Tracy was founded in 1878 and incorporated on July 10, 1910. Located on the transcontinental railroad, it was named after Ohio grain merchant Lathrop J. Tracy, and the SP Railroad headquarters moved to Tracy in 1894. The city's early development included the establishment of its post office on December 6, 1878, its first newspaper in 1881, its first official city map in 1889, electric lights in 1904, the first slot machine in 1905, the Bank of Tracy in 1909, fire and police services in 1912, and the completion of its water system in 1912. Tracy's government and civic institutions grew through its first mayor, Abe Grunauer, the adoption of council-manager government in 1954, the completion of its first city hall and first high school building in 1917, the use of Old Central School as city hall from 1947 to 1961, and the opening of Tracy Community Memorial Hospital in 1948. Education and local districts included Willow School, the formation of the West Side Union High School District in 1912, and the West Side Irrigation District in 1915. Industry and transportation shaped the city through its location on the Lincoln Highway from 1913 to 1926, the Pacific Sugar Co. plant in 1917, the Army Quartermaster Sub-Depot in 1942, the H.J. Heinz Co. factory in 1945, and the Tracy pumping plant beginning in 1951. The city is identified as the home of the Yokut Indian Tribe, of the Dry Bean Festival, and of early Black settlers A. Ashe, J. Bradley, and J. McKinney in 1860, with women first voting in a city election on April 3, 1912. By 1910 Tracy's population was 1,000, and in 2007 it was 81,000, with an area of 21 square miles.