Due to the upcoming increase in temperature, the City of Madera will activate a cooling center Thursday through Saturday at the Pan American Community Center at 703 Sherwood Way. Light refreshments and activities will be provided. The center will be open from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. The Madera Police Department’s front lobby at 330 S. C Street will also operate as a 24-hour Cooling Center. The City utilizes www.weather.gov for all Cooling Center information.

For The Madera Tribune George W. Mordecai, the Prince of Cottonwood Creek. This is the beginning of the story of how Cottonwood Creek became the magnet that drew Madera County’s founding father to California. It also tells how changing the name of “Cesar Chavez” school to “Cottonwood Creek” school was a serendipitous decision. It all began in 1868 when a group of Southern planters decided to abandon Dixie to escape the Yankee rule of Reconstruction. Three of the Rebels, S. A.

The Chowchilla-Madera County Fair proudly celebrated its historic 80th anniversary Fair, held May 7-10, marking one of the most successful fairs in the organization’s history. This milestone year brought tremendous growth across nearly every aspect of the event, reflecting the continued strength and support of the community. One of the highlights of the 2026 Fair was the all-time record-breaking livestock auction, which generated $1,078,747.60 in sales, demonstrating the incr

Cal Fire will be conducting a prescribed burn near Tesoro Viejo on Saturday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. A total of about 104 acres will be burned. Prescribed burns aim to reduce large conflagrative fires and high suppression costs to Madera residents. The prescribed burn will start on Tesoro Viejo Boulevard, and extend north to the Madera Canal. The project will help reduce the fire threat to Tesoro Viejo, located along the State Route 41 corridor. There should be little impact on SR

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress formally adopted the text of the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and a committee of five. The date became our anniversary date. So, on the Fourth of July of this year, we will celebrate 250 years of our independence as a nation. This is definitely a time to celebrate! In 1776, we decided we no longer wanted or needed to be dependent on another country, and we wanted to write our own rules and laws. Since that

For The Madera Tribune The Madera Theater. As Madera moved into the 1940s, many looked forward to the return of good times. The Great Depression was over, and Prohibition had wilted away. Agriculture had replaced lumber as the town’s economic base, and business downtown was booming. J.C. Penny, located on the corner of E Street and Yosemite Avenue, was offering the latest in fashions at low, low prices, and Montgomery Ward was shocking the town with its Wednesday sales, one o

For The Madera Tribune The Fountain Saloon was located at Gateway and Yosemite. George Gruber, the owner, is shown here, second from the left. In 1907, Madera with a population of just more than 2,000, had 13 saloons within its city limits. The town’s trustees went on record as opposing such a high saloon/citizen ratio, and expressed a determination to reduce it. In this they were supported by a vocal segment of the population, especially the Women’s Christian Temperance Unio

Nancy Simpson/The Madera Tribune At Fresno Flats Historical Village and Park, Madera Master Gardeners set up tables to sell propagated plants. From left are Master Gardeners Shannon McCumber, Cadie Pearl, and Natali Johnson. Master Gardeners of Madera County held its Glorious Garden Tour in Oakhurst and Coarsegold on Saturday. It was a gorgeous day with mild climate for visiting the beautiful gardens of homes. Visitors could go to the gardens in any order that was convenient.