Clovis Big Dry Creek Museum

Clovis Big Dry Creek Museum Operated by the Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society. Open with Free Admission Tues-Sat 10am-2pm. Step into the stories of our city with us!

Our museum still houses the original bank vault from our building’s original construction back in 1912 as First State Ba...
07/05/2025

Our museum still houses the original bank vault from our building’s original construction back in 1912 as First State Bank! That’s right, we used to be a bank!

In 1924, the bank and the vault was robbed for roughly $31,800, which resulted in the bank closing the following year. The criminals, Thomas Griffin and Felix Sloper, were caught a couple of years later for different crimes.

Come immerse yourselves in local history at the Clovis History Museum!

Information provided by the Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society.

One of the main attractions in our charming museum…Behold, the Great Flume!In 1891, a lumberman named C.B. Shaver made h...
06/28/2025

One of the main attractions in our charming museum…Behold, the Great Flume!

In 1891, a lumberman named C.B. Shaver made his way to the Central Valley and established the Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company, located in the present-day spots of Clark Intermediate School and the Clovis Rodeo Grounds. By 1892, construction on the 42-mile long flume began and was completed by 1894. It cost $200,000 and required 9 million feet of board to construct.

Around the same time, the company built a small dam across Stevenson Creek, and the original lake that successfully formed became known as Shaver Lake. From Shaver Lake to Clovis, the flume was used to transport lumber and water down from the mountains. 12 Flume Houses were built along the flume with stationed workers to help with maintenance and unclogging jams. The lumber industry became a major aspect of Clovis commerce. However, the Shaver’s company would close its doors in 1914 after heavy snow storms damaged the flume to such an extent it would have been too costly to fix. Today, we house a piece of that very flume! Donated by Nick Ubick, it is a prized possession in our museum!

Information provided by the Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society.

A pioneer woman of the past, Lucy May Case!Born in Comanche County, Texas in 1873, at age 16 Lucy May Morris married Okl...
05/31/2025

A pioneer woman of the past, Lucy May Case!

Born in Comanche County, Texas in 1873, at age 16 Lucy May Morris married Oklahoma newspaper editor, Spurgeon Case. She began working alongside her husband as a reporter and helped with printing.

During her time in Oklahoma, May Case cultivated relationships with the local Native Americans, even interviewing Apache-leader Goyahkla, better known by his Spanish nickname, Geronimo. The famed warrior presented her with an arrowhead and headband, which are on display in the museum today. She also witnessed and reported on major national events, such as the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush.

In 1890, May and her husband moved to California and began starting newspapers across the state. In 1919, they founded the Clovis Independent and continued to own it into the 1930s. Spurgeon passed away in 1949, but May continued to write for the Clovis Independent until 1967, passing shortly after at the age of 93.

At the time of her retirement, May was considered the oldest and longest tenured reporter in the country. She stands today as a pioneer for women in the news industry, and was inducted posthumously into the Clovis Hall of Fame in 1991.

Information provided by the Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society.

Clovis M. Cole was a successful wheat farmer near the area of what is now Old Town Clovis, and controlled 50,000 acres f...
05/24/2025

Clovis M. Cole was a successful wheat farmer near the area of what is now Old Town Clovis, and controlled 50,000 acres from Centerville to Madera County in the 1880s. He married Elizabeth Cole in 1882, and they had two children together, Glen and Ida. Clovis and his Uncle Jacob Cole brought the first combined header and thresher to Fresno County, which enabled easier cultivation of wheat. Clovis Cole was dubbed the “Wheat King of the United States” by reporters.

In 1890, a railroad developer named Marcus Pollasky came to Fresno with the intention of building a new 100-mile railroad from Fresno to the Sierra Nevada timber belt on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley. With the backing of local investors, such as Thomas Hughes, Pollasky began buying property along the route of the future railroad. In 1891, Clovis Cole sold some of his land to be used for the railroad. Pollasky intended to build a depot on the land once owned by Cole. As to avoid confusion with “coal,” Pollasky decided to go with Cole’s first name, Clovis, as the name for the depot. The town that began to sprout up around the depot, took the same name, and that is the story of how Clovis got its name!

Information provided by Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society.

05/10/2025

Welcome to the page for the Clovis Big Dry Creek History Museum! Visit us on our little corner of history at Fourth and Pollasky! We’re open from 10am-2pm Tuesday-Saturday! We hope to see you there!

Address

401 Pollasky Avenue
Clovis, CA
93612

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 2pm
Wednesday 10am - 2pm
Thursday 10am - 2pm
Friday 10am - 2pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm

Telephone

+15592978033

Website

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