It is located in the San Joaquin Valley, 22 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Fresno,[10] at an elevation of 348 feet (106 m).

[12] Reedley is named for Thomas Law Reed, a Civil War veteran who gave half of his holdings to the township in 1888.

[13] In the mid-1800s, American Civil War Union veteran Thomas Law Reed settled in Reedley to grow wheat for Gold Rush miners.

His donation of land for a railroad station site established the town as the center of the San Joaquin Valley's booming wheat industry.

Southern Pacific Railroad officials commemorated his donation by naming the depot in his honor, which the city itself then adopted.

[14] With the establishment of water and railroad services, farming families of European immigrants were recruited, and the settlement was incorporated in 1913, with Ordinance No.

[15] That same year, the city's first cement sidewalks, sewer system, and fire department, as well as the first of two steel water towers were constructed.

[16] Because of proximity, the Reedley post office provided rural mail delivery to the surrounding region, including Route 2 which covered a section of nearby Tulare County (about 5 miles west of Dinuba).

[17] A colony of Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites, who travelled to California to escape the ecological disaster of the Dust Bowl played an important role in the town's early history, settling in Township 8, an area now known as Navelencia.

Reedley contains a community of 25 different Christian churches, including Anglican, Catholic, Armenian, Baptist, and Mennonite congregations.

The city's cultural influences include Filipino, Finnish, Lebanese, Korean and Japanese immigrants.

The Opera House itself was built at Jansen's personal expense to serve as a cultural and community center.

[20] In 2003, the River City Theatre Company was founded by Mark Norwood, who served as artistic director until his retirement in 2016.

The River City Theatre Company currently leases the Opera House and produces musicals and stage plays.

The small communities and area surrounding Reedley are served by the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.