Markers & Sculptures in Historic Courthouse Park

 

In 1872, when the Central Pacific Railroad laid out the town site of Fresno Station, the railroad owners offered the citizens a four-block parcel at the corner of O and Fresno streets as a site for a park and a future courthouse. The people of the town felt it was too far away from the business district on H Street. No one wanted to walk such a great distance through wild lupine and tumbleweeds. They asked the railroad owners if, instead, they could have four blocks closer to H Street. They were given four blocks at Mariposa and L streets. In 1874, the county seat moved to Fresno and construction of a courthouse in the park’s center began.

 

For all these intervening years, Courthouse Park has been the center of county government, but it also has been a place where couples courted, where friends met, where band concerts were held, and where public meetings took place. It was here that the funeral for Dr. Rowell was held. It was here that the community gathered for a service of Thanksgiving at 2 a.m. on November 11, 1918, when World War I ended. 

 

Courthouse Park carries its generic name because it is the park for all the people.

Within its shaded walks are memorials for individuals and for events that shaped Fresno County.