north up Fulton Street. The Helm building is on the left foreground at 1101 Fulton. Samuels Smoke House can be seen on the ground floor of the Helm…