The creation of San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery is the sixth in the state and 114th in the National Cemetery Administration. The Romero Ranch Company donated the land for the cemetery to the Department of Veterans Affairs on Feb. 3, 1989. Construction of the 105-acre first phase began July 15, 1990. The water-pumping station on the California Aqueduct, the last element of construction, was completed in May 1992. The first phase yielded about 15,000 gravesites and 8,000 in-ground cremation sites.