J.C. Forkner Fig Gardens facts for kids

The J.C. Forkner Fig Gardens was a special kind of neighborhood built a long time ago, between 1883 and 1981. It was in Fresno, California, in the United States. This project let people own a home and also have a small farm where they could grow figs. It was a unique idea for its time!

History

In 1912, a man named Jesse Clayton "J.C." Forkner had a big idea. He was a real estate developer from Kansas. He imagined a place in California's San Joaquin Valley where people could own homes. Each home would have enough land for a small, profitable fruit orchard.

Forkner bought a huge amount of land, about 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) (2,400 hectares). This land was in what is now northwest Fresno. It was located between the city center and the San Joaquin River.

Planning the Fig Gardens

J.C. Forkner talked to many experts about growing figs. He consulted Professor Edward J. Wickson from the University of California, Berkeley. He also spoke with Henry Markarian, a local fig grower. Later, Forkner hired another UC professor, Ira J. Condit, to be the project's plant expert.

Forkner bought even more land, expanding his project to 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) (4,900 hectares). He then started getting the land ready for his "Fig Gardens." This was a very ambitious project! It included building a streetcar line and over 120 miles (190 km) (190 km) of streets.

Building the Irrigation System

The project also needed a huge irrigation system. This system had a main canal that was 25 miles (40 km) (40 km) long. There were also about 135 miles (217 km) (217 km) of smaller ditches. To get all this work done quickly, Forkner used many tools. He had horse-drawn Fresno scrapers and over 100 Ford tractors. At one point, he owned more Ford tractors than anyone else in the world!

Planting the Fig Trees

Planting the fig trees was a big job. The land had a hard layer of soil called hardpan near the surface. Workers had to blast holes with dynamite to break through this layer. This allowed the tree roots to reach the good soil underneath.

Forkner eventually planted about 600,000 fig trees. Most of these trees (9 out of 10) grew edible figs. The rest were ornamental figs, grown for their beauty. The young fig trees came from a nearby nursery. Landowners could choose from different types of figs. Most of the trees planted were Calimyrna figs, but many Kadota figs were also grown.

Life in the Fig Gardens

By 1920, about 500 families lived in the J.C. Forkner Fig Gardens. Each family had their own fig farm, which was about 16 acres (6.5 ha) (6.5 hectares) on average. Even with this early success, the Fig Gardens project faced problems. J.C. Forkner went bankrupt during the Great Depression, and the project collapsed.

What Remains Today

The name "J.C. Forkner Fig Gardens" was used in early advertisements. In 1919, Forkner even published a cookbook called The J.C. Forkner Fig Gardens Recipes: How to Serve Figs in the Home.

That same year, Forkner and a local businessman named Wylie M. Giffen divided the land closest to Fresno into smaller plots. These plots were about one acre or half an acre. This section was renamed Old Fig Garden. It still exists today as a community completely surrounded by the city of Fresno. Other parts of the original project have become part of Fresno, including the community of Figarden.