By Reggie Ellis
No man single-handedly dictated the future of the Central Valley's landscape more than James Griffin Boswell II.
The Cotton King from Kings County is a conundrum. Is he a philanthropic farmer whose innovations and vision ensured employment for hundreds of hungry workers? Or, is he an agri-business baron whose hunger for land holdings destroyed the largest natural wetlands this side of the Mississippi and Corcoarn, the city built in its place?
"No landscape in America -- not the cotton South, not the grain belt of the Midwest, not the cane fields of Florida -- had been more altered by the hand of agriculture."
The excerpt is from "The King of California: J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire." Authors Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman will be in Exeter for a book signing at 2 p.m. on Jan. 18 at the Exeter Veterans Memorial Building. The signing will be held in conjunction with the Tulare County Historical Society's annual meeting. C-SPAN and Channel 26 are expected to be present. The event is open to the public.
For a complete story pick up a copy of The Exeter Sun.
