Nestled within the Northern San Joaquin Valley, Manteca – locally referred to as “The Heart of California” – is a wonderfully dynamic community, offering its residents the luxury of suburban living in a more tranquil, rural environment. Its strategic location places it at the gateway to Yosemite, near the Delta Waterways, San Francisco Bay Area and the Sierra Nevada. This central position makes it an ideal place for establishing a family or business, as well as a great destination for a relaxing vacation.

The Manteca of today owes its success to those early pioneering settlers who discovered the land’s excellent qualities, such as good soil, climate and clean water, which led to early agricultural prosperity. The farming town was initially called Cowell Station, after Joshua Cowell – a man who was later denoted as the “Father of Manteca.” The advent of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1873 changed the face of Cowell Station. Due to the fact there was another Cowell Station – named for Wright Cowell, Joshua’s brother – the railroad and the farmers chose a new name: Manteca.

Manteca still remains tightly connected to its agricultural heritage, but has more recently become a strong economic development location within California. With a population of nearly 70,000 people, industrial and commercial development is on the rise due to the City’s positioning within the nation’s third-largest, 100-mile-radius consumer market (behind Manhattan and Los Angeles), making Manteca a very attractive place for all sizes and types of business. This status is evidenced by one of the world’s largest outdoor sports retail stores – Bass Pro Shops – which selected Manteca based upon our location. Manteca is the only Northern California location for Bass Pro Shops, and only the second in California. During its first year of operation, the Manteca store had more than 3 million visitors.

Besides being a strong contender for economic growth, Manteca has become known as a vacation destination, where the community also features Big League Dreams replica baseball parks, hundreds of miles of waterways called the Delta and the home of the fifth-largest family-owned winery in the world – Delicato Family Vineyards. More information regarding Manteca can be located at www.manteca.org or www.visitmanteca.org.