Selma, California
Encyclopedia
Selma is a city in Fresno County, California
. The population was 23,219 at the 2010 census, up from 19,240 at the 2000 census. Selma is located 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Fresno
, at an elevation of 308 feet (94 m).
, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13.2 km²), all of it land.
was 4,520.6 people per square mile (1,745.4/km²). The racial makeup of Selma was 12,869 (55.4%) White, 284 (1.2%) African American, 479 (2.1%) Native American, 1,057 (4.6%) Asian, 9 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 7,630 (32.9%) from other races
, and 891 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18,014 persons (77.6%).
The Census reported that 23,054 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 50 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 115 (0.5%) were institutionalized.
There were 6,416 households, out of which 3,411 (53.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,553 (55.4%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 1,158 (18.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 560 (8.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 516 (8.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 27 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 939 households (14.6%) were made up of individuals and 481 (7.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.59. There were 5,271 families
(82.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.89.
The population was spread out with 7,442 people (32.1%) under the age of 18, 2,677 people (11.5%) aged 18 to 24, 6,321 people (27.2%) aged 25 to 44, 4,483 people (19.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,296 people (9.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.5 years. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males.
There were 6,813 housing units at an average density of 1,326.4 per square mile (512.1/km²), of which 3,825 (59.6%) were owner-occupied, and 2,591 (40.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%. 13,229 people (57.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 9,825 people (42.3%) lived in rental housing units.
of 2006, there were 23,194 people, 5,596 households, and 4,538 families residing in the city. The population density
was 4,475.7 people per square mile (1,729.8/km²). There were 5,815 housing units at an average density of 1,338.5 per square mile (517.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 43.90% White
, 0.75% Black
or African American
, 1.56% Native American
, 3.18% Asian
, 0.03% Pacific Islander
, 46.09% from other races
, and 4.48% from two or more races. 71.75% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 5,596 households out of which 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples
living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.45 and the average family size was 3.76.
In the city the population was spread out with 33.1% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.
The median income
for a household in the city was $34,713, and the median income for a family was $36,510. Males had a median income of $26,966 versus $22,672 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $12,834. About 17.4% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.0% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
, which began in the 1870s as a branch line of the Central Pacific Railroad
. The route of the Southern Pacific through California's Central Valley gave rise to a string of small towns between Sacramento
and Bakersfield
. Selma was among them.
In 1880, residents of the rural community that would become Selma established the Valley View School District. The first post office opened in 1880. A decade later, four farmers — J.D. Whitson, E.H. Tucker, George Otis and Monroe Snyder — formed a partnership and developed a townsite along the railroad. They began auctioning lots and just three years later the city of Selma was formally incorporated.
A persistent local legend is that Selma was named after Selma Gruenberg Lewis (ca. 1867-1944) by Governor Leland Stanford
, who was shown her picture by her father. As Lewis first told the story in 1925, Stanford, also a Director of the Central Pacific Railroad
, was so taken that he ordered that the next town on the line be named for her. Lewis often repeated the story with further romantic embellishments, and it came to be accepted as fact despite a lack of documentary evidence. Lewis is buried in Floral Memorial Park in Selma, and her marker repeats the story. Subsequent investigation indicates instead that the town was in fact named for Selma Michelsen (1853–1910), wife of a railroad employee who had submitted her name for inclusion on a list of candidate names prepared by his supervisor. George Otis selected the name from this list, in consultation with other local businessmen.
Along with Fowler
to its immediate north and Kingsburg
to its south, Selma was a railroad stop where agricultural goods could be loaded for shipping. As in the rest of the United States, the railroad played a lesser role as the 20th century progressed. What was once a handsome passenger terminal in the city's downtown became Selma's police station.
In the late 19th century, the town also boasted a water-driven mill for grinding wheat to flour. The mill was powered by the C&K Canal, a seasonal irrigation
channel that was known in Selma as the Mill Ditch.
growing was Selma's first economic engine. Wheat fields were quickly displaced by orchards and vineyards, however, as ranchers realized how well fruit--peach
es, plum
s, grape
s and more—grew in the sandy soil, irrigated with snow-melt water imported through canals from the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range. The fruit ripened to marvelous sweetness through the hot San Joaquin Valley
summers.
Although raisin
s (sweet grapes preserved by sun-drying) soon became the major crop, Selma called itself the “Home of the Peach” and was also known as "A Peach of a City." Through the 1960s, a major seasonal employer was the local peach cannery, where Libby's brand fruit was packed. Peaches and other tree fruit are still grown in abundance.
With 90 percent of U.S. raisins produced within eight miles of Selma, the city adopted the slogan "Raisin Capital of the World” in 1963. Area vineyards also produce table grapes. A decline in family farming, the national trend in U.S. agriculture after World War II, and depressed prices for raisins and table grapes, especially in the last decades of the twentieth century, were negative drains on the Selma-area agribusiness
economy.
development spread the growing city to the north and east, away from its business center. U.S. Highway 99 (demoted to State Route 99 in the 1960s), once a main road north and south through town, running parallel to the railroad, was rebuilt as a freeway in the 1960s. Several blocks to the west of the old road (now Whitson Street and Golden State Boulevard), the freeway bisects the oldest residential neighborhood in Selma. Freeway travel made the new shopping malls of Fresno
more accessible. The freeway also made Selma more attractive as a place to live for Fresno workers, who contributed to ever-faster residential growth into the 21st century.
The downtown suffered one of its biggest changes when Wal-Mart
corporation built one of its giant retail stores at the intersection of East Floral Avenue and the freeway—at the northwest edge of town. As the 21st century began, this area became the de facto commercial center of the city providing great economic benefits. The old downtown, despite vacant storefronts, remained a struggling but viable district of city offices and small businesses.
and by Fresno-based television and radio stations.
. (There are two, much-smaller alternative high schools.) Selma High School fields a range of sports teams nicknamed The Bears. School colors are orange and black. The year-book is entitled The Magnet.
, Abijah McCall
and William Deidrick
; the poets William Everson
(Brother Antoninus, 1912–94) and Larry Levis
(1946–96); William R. Shockley
(1918–1945, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II; author-historian Victor Davis Hanson
(1953- ); and Atlanta Braves
manager Bobby Cox
(1941- ). Clarence Berry
(1867–1930), who struck it rich in the Klondike Gold Rush
of 1897 and became known as an innovative mining engineer and businessman, had earlier been a fruit farmer in Selma. Also known as C.J. Berry, he left Selma for Canada's Yukon Territory after he was forced to declare bankruptcy.
Fresno County, California
Fresno County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield. As of the 2010 census, it is the tenth most populous county in California with a population of 930,450, and the sixth largest in size with an area of . The county...
. The population was 23,219 at the 2010 census, up from 19,240 at the 2000 census. Selma is located 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, at an elevation of 308 feet (94 m).
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13.2 km²), all of it land.
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Selma had a population of 23,219. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 4,520.6 people per square mile (1,745.4/km²). The racial makeup of Selma was 12,869 (55.4%) White, 284 (1.2%) African American, 479 (2.1%) Native American, 1,057 (4.6%) Asian, 9 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 7,630 (32.9%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 891 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18,014 persons (77.6%).
The Census reported that 23,054 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 50 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 115 (0.5%) were institutionalized.
There were 6,416 households, out of which 3,411 (53.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,553 (55.4%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 1,158 (18.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 560 (8.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 516 (8.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....
, and 27 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 939 households (14.6%) were made up of individuals and 481 (7.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.59. There were 5,271 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...
(82.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.89.
The population was spread out with 7,442 people (32.1%) under the age of 18, 2,677 people (11.5%) aged 18 to 24, 6,321 people (27.2%) aged 25 to 44, 4,483 people (19.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,296 people (9.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.5 years. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males.
There were 6,813 housing units at an average density of 1,326.4 per square mile (512.1/km²), of which 3,825 (59.6%) were owner-occupied, and 2,591 (40.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%. 13,229 people (57.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 9,825 people (42.3%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2006, there were 23,194 people, 5,596 households, and 4,538 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 4,475.7 people per square mile (1,729.8/km²). There were 5,815 housing units at an average density of 1,338.5 per square mile (517.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 43.90% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.75% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.56% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 3.18% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.03% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 46.09% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 4.48% from two or more races. 71.75% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 5,596 households out of which 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.45 and the average family size was 3.76.
In the city the population was spread out with 33.1% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.
The median income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
for a household in the city was $34,713, and the median income for a family was $36,510. Males had a median income of $26,966 versus $22,672 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $12,834. About 17.4% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.0% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
History and culture
Selma owes its beginnings to farming and to the Southern Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
, which began in the 1870s as a branch line of the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
. The route of the Southern Pacific through California's Central Valley gave rise to a string of small towns between Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
and Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
. Selma was among them.
In 1880, residents of the rural community that would become Selma established the Valley View School District. The first post office opened in 1880. A decade later, four farmers — J.D. Whitson, E.H. Tucker, George Otis and Monroe Snyder — formed a partnership and developed a townsite along the railroad. They began auctioning lots and just three years later the city of Selma was formally incorporated.
A persistent local legend is that Selma was named after Selma Gruenberg Lewis (ca. 1867-1944) by Governor Leland Stanford
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
, who was shown her picture by her father. As Lewis first told the story in 1925, Stanford, also a Director of the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
, was so taken that he ordered that the next town on the line be named for her. Lewis often repeated the story with further romantic embellishments, and it came to be accepted as fact despite a lack of documentary evidence. Lewis is buried in Floral Memorial Park in Selma, and her marker repeats the story. Subsequent investigation indicates instead that the town was in fact named for Selma Michelsen (1853–1910), wife of a railroad employee who had submitted her name for inclusion on a list of candidate names prepared by his supervisor. George Otis selected the name from this list, in consultation with other local businessmen.
Along with Fowler
Fowler, California
Fowler is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. It is located within the San Joaquin Valley. It has a strong agricultural community, with lush grape vineyards and expansive farmland. Fowler is located southeast of downtown Fresno, at an elevation of 308 feet...
to its immediate north and Kingsburg
Kingsburg, California
Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California. Kingsburg is located southeast of Selma at an elevation of 302 feet , on the banks of the Kings River. The city is half an hour away from Fresno, and two hours away from the California Central Coast and Sierra Nevada Mountain Range...
to its south, Selma was a railroad stop where agricultural goods could be loaded for shipping. As in the rest of the United States, the railroad played a lesser role as the 20th century progressed. What was once a handsome passenger terminal in the city's downtown became Selma's police station.
In the late 19th century, the town also boasted a water-driven mill for grinding wheat to flour. The mill was powered by the C&K Canal, a seasonal irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
channel that was known in Selma as the Mill Ditch.
Agribusiness
WheatWheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
growing was Selma's first economic engine. Wheat fields were quickly displaced by orchards and vineyards, however, as ranchers realized how well fruit--peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
es, plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s and more—grew in the sandy soil, irrigated with snow-melt water imported through canals from the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range. The fruit ripened to marvelous sweetness through the hot San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
summers.
Although raisin
Raisin
Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...
s (sweet grapes preserved by sun-drying) soon became the major crop, Selma called itself the “Home of the Peach” and was also known as "A Peach of a City." Through the 1960s, a major seasonal employer was the local peach cannery, where Libby's brand fruit was packed. Peaches and other tree fruit are still grown in abundance.
With 90 percent of U.S. raisins produced within eight miles of Selma, the city adopted the slogan "Raisin Capital of the World” in 1963. Area vineyards also produce table grapes. A decline in family farming, the national trend in U.S. agriculture after World War II, and depressed prices for raisins and table grapes, especially in the last decades of the twentieth century, were negative drains on the Selma-area agribusiness
Agribusiness
In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales....
economy.
Shifting business center
Like many other American cities, Selma suffered a decline in its old downtown in the late decades of the 20th century and into the 21st. Post-World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
development spread the growing city to the north and east, away from its business center. U.S. Highway 99 (demoted to State Route 99 in the 1960s), once a main road north and south through town, running parallel to the railroad, was rebuilt as a freeway in the 1960s. Several blocks to the west of the old road (now Whitson Street and Golden State Boulevard), the freeway bisects the oldest residential neighborhood in Selma. Freeway travel made the new shopping malls of Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
more accessible. The freeway also made Selma more attractive as a place to live for Fresno workers, who contributed to ever-faster residential growth into the 21st century.
The downtown suffered one of its biggest changes when Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
corporation built one of its giant retail stores at the intersection of East Floral Avenue and the freeway—at the northwest edge of town. As the 21st century began, this area became the de facto commercial center of the city providing great economic benefits. The old downtown, despite vacant storefronts, remained a struggling but viable district of city offices and small businesses.
Media
The weekly newspaper is The Selma Enterprise. Residents are served by the daily Fresno BeeThe Fresno Bee
The Fresno Bee is the daily newspaper serving Fresno, California and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's newspapers....
and by Fresno-based television and radio stations.
Public schools
The Selma Unified School District boasts eight neighborhood elelmentary schools. Students from all of these schools are channeled to Abraham Lincoln Middle School and by far the majority continue on to Selma High SchoolSelma High School (Selma, California)
Selma High School is a public high school located in the town of Selma, California. It is part of the Selma Unified School District.-Administration:*Mr.Sutton - Superintendent*Mark Babiarz - Principal...
. (There are two, much-smaller alternative high schools.) Selma High School fields a range of sports teams nicknamed The Bears. School colors are orange and black. The year-book is entitled The Magnet.
Notable residents
Well-known people who have lived in and around Selma include 19th-century inventors Frank DusyFrank Dusy
Frank Dusy was an early business leader of Selma, California and a co-inventor of the Fresno Scraper, the basis of most modern earth-moving machinery. On June, 16, 1885, Dusy and his partner Abijah McCall were issued U.S. Patent 320,055, for their improvement on the Buck Scraper, invented by James...
, Abijah McCall
Abijah McCall
Abijah McCall was a co-inventor of the Fresno Scraper, a horse-drawn earth-moving machine upon which modern road- and canal-building equipment is based. Along with his partner Frank Dusy, McCall devised an improvement on the Buck Scraper, invented by James Porteous. On June 15, 1885, McCall and...
and William Deidrick
William Deidrick
William Deidrick, of Selma, California was a co-inventor of the Fresno Scraper, the machine that became the basis of most modern earth-moving equipment. On April 17, 1883, Deidrick received U.S. Patent 275,893 for his horse-drawn scraper, which was a variation on the Buck Scraper, invented by James...
; the poets William Everson
William Everson
William Everson , also known as Brother Antoninus, was an American poet of the San Francisco Renaissance and was also a literary critic and small press printer.-Beginnings:Everson was born in Sacramento, California...
(Brother Antoninus, 1912–94) and Larry Levis
Larry Levis
Larry Patrick Levis was an American poet.-Youth and Education:Larry Levis was born the son of a grape grower; he grew up driving a tractor, picking grapes, and pruning vines of Selma, California, a small fruit-growing town in the San Joaquin Valley...
(1946–96); William R. Shockley
William R. Shockley
William Ralph Shockley was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.-Biography:...
(1918–1945, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II; author-historian Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and other media outlets...
(1953- ); and Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
manager Bobby Cox
Bobby Cox
Robert Joseph "Bobby" Cox is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. He first led the Atlanta Braves from 1978 to 1981, and then managed the Toronto Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985. He later rejoined the Braves in 1985 as a general manager...
(1941- ). Clarence Berry
Clarence Berry
Clarence Jesse Berry , known as C.J., was a businessman and successful gold miner in the Klondike Gold Rush. He and his wife, Ethel Bush Berry, made a further fortune in Ester, Alaska in 1902, and founded several oil companies over the years, which eventually became Berry Petroleum Company.In...
(1867–1930), who struck it rich in the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
of 1897 and became known as an innovative mining engineer and businessman, had earlier been a fruit farmer in Selma. Also known as C.J. Berry, he left Selma for Canada's Yukon Territory after he was forced to declare bankruptcy.