Each December local historian and author Terry Ommen shares stories of our history with the audience at “Tulare County Voices at 210.” This month Ommen will be joined by Visalia Heritage President Walter Deissler, who is leading the effort to establish a history museum at The Depot, the former restaurant created from a Southern Pacific train station in downtown Visalia.
“Terry Ommen Presents: Storing Our Stories,” an interactive program presented by “Tulare County Voices at 210” will be Tuesday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m. at 210 W. Center Ave.
Tulare County Voices at 210 is a monthly forum that explores topics of local interest and is co-sponsored by the Visalia Times-Delta, the Valley Voice, and First Presbyterian Church.
Ommen will start the forum with a discussion about The Depot and the contributions of the railroad to the history of Visalia and the San Joaquin Valley. Deissler will then talk about the drive to convert The Depot to a museum, a campaign called “All Aboard Visalia.”
The railroad, The Depot, and a museum of Visalia’s history is an ideal fit in many ways. Ommen points out that railroads were important for growth and development of communities in the 19th century.
“Communities wanted them in their town because of all the good they could do,” Ommen said.
Railroads accelerated commerce, facilitated political discourse and made small towns feel more “cosmopolitan.”Railroads made it easier to visit family in faraway places and easier for them to visit you,” Ommen said.
It is fitting that an institution that had so much to do with Visalia’s development should be involved with Visalia’s first history museum.
“It is a historic building on the ‘Arts block corridor,’ and it seems to be a natural,” Ommen said. “Visalia does not have a museum and we are the oldest existing town between Los Angeles and nearly to Stockton. The Tulare County seat needs to have a centralized point for visitors and residents alike.”
Those were important considerations for the various groups that have tried to establish a history museum for Visalia.
Among those groups was Visalia Heritage, founded in 1978 to “advocate, support and encourage the preservation of historic structures and resources.” Visalia Heritage sought a place that could be dedicated solely to Visalia’s history. The group has already completed many projects, including most recently a mini-museum at The Lofts at Fort Visalia depicting the first 100 years of Visalia’s history.
Now “All Aboard Visalia” has embarked on the project of a full-fledged museum at The Depot. Deissler notes that the museum would be at the city’s historic center.
“We imagine a space that not only honors Visalia’s roots, but also brings to life the diverse experiences of the people who have shaped our city,” Deissler said. “A place where our unique local narratives can be explored, expanded and celebrated.”
“Storing Visalia’s Stories” is intended to contribute to the process of collecting Visalia’s history. So join us and become part of the community conversation.
The forum is free and open to the public. It will be live streamed and available on the First Presbyterian Church YouTube channel.