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Category: History

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July 22, 2026 For The Madera Tribune

Local Legends: How Nora Salazar helped shape Madera

For Lenora “Nora” Salazar, success was never measured by awards or accomplishments. It was measured by the lives she touched. Salazar was more than a...
July 22, 2026 Bill Coate

John M. Hensley: Madera’s gift to Fresno County

The Sheriff’s granddaughter sat composed and alert while I probed her memory for pieces of Madera County’s past. She told me of her days in...
July 18, 2026 Bill Coate

Madera embraced the Farnesi family

The woman left her little Italian village in the province of Lucca and walked along the dusty road with a cart full of flowers to...
July 15, 2026 Bill Coate

Judge Conley didn’t impress this crowd

If they ever establish a Madera County Hall of Fame, Judge William M. Conley will surely be near the top of the list. He became...
July 11, 2026 Bill Coate

Berenda meant antelope — literally

Once upon a time herds of antelope roamed over much of the San Joaquin Valley. So numerous were they in the 19th century that one...
July 8, 2026 Bill Coate

Believe it or not… Patriots fought horseflies on ‘Independence Day’

The 4th of July has become one of America’s most celebrated holidays. Family barbecues, homemade ice cream, and fireworks consume the nation, as its citizens...
July 3, 2026 Bill Coate

Madera’s conscience

The Rev. William B. McElwee was an ecclesiastical workhorse. He and his wife, Emily, came to Madera in 1891 to pastor the local Presbyterian Church....
July 3, 2026 Bill Coate

One last look at Madera’s ‘Chinatown’

The Chinese were among the first settlers in Madera. Most of them came here from the little town of Borden, four miles to the south....
July 1, 2026 Bill Coate

The people spoke — Madera incorporated

Madera’s early history has several watersheds. The town was founded in 1876; it became the county seat in 1893. Construction of the brand new granite...
June 27, 2026 Bill Coate

The old wild west was alive in Grub Gulch

GOLD! That precious metal drew thousands of placer miners to what is now Madera County, and by 1851 they were calling their gathering Grub Gulch....

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