MODESTO

city, seat (1871) of Stanislaus county, central California, U.S., on the Tuolumne River in the northern San Joaquin Valley, 94 miles (151 km) 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 developed as a shipping centre for agricultural produce (especially peaches). Food processing is supplemented by light manufacturing. Modesto Junior College was founded in 1921. To the east are the Don Pedro and La Grange dams, the Turlock and Modesto irrigation reservoirs, historical and recreational areas, and the Stanislaus National Forest. Inc. 1884. Pop. (1990) city, 164,730; Modesto MSA, 370,522.