For The Madera Tribune Sheriff Samson Westfall. When Samson Westfall ran against John Jones in 1910, and jerked the sheriff’s badge away from the two-term lawman, he thought the job would be a breeze. After all, he had served once before as sheriff of Madera County, from 1895 to 1899, and things had gone along smoothly then. He had reckoned, however, without Thomas Cook, who had been a thorn in the side of Westfall’s predecessor for months. According to police records, Cook w

For The Madera Tribune Arcola School in 1926. “I always look back upon the days I spent in Arcola School as among the happiest and most profitable of my life, and I always feel a sense of reverence for the Arcola School of old, whenever I pass the present one” — Dr. Dow Ransom, 1938. With these words, one of Madera’s most highly respected physicians paid homage to the first school he attended upon arriving here as a 12-year-old lad in 1892, and in doing so, he helped keep an

For The Madera Tribune The Indian scare of 1870 reached as far as Fresno Flats. The Battle of Fallen Timbers, Little Big Horn, the Sand Creek Massacre, Wounded Knee, the Mariposa Indian War — all of these are well known encounters between Native Americans and Europeans, as the American frontier moved inexorably west. While these and countless other battles have been recorded, the Indian uprising of Madera County has for the most part escaped the scrutiny of historians. Nestle

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