For The Madera Tribune George Washington Mordicai. Frederick Quant and George Mordecai were bitter enemies.They just didn’t know it.Given half a chance, either man would have killed the other, for they were soldiers who were on opposite sides in the American Civil War. In April of 1865, these two corporals squared off for one final showdown at Appomattox and thereby wove a patch of irony into the fabric of Madera’s history. George Washington Mordecai was a native of Richmond,

For The Madera Tribune The Berenda Hotel, circa 1880. 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 community not far from Madera took them for their mascot and named their little town after the fleet-footed animals. Although the town of Berenda is long gone, its name remains in the form of a school and in the memory of a few old timers. Berenda was born when the Central Pacific Railroad cross

For The Madera Tribune Attorney Joe Barcroft got boxer Jack Dempsey off on a speeding charge in Madera County, but he couldn’t help him in the ring. Life as a Madera traffic cop in 1926 was not the most exotic way to spend one’s days (or nights). Traffic along the state highway near town was light. That’s why traffic officer M.A. Harrison was keeping watch from the shoulder of the road. That’s where he was when he saw the roadster speeding south on March 26. The car zoomed pa

For The Madera Tribune The floodwaters of 1955 threatened everything in Madera — even the D Street railroad bridge. Nothing is permanent but change. Maderans have always remembered this as they approached the winter season, casting worried and frequent looks at the skies. Too often drought conditions have made them wonder if there would ever be enough water. In 1955, however, it was a different story. They still looked toward the skies, but this time they wondered if the rain

For The Madera Tribune This home on North C Street belonged to Dr. Dow Ransom. He died here in 1946. In the 1950s, The Madera Tribune purchased the property. The building was torn down, and apartments replaced the historic structure. On Saturday, April 6, 1946, Madera lost one of its most beloved and most colorful homegrown physicians, Dr. Dow Ransom. This early physician and surgeon was mourned by hundreds of Maderans whom he had tended for more than 40 years. Death came to

For The Madera Tribune Judge Joe Barcroft. 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 forgett

For The Madera Tribune Sheriff Jasper Lewis, shown here, was helpless to prevent the jailhouse bee attack of 1915. The Madera County jail was barely 20 years old in 1915 when Sheriff Jasper Lewis took over as the county’s top lawman. As fall gave way to winter, he decided that it was time to “put up the heater.” Preparatory to its installation, however, the flue had to be cleaned out, so Lewis called Chauncey Smith, a chimney sweep from Merced, to perform the task. Smith arri

For The Madera Tribune In 1895, Victor Adams met his end on the old hanging tree near the Spring Valley School. A lynch mob caught him here and strung him up. They left him hanging for two days as a lesson for all to see, including the students. If anyone ever deserved the epithet “no account,” it was Victor Adams. He deserted his wife and four children in Arizona and came to Madera County where he settled in O’Neals. There Adams married a widow with two children and proceede