Kingsburg is located 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Selma at an elevation of 302 feet (92 m),[7] on the banks of the Kings River.

In the early 1870s, Swedish natives settled in a railroad town called "Kings River Switch".

Kingsburg started out as a flag stop on the Central Pacific Railroad called Kings River Switch.

In 1874 Kingsburg was called Wheatville and had a post office, later that year they changed the name to Kingsbury.

During this time period, Josiah Draper and Andrew Farley each owned a quarter section, about 160 acres (65 ha), Draper on the east side of the railroad tracks and Farley on the west side of the tracks.

Two years after that it became Kingsburgh and in January 1894 took on its present spelling, "Kingsburg", which was finally established as a town in 1908.

By 1921, ninety-four percent of the population within a three-mile radius of Kingsburg was Swedish-American, giving the community the nickname of "Little Sweden".

Subsequently, farmers were forced to replant the fields with stone fruit, or (particularly on the west side of town) sell their land to developers to help cope with the rising population.

Kingsburg was the headquarters of Sun-Maid Growers of California, a producer of raisins and other dried fruits.

Kingsburg is home to the world's largest box of raisins, built by students at California State University, Fresno.

[8] One of the notable landmarks in the community is the Kingsburg water tower, which is shaped like an antique Swedish coffee pot.

Many booths, rides and activities are set up all along the side of Downtown Kingsburg's Draper Street.

This festival, which has traditionally been held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, was scheduled for only Saturday and Sunday in 2009 after the town's centennial due to the suffering economy, but in 2011, Thursday activities were added to the festival.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2), all of it land.

Seventh and Eighth grades are at Rafer Johnson Junior High School.