Tulare

Formed March 1, 1852 (30^th county)

Tulare County (473,117), Visalia (141,574)                

A Modern style building houses the county courthouse.  The facility was built in 1957 using the designs of David H. Horn, Marshall D. Mortland, and Richard P. Clark.  There were also courthouses built in 1876 and 1938 in Visalia, the only county seat.  An Administrative building was added in 1979.  Tulare County was formed on March 1, 1852 from Mariposa County as the 30^th county.  The name of the county comes from the tule plant.  The county seat’s namesake is early settler, Nathan Vise.  It sits on Mooney Boulevard between Main and Burrel streets.  California State Highway 198 is two blocks south of the site. 

Tulare County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, controller, and treasurer (executive).  It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.)  Nineteen Superior Court Judges, clerk, and counsel serve Tulare County (judicial.)  The county is southeast of Fresno, California and north of Bakersfield, California.  Mount Whitney, the highest point in the state, is on the county border with Inyo County.  The county center is 14.7 miles Southeast of Visalia nearer Lindsay.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Fresno, Inyo, Kern, and Kings counties.  The county is a big square shape.  Visalia is in the western third of the county.  Visalia is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 29.9% of the county population.  The county is pronounced TOO-LAER-EE.  The county seat is pronounced VIE-SAEL-YA.  

The area of the county is 4824 square miles.  It is 7 out of 58 in the state.  It ranks 18 out of 58 in population in the state.  It has a density of 98.1 persons per square mile making it 33 out of 58 in the state.  Tulare County has 71.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county.  This county is in the Visalia-Porterville Metropolitan Statistical Area.