Cummings Valley was settled by the Kawaiisu people before the arrival of white Americans, largely of Irish origin[1][note 1], in the 1850s.
[2] The region's agriculture began with livestock and dry farming as water was not imported until 1973.
[3] These imports, including their use to recharge the natural water basin have been impacted by the ongoing climate-change-caused megadrought.
[4] Agriculture remains a large part of the Cummings Valley economy, including greenhouses and vineyards.
[5] Stallion Springs and the California Correctional Institution are both located in Cummings Valley.