GRIMES, CA (MPG) – Hundreds of residents and visitors lined the streets of Grimes on July 4 as the community celebrated Independence Day while marking a milestone in local history, the town’s 175th anniversary.
The morning celebration featured a parade, food and craft vendors, children’s activities and community booths, bringing together longtime residents and first-time visitors to celebrate one of Colusa County’s oldest communities.
The festivities began early with vendors opening at 8 a.m. in downtown Grimes. Parade participants gathered at Grimes School before making their way through town at 10 a.m. The parade featured antique tractors, classic vehicles, horse riders, military vehicles, local royalty, decorated off-road vehicles and children participating in patriotic-themed entries.
Spectators waved American flags from the parade route while families enjoyed the morning’s activities.
The event marked 175 years since Grimes was established by Cleaton Grimes, who settled along the Sacramento River in 1851. The town, located on Grand Island between Sycamore Slough and the Sacramento River, became one of the earliest farming communities in Colusa County. Rich alluvial soil made the area well suited for agriculture, and river transportation helped establish Grimes as an important shipping point for grain and other farm products.
Historical records describe Grimes as a thriving river community that included a church, public hall, grain warehouse, hotel, general store, blacksmith shop and other businesses serving the surrounding agricultural region. Steamboats regularly stopped in town, transporting crops and supplies while connecting Grand Island residents with other Sacramento Valley communities.
Today, agriculture remains at the heart of the community, and organizers said the anniversary celebration honored both Grimes’ history and its future.
Following the event, the Grimes Civic Association thanked the many volunteers, vendors and parade participants who helped make the celebration possible.
“We believe we had an amazing turnout,” the association wrote in a public message following the event. “It was a success. Not that there weren’t hiccups but we got through it.”
The association also recognized the volunteers who coordinated the celebration, including parade coordinator Lance Swift, assistant coordinators Lino Pina and Armando Diaz, vendor coordinator Wanda Swift, kids games coordinator Ada Setzer, Melissa Baikie-Rick for singing the national anthem, the Grand Island Fire Department for providing tables and chairs, and the many vendors and parade participants who took part in the event.
As Grimes celebrated both America’s 250th birthday and the community’s own 175-year history, the gathering served as a reminder that the small agricultural town continues to preserve traditions that have connected generations of residents for more than a century and a half.