California Biographies, San Joaquin Valley Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm Source: History of the state of California and biographical record of the San Joaquin Valley, California. An historical story of the state's marvelous growth from its earliest settlement to the present time. Prof. James Miller Guinn , A. M. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1905 Notes: Missing Page: 865-866,983-984,1175-1176 CHARLES A. KIMBLE. Prominent among the men who have come to Kings county with assets consisting of physical strength and mental alertness, and who have had the sagacity to perceive and the boldness to push to a successful issue a large and paying opportunity, mention is due Charles A. Kimble, one of the most extensive stock raisers and most prominent and wealthy pioneers of Kings county. Traveling south over well kept country roads four miles from Hanford one comes to the model stock farm, from which no improvement suggested by latter day enterprise has been omitted, and where grow to maturity some of the finest sheep and Clydesdale horses on the Pacific coast. Mr. Kimble came to Kings count}in 1889, bought a half interest in a one hundred and sixty acre ranch, managed the same for some time, and then purchased it all for his present home. In addition he rented large tracts of land for his sheep- raising industry in 1895 and at the present time has eight thousand head of American Merino and Ramboullet sheep, twelve hundred of which are the famous Ramboullet bucks. At the head of his herd of Clydesdales is the well-known stallion whose registered name is Yathin Stamp, the winner of many premiums, and whose graceful and splendid proportions have been the admiration of many hundreds gathered at the district and agricultural fairs. Yet another source in the stock line is a high grade of hogs, of which Mr. Kimble sold four hundred and forty-two head at one time, averaging two hundred and twenty-six pounds. He receives good prices for his Clydesdales and ships them all through the west and as far east as Chicago, Ill. Having insufficient feed for his stock Mr. Kimble bought, in 1901, three hundred and twenty acres of land eight miles south of Hanford, and in 1903 added to it two hundred and forty acres of land, both farms being under alfalfa. He also rents three hundred and twenty, acres adjoining his home farm, which contributes further to the alfalfa output. He is one of the best judges of fine stock in the San Joaquin valley, and his advice and counsel are sought and appreciated on occasions involving the prestige of Kings county as a stock producing center. He is a director in the Kings county Agricultural Association, an institution which has proved of great benefit to stock and produce raisers throughout the county. When Mr. Kimble started out on his own responsibility at the age of twenty-one, he had a thorough knowledge of farming and an aptitude for making it a paying proposition. Until then he had lived on the home farm in Ontario county, N. Y., where his birth occurred November 2, 1865, and where his father, Chillian Kimble, still makes his home. Having posted himself regarding the various chances for advancement open to the ambitious youth on the coast, he went to Phoenix, Ariz., near which city he worked on a farm for a year. Not liking the prospects in Arizona, he came to California with hopes of better success, and in Woodland worked at the carpenter's trade for two years, removing to his present farm in 1889. He was obliged to go partially in debt for his land, but industry soon enabled him to rise above this handicap, and his way has been comparatively clear of hindrances since getting a start. His family consists of his wife, formerly Bertha Dewey, a native of California, and four children : Florence, Elmer, Nellie and Alice. Mr. Kimble's intelligent grasp of the needs and possibilities of this county has made him an important factor in many of its outside enterprises, especially in connection with the development of water. He is the representative of Kings and Tulare counties in the St. John's River Association, and the president of the Lake Side Ditch Company. Fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World, and of the Hanford Lodge No. 194, K. of P. Mr. Kimble is a solid, substantial and practical man, a generous contributor to worthy causes, and a supporter of education and progress. As a stock-raiser no one has excelled and few approached his standard, and as he is a comparatively young man, his career is surrounded with every indication of extended future usefulness.