8.8 miles down the road Firebaugh hosts the annual Cantaloupe Festival and it's likely many of Mendota's 11,000+ residents will be in attendance. After all, their city IS the Cantaloupe Center of the World! Agriculture is an important part of the City's economy, as well as produce companies, a new Federal Correctional Institution, new solar power plants and a biomass plant.
Nestled in the heart of California's soil-rich Central Valley in Fresno County, the City of Mendota doesn't always receive its just desserts when national publications diss it for residents' lower-than-average annual incomes and local crime rates.
In reality, Mendota is aggressively pushing toward a bright future with business-friendly policies that make it an affordable alternative appealing to commercial enterprises, as well as offering housing costs lower than surrounding metropolitan areas.
With four city parks featuring lighted ball fields and fantastic playgrounds, a public outdoor swimming pool, the 18 hole semi-private Mendota Golf Club and Mendota Wildlife Refuge, recreational opportunities are abundant.
Residents don't have to leave town to take advantage of special events celebration the holidays - Christmas, Halloween and 4th of July (Independence Day) are favorites. Mendota's acclaimed Farmer's Market known for some of California's finest farm-fresh produce, runs from June through December.
In 1891, Mendota thrived as a Southern Pacific Railroad storage and switching
facility site. The first post office opened in 1892, and the City incorporated
in 1942.