About Porterville, California
Originally settled by prospectors during the great gold rush days, Porterville was actually named after Royal Porter Putnam who came to the area from Pennsylvania 1858 to manage the Tule River Station, which was eventually called Porter Station. With the region’s growing farm and ranch community, Royal opened a hotel and merchandise store helping to create the community which is now called Porterville.

Today, Porterville still has a friendly small town atmosphere and is home to over 44,000 residents. It has developed into a major trading center that is boosted by exceptional agriculture, farming and livestock industries.

Conveniently located at the intersection of State Highways 65 and 190, Porterville is almost midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Situated in the western slopes of the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills at an elevation of 455 feet, the area’s average annual temperature of 78 degrees allows visitors and residents to fully enjoy the host of outdoor activities available in the nearby Sequoia National Park, the Sequoia National Forest and the Giant Sequoia National Monument.

Porterville has a quaint historic downtown district featuring antique stores, boutique and specialty shopping, restaurants, galleries and more. Porterville is home to California’s longest running community theatre which features a full calendar of live performances. The community is also host to annual events such as the spring Iris Festival, the Downtown Car Show, and the Country Fair.

Climate & Weather

Nearby Cities & Towns
Dinuba, CA; Exeter, CA; Lindsay, CA; Reedley, CA; Springville, CA;
Squaw Valley, CA; Three Rivers, CA; Tulare, CA; Visalia, CA

Articles about Porterville

Sequoia Valley - The Perfect Summer Getaway: From parks, preserves and forests, to art and culture, fine dining and shopping, annual festivals and more - Tulare County in Central California is not only home to biggest trees and California’s agricultural center, the region is also a perfect summer getaway for family vacations, nature and outdoor adventures, romantic escapes, and more. Read more.  

Outlaws Connected to Tulare County in Central California - Tulare County has had its share of the old wild west’s outlaw activity with characters like Grat Dalton and the Dalton Gang, Christopher Evans and John Sontag; the notorious Black Bart; bandito Tiburcio Vasquez; ex-convict and murderer Jim McKinney; and murderer James McCrory. We recently interviewed Terry Ommen, Tulare County history buff about these crazed outlaws. Read more