Stricklin, James Henry

James Henry Stricklin was born in Oregon City, Oregon, on April 25, 1864, to William Stricklin of Virginia and Elizabeth Earnest of Fort Des Moines, Iowa. Raised near The Dalles, he entered the workforce early at age nineteen to help his mother support their family. In 1899, he married Flora Cutting in Canon City, Grant County, Oregon, where he homesteaded 160 acres to pursue stock raising.

In 1905, James moved to California and purchased forty acres of the Laguna tract near Laton in Fresno County. After developing and selling his initial plot at a profit, he acquired 158 acres in 1911 and established a modern dairy farm centered on growing alfalfa, peaches, and grain. Together with his wife and their three children—Dorothy, Elsie, and Alfred—he became well known for extending true western hospitality throughout his local community.