John Franklin Firebaugh- Exeter’s First Citizen
By Dwight Miller
John Firebaugh is rightly remembered as the founding figure of the city of Exeter, California. In 1888, he sold 240 acres of land to the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) and collaborated with their agent, D.W. Parkhurst, to lay out what would become the heart of the town: seventy-four full and partial blocks bounded by Kaweah Avenue to the east, Orange Street to the west, Willow Street to the north, and Firebaugh Avenue to the south. Together, Firebaugh and Parkhurst also planned and added the “West Villa” section—four blocks west of the original town design—where the streets were oriented north to south, in contrast to the prevailing layout aligned with the railroad tracks.
Though John Firebaugh’s contributions were monumental, the honor of a street bearing his name was the extent of his formal recognition, overshadowed by his vibrant uncle, Andrew Firebaugh, who had already secured his place in California’s early history by founding a ferry business in what would become the town of Firebaugh in Fresno County, thirty years earlier. Norton Lott, an SPRR engineer based in San Francisco, was the man who named Firebaugh Avenue in John’s honor. Lott also designated the town’s lettered avenues and chose tree names for the others, perhaps suggesting to future citizens the various plants that might grace the new town’s streets.
But how did John Firebaugh and his family come to settle on the open fields east of Farmersville in the late 1880s?
Both Reggie Ellis, current publisher of the Sun-Gazette, and Joe Doctor, former editor of the Exeter Sun and a cherished local historian, have written about Exeter’s early days. Each drew from a 1905 biographical account of John Firebaugh’s life—a document I will include as an attachment to this article when it is published on https://cach-exeter.org.
John Firebaugh (1846–1908) was born in Virginia, the second of seven children born to Benjamin Franklin Firebaugh (1818–1880) and Emma Horn (1821–1879). The Firebaugh lineage traces back to Germany, with the first family members—originally bearing the name Feuerbach, meaning “Fire Root”—immigrating to Pennsylvania in 1744. These early ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, and by the time of John’s birth, the family had become well-established Virginians.
Though they were neither slaveholders nor sympathizers of slavery, John had little choice but to enlist at the age of fifteen when the Civil War erupted. He served under Major George Chrisman and saw battle in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, though much of his time was spent stationed in the Confederate capital of Richmond. One of his brothers lost his life during the conflict. After the war, John returned home but eventually joined his parents in following his adventurous uncle Andrew westward to California.
Their journey was nothing short of epic—they braved the perilous voyage around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, arriving in San Francisco in 1868. John initially farmed in the Watsonville area but by 1869 had joined his father on newly acquired land just east of what would one day become Farmersville, along today’s Marinette Avenue.
In 1873, twenty-six-year-old John married nineteen-year-old Mary Elizabeth Davis, daughter of California pioneer Edwin Davis, who had left Missouri in pursuit of gold two decades earlier. Together, John and Mary began their life on the vast, treeless fields that would later become Exeter—raising wheat, livestock, and eventually, a family. They built a modest country home near what is now the intersection of Palm and C Streets. Over the years, they were blessed with six children: Minnie (who married Mac Twiehaus), Luther (Lizzie Drew), Edna (George Hinds), Elmer (Ruth Edwards), Clarence (Lillian Buckman), and Lorena (John Matthews).
Firebaugh home
John’s success as a farmer allowed him to expand his holdings to over 500 acres. During the 1870s and 1880s, the San Joaquin Valley saw a boom in grain production, particularly wheat. When Parkhurst arrived in 1887 with plans to establish a townsite on 240 acres of his land, John used the resulting capital to build a stately home on the north edge of the town, close to the railroad. The home, located where North F Street now curves into Filbert Avenue— was then known as “Old Post Office Road.”
This is the house appearing on the Pine Street mural, painted by premier muralist Colleen Mitchell-Veyna in 2013.
John and Mary Firebaugh are depicted arriving in a wagon with their children gathered before the home and barns.
John Firebaugh passed away in October 1909 at a hospital in Fresno, the result of a burst appendix. His funeral, held at his home days later, was said to be one of the most well-attended events in Exeter’s early history, drawing many from the town’s then 800 residents.
Following his death, John’s son Luther moved into the family home, where he raised his own children. Sometime after 1930, the house was relocated to Belmont Avenue on the southern edge of town, though it was eventually destroyed by fire.
Today, John Firebaugh and his legacy endure through the mural on Pine Street, unveiled in 2013 and pictured below. That fall, many of his descendants gathered in Exeter to witness and celebrate the dedication of a piece of public art that honors the roots from which their city grew. I’m grateful to Mickey Hirni, of the Exeter Mural Committee, who compiled extensive research on the Firebaugh family in preparation for the mural.
The following is a partial copy of an article by Professor J.M Guinn, A.M. published in a Biographical Record of the San Joaquin Valley in 1905.
John F. Firebaugh, once the owner of all the land upon which the town of Exeter is built. John F. Firebaugh is rightly designated as the founder of the place and a citizen whose efforts have been cost productive of material good, growth and prosperity. Of Southern ancestry he was born near Lexington, Rockbridge Co., Virginia, December 12, 1846, a son of Benjamin Firebaugh, a native of the same locality. The grandfather, John Firebaugh, a native son of Pennsylvania, where the family had been founded by German Ancestors and became a farmer and stockman in Virginia.
Benjamin Firebaugh also followed the same occupation in his native state until his emigration to California, when he became a farmer in Tulare County making it his home until his death. He was a Presbyterian in his religious faith and a man of strong and earnest character. His wife was in maidenhood Rebecca Horn, a native of Rockbridge County and a daughter of Jacob Horn, a farmer, who was also born in the Old Dominion, the descendent of German Ancestry. Mrs. Firebaugh died on the old home place, two miles from Exeter.
She was the mother of seven children, four of whom attained maturity, namely: James who died during the Civil War, John Franklin, of this review, Newt B, of Exeter and Cornelia (Neiley) who became the wife of Henry H. Harlow of Fresno (Clovis).
Although a Virginian, the elder Firebaugh owned no slaves, nor did he believe in the traffic, but under the weight of Southern influence and prejudice the sons were forced into the Army. After the war, John F. Firebaugh came to California with the family, following an uncle, Andrew Firebaugh, who crossed the plains in 1849 and established the town of Firebaugh, Fresno County, and also established and conducted the ferry at that place and built the road over the Pacheco Pass. He became and remained a prominent citizen throughout his residence in Fresno County, his death occurring near Fresno.
John F. Firebaugh went from San Francisco in February 1868 to San Jose, and afterward engaged in farming near Watsonville. In the fall of 1869, he came to Tulare County, remaining at home as his father had just bought a farm of 80 acres and he was needed to help in its cultivation. In 1873 he married and located first on the railroad lands on the northeast quarter of section three township 19 range 26, but as the lands were not in the market, he removed in 1875 to the northeast quarter of section 10, township 19, range 26, where he pre-empted 160 acres, paying out on 80 acres and homesteading the remainder. He put up a small house which formed the home of the family for some time, and broke the land and sowed it to grain.
Later on he bought railroad land, the southeast quarter of section and afterward the southeast quarter of the same section. In addition to his homes, he took another 80 acres in the NW quarter of section 10, making 560 acres in one body.
This extensive property he devoted to general farming and stock raising until the founding of the town of Exeter. Through his inducements the Southern Pacific Railroad Co. located a station here, and in connection with D.W. Parkhurst, Mr. Firebaugh began laying out the town of Exeter. The town is laid out in sections 3 and 10, a portion of 240 acres half of which was given to the Pacific Improvement Co. which built the railroad. The West Villa addition consisting of 40 acres was laid out by Mr. Firebaugh and Mr. Parkhust in 1890.
About 10 years ago the town began a rapid growth, which has not ceased with the passing of the years, but continues to the present day, the population now being over 800. Mr. Firebaugh still owns 160 acres of the original property, and a one-half interest in the 120 acres adjoining the city and in town lots.
He also owns 100 acres located three miles east of Exeter, on section 14, which is devoted to general farming. He also has a pumping plant, the well-being 113 feet deep, the electric motor, 15 horsepower brining up 58 inches of water continuously. This will irrigate 250 acres of orchard and is designed to reach every piece of land owned by Mr. Firebaugh.
He has also planned to put in 100 acres of Rocky Ford cantaloupes, having already contracted with a firm in New York to dispose of the product.
Another of Mr. Firebaugh’s extensive interests was the building of a mill on the site of the old Dillon Mill, (just south of Kaweah Oaks Preserve) three and a half miles west of Exeter, the roller process being introduced made many improvements adding to the value of the enterprise. It was known as the San Joaquin Roller Mill and was first owned by Mr. Firebaugh and H.J. Ottson, the former eventually purchasing the entire interest and conducting it successfully for a period of 10 years, when he sold out.
His business interests, horticulture, farming, and stock raising, as well as the executive ability exercised in the establishment and upbuilding of Exeter, have made him a potent factor in the development and growth of this part of Tulare County, and justly places him in the front rank of representative citizens.
In Tulare County, in the vicinity of Exeter, Mr. Firebaugh was united in marriage with Mary E. Davis, who was born in Stanislaus Co., California. Her father, Edwin Davis, came across the plains in 1852 to California, engaging first as a miner, but eventually locating as a stockman in Tulare County until his retirement, now making his home in Exeter in his 71st year. His marriage was romantic, occurring on the plain on the trip to California and uniting him with Sarah Ann Spier, a native of Virginia, who died in 1901.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Firebaugh; Minnie B., the wife of M.D. Twiehaus of Exeter; Luther W., a rancher near Exeter; Edna E. the wife of George Hinds of Exeter; Elmer J., located in Bakersfield in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad; Clarence E. And sister Lorena D. still hat home. Mrs. Firebaugh is a member of the Baptist Church and supports all its interests generously. Politically, Mr. Firebaugh is a staunch Democrat. For many years he has acted as a member of the school board being one of the first school directors in this district.