Gridley, California

Gridley is a city in Butte County, California, United States. The estimated 2017 population was 6,704. California State Route 99 runs through Gridley and Interstate 5 and California State Route 70 are both nearby.HistoryThe City of Gridley was named after its founder and earliest landowner, George W. Gridley, a prosperous sheep rancher. Mr. Gridley's home ranch consisted of some 960acre located West of Gridley. He married Helen Orcutt in 1846 in Illinois, and she joined him in California in 1855. The Gridleys had ten children. Mr. Gridley died at the home ranch on 9 March 1881, Mrs. Gridley twenty years later, 1 August 1901. Descendants of the Gridley family remain in the area.With the decline of mining in California, agriculture became a more stable and attractive business in the 1860s. The Central Pacific Railroad laid tracks from Oregon to Chico in 1865. The railroad completed its path to Gridley in 1870, contributing significantly to the formation of the new community. The principal products from the Gridley area were wool and sheep. Orchards, field crops, and cattle would soon follow. In 1896, the Libby, McNeil & Libby Cannery was established and became one of the largest peach canning operations in the world. The first home and store in Gridley were built by L.C. Stone in 1874. Stone served as postmaster, the train depot and express agent, as well as a merchant. Wells Fargo & Co. opened its office in 1871 and soon other businesses followed suit.