A few folks in Madera still remember Joe Barcroft. He was one of Madera’s most colorful judges and a prominent attorney in the early 20 century. In 1933, in collaboration with Lilbourne Winchell, he co-authored the highly popular history of Fresno and Madera County — a work that is much sought after today.
Judge Barcroft has been gone for 85 years, and he is one of those significant pioneers of Madera that we are in danger of forgetting if we are not careful, thus we make him the topic of today’s column.
Joe Barcroft was born in the wild and wooly mining town of Hornitos on June 27, 1870. Think of it. Living in Hornitos in the 1870s!