City (pop., 2000: 188,856), central California, U.S., east of San Francisco .
Founded in 1870 by the Central Pacific Railway, it was called Modesto (Spanish: "modest") when W.C. Ralston, a railway director, modestly declined to have the community named in his honour. It was incorporated as a city in 1884. It is a shipping centre for the surrounding agricultural region that includes fruit, nut orchards, and wineries.