Kings County is a county in the U.S. state of California. The population was 152,982 at the 2010 census. The California Department of Finance estimated the county's population was 149,407 as of July 1, 2016. The county seat is Hanford.Kings County comprises the Hanford-Corcoran, CA metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, CA combined statistical area. It is in the San Joaquin Valley, a rich agricultural region.HistoryThe area was inhabited for thousands of years by American Indians including the Tachi Yokuts tribe. It was colonized by Spain, Mexico and the United States.An 1805 expedition probably led by Spanish Army Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga recorded discovering the river, which they named El Rio de los Santos Reyes (River of the Holy Kings) after the Three Wise Men of the Bible. At the time of the United States conquest of California in 1848, the new government changed the name to Kings River after which the county was named.
