Clovis M., Stephen, & Jacob Cole - Clovis, California
The Clovis Independent-September 26, 2003-Special Advertising Section
Clovis Fest
Deal between wheat farmer and railroad promoter starts Clovis
Independent File Report
..In 1873, 17-year-old Clovis M. Cole came to California from Indiana with his family to begin a new life. His father, Stephen Cole, and uncle, Jacob Cole, bought and homesteaded hundreds of acres of land in the Red Bank district of Fresno County, near what is today Herndon and McCall avenues.
..Clovis Cole donated some land for a train depot, and in return, railroad officials named the township that began to grow around the depot after him. The townsite of Clovis was born.
..The city of Clovis was incorporated Feb. 27, 1912.
..Today, Clovis Cole is remembered not only by the city's name and one of its main avenues, but also as the namesake of Cole Elementary School. Clovis Cole was part of the first board of trustees of the Clovis School district in 1891.
(I am not a Cole descendent, but have lived in Clovis and the nearby area of Fresno County for over 30 years, and thought I'd share excerpts from the Clovis Cole story.)