Map of Pixley CDP

Pixley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 3,310 at the 2010 census, up from 2,586 at the 2000 census.

Pixley CDP overview:
Name:	Pixley CDP
LSAD Code:	57
LSAD Description:	CDP (suffix)
State:	California
County:	Tulare County
Elevation:	272 ft (83 m)
Total Area:	3.114 sq mi (8.066 km²)
Land Area:	3.114 sq mi (8.066 km²)
Water Area:	0 sq mi (0 km²) 0%
Total Population:	3,310
Population Density:	1,100/sq mi (410/km²)
ZIP code:	93256
Area code:	559
FIPS code:	0657512
GNISfeature ID:	1652777

Online Interactive Map

Click on to view map in "full screen" mode.

Pixley online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Pixley location map. Where is Pixley CDP?

Pixley location on the U.S. Map. Where is Pixley CDP. — Pixley location on the U.S. Map.

Pixley location on the California map. Where is Pixley CDP. — Location of Pixley in California.

History

The town began as a real-estate-speculation in 1884. The investors Darwin C. Allen, and William B. Bradbury knew their project would succeed only if the town was connected to the mainline of the Southern Pacific. They contacted Frank Pixley; a man whom they knew was a friend of Leland Stanford. In 1886, Pixley joined with the original investors as a partner in the Pixley Townsite Company. The company purchased additional land in the vicinity. When The Southern Pacific extended its tracks to the Townsite, the town prospered. The terms of sale for the land was 25% down, the rest to be carried back for three years by the owners at 8 percent interest. The partners made a handsome profit. Special railroad fares were offered to people in other areas of California and as far away as Boston in order to bring potential customers to see the new lands and the investment possibilities near Pixley. The first house built in Pixley was for Emma, William Pixley’s widow, the late brother of Frank Pixley. Her three sons and daughter lived in the home. Emma bought a quarter section of an adjoining piece of land where she farmed until they moved back to San Francisco. Frank Pixley advertised the town named after him in his biweekly journal The Argonaut.

In the early 1890s, Chris Evans and John Sontag robbed a Southern Pacific Railroad train at Pixley.

In 1933, Pixley was one of the towns in California involved in the San Joaquin cotton strike, a labor action by agricultural workers seeking higher wages. A violent clash between strikers and growers left two workers dead and eight wounded. Five thousand workers gathered in Tulare for the dead strikers’ funerals, one of the largest agricultural demonstrations in California’s history. Eight cotton growers were indicted in the violence against the workers, but were later acquitted. The strike features in Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, coinciding with the arrival of the Joad family from Oklahoma.