Modesto California History

From its earliest days, Modesto, Spanish for modesty, has been a community that quickly brought businesses, dwellings, furniture and people to the one-mile square railroad town.

Modesto became the end of the railroad line November 8, 1870, and it took another two years to construct the tracks as far as Merced. When newcomers got off the train, they saw a community of approximately 25 buildings, either hastily built or moved from other locations when the Central Pacific Railroad announced its selection of the Modesto site.