Ceres

Fertile soil drew Ceres founder Daniel Whitmore to the flat land south of the Tuolumne River in California's San Joaquin Valley in 1867. Named for the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres was laid out in 1875 among the stalks of grain. A devout Baptist, Whitmore offered free lots to anyone who wanted to make Ceres their home with a pledge never to use alcohol. As irrigation water and railroad tracks were later introduced, the town flourished as an agricultural community where peaches, almond...