Selma is a small city in California's San Joaquin Valley, about 15 miles south of Fresno on Highway 99. It calls itself the "Raisin Capital of the World" — and the claim has some merit: over 90% of the world's raisin grapes are grown within a 40-mile radius. The valley flatlands around town are covered in vineyards, and the harvest season in late August and September is when the area comes alive.
The city was laid out in 1890 by four farmers who bought land, platted a townsite, and auctioned lots. It's a working agricultural town without much of the heritage centre or food-scene polish of nearby Fresno, but it has the Selma Pioneer Village — a collection of 1880s historic buildings assembled on 15 acres on Art Gonzales Parkway, including a Queen Anne Victorian, a railroad depot, and the town's first schoolhouse.