History

For more than 100 years, The Tulare Chamber of Commerce and its predecessor, the Tulare Board of Trade, have played a vital role in the community’s ability to survive adversity and develop into the dynamic city that we know today.

The Board of Trade was first organized in 1891 to help soften the economic blow wreaked on the town when Southern Pacific Railroad moved its headquarters from Tulare to Bakersfield. Facing the loss of many jobs, civic leaders organized through the Board of Trade in order to find ways to mitigate the economic impact of the loss of the railroad.

Leaders of the Board of Trade once again helped save the town from disaster a few years later when the Tulare Irrigation District defaulted on bond payments. Water bonds were sold in 1889 to raise money for construction of an irrigation system that would bring water to the area, thereby making it possible to farm the land. When a nation-wide depression hit a few years later, the Tulare Irrigation District defaulted on the bond payments, and it looked once again like the town might not survive.

The Board of Trade appointed a committee to track down bond-holders from around the world and negotiate a settlement. Once the settlement was reached, Board of Trade leaders were able to persuade residents to pay a one-time tax of $0.36 per $1.00 of land value to pay off the debt, and a celebratory bond burning ceremony was held.

The Board was also instrumental in the development of Tulare as the dairy capital of the nation, forming a creamery committee in 1901 which led to the first creamery located in the area.

The Board of Trade was also the key player in the birth of the county fair. In 1919, the Tulare Livestock Association asked the Board of Trade to sponsor a livestock and agricultural event. The Board eventually purchased 46 acres of land and continued to run the fair until 1937, when it entered into a lease agreement with the state. In the meantime, the Board of Trade legally became the Tulare Chamber of Commerce in 1926.

In 1962, the Chamber sold the fairgrounds to the State for $200,000 and formed The Greater Tulare Foundation to oversee the proceeds, which were earmarked for industrial and economic development purposes. Over the years, the Foundation has helped to develop Tulare Industrial Park and has loaned and granted hundreds of thousands of dollars to projects that benefit the community.

It was also under the auspices of the Chamber that the California Row and Field Crop Show, the forerunner to today’s World Ag Expo, was formed in 1968. Millions of dollars continue to be pumped into the community’s economy year after year as a result of this show.

Today, the Tulare Chamber of Commerce has more than 600 members and a budget of approximately $430,000 including a longstanding contract with the City of Tulare to provide economic development and marketing services. They have an 18-member board of directors that sets policy and a professional staff of six full-time and three part- time employees. In addition to recruiting new businesses and jobs to the area, the Chamber also focuses on helping existing businesses to thrive.