

The ‘rape’ of Margaret Haley
For The Madera Tribune The site of the false accusation. There is one piece of Madera’s past that represents one of the saddest and most...
Bill Coate
Apr 16, 2025


Herbert Macon: First to leave, first to die
For The Madera Tribune Horace and Ida Macon with their son Herbert Macon. He was the first Maderan to die in battle in World War I. War...
Bill Coate
Apr 12, 2025


Off-duty peccadilloes turned deadly for lumberjack
For The Madera Tribune Sheriff John Jones brought law and order to Sugar Pine. On May 16, 1905, the Madera County coroner held an inquest...
Bill Coate
Apr 11, 2025


Madera persecuted the tax collector
For The Madera Tribune Attorney Joe Barcroft; Charles Preciado’s lawyer. When Madera County voters chose Charles Preciado as their tax...
Bill Coate
Apr 5, 2025


Madera County’s High Sheriff
For The Madera Tribune High Sheriff Ed Bates. On Nov. 3, 1970, the people of Madera County spoke, and Edward Bryant Bates celebrated his...
Bill Coate
Apr 2, 2025


W.B. Thurman remembers his father
For The Madera Tribune William H. Thurman. At the request of the Madera News-Tribune, I am writing of the early day happenings in what is...
Bill Coate
Mar 29, 2025


Connecting with the Living Past
For The Madera Tribune Albert Wilburn. It was a red-letter day for Samuel Colunga’s 8th grade class. The teenage historians left the dry,...
Bill Coate
Mar 26, 2025


Indians got their revenge
For The Madera Tribune T.H. Muhley. “Jim Bethel Killed! Old Resident of this County Found Dead in his Doorway.” With these words, in 1908...
Bill Coate
Mar 21, 2025



