Hanford-Corcoran metropolitan area
| Kings County, California | |||
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| County | |||
| County of Kings | |||
Kings County
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 Location in the state of California |
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 California's location in the United States |
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| Country |  United States of America |
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| State |
 California
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| Region | San Joaquin Valley | ||
| Metropolitan area | Hanford-Corcoran | ||
| Established | March 22, 1893 | ||
| County seat | Hanford | ||
| Largest city | Hanford | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 1,392 sq mi (3,610 km2) | ||
| • Land | 1,389 sq mi (3,600 km2) | ||
| • Water | 2.1 sq mi (5 km2) | ||
| Population (April 1, 2010) | |||
| • Total | 152,982 | ||
| • Estimate (2015) | 150,965 | ||
| • Density | 110/sq mi (42/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7) | ||
| Area code | 559 | ||
| FIPS code | 06-031 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 277280 | ||
| Website | countyofkings.com | ||
Kings County is a county in the U.S. state of California. The population was 152,982 at the 2010 census. The California Department of Finance estimated the county's population was 149,407 as of July 1, 2016. The county seat is Hanford.
Kings County comprises the Hanford-Corcoran, CA metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, CA combined statistical area. It is in the San Joaquin Valley, a rich agricultural region.
The area was inhabited for thousands of years by American Indians including the Tachi Yokuts tribe. It was colonized by Spain, Mexico and the United States.
An 1805 expedition probably led by Spanish Army Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga recorded discovering the river, which they named El Rio de los Santos Reyes (River of the Holy Kings) after the Three Wise Men of the Bible. At the time of the United States conquest of California in 1848, the new government changed the name to Kings River after which the county was named.
In 1880, a dispute over land titles between settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad resulted in a bloody gun battle on a farm 5.6 mi (9.0 km) northwest of Hanford; seven men died. This event became known as the Mussel Slough Tragedy.
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