For The Madera Tribune Dr. C.E. Brown, Madera’s first physician, conducted business in this building, the Yosemite Hotel, Madera’s first structure. The doctor came to Madera in April 1877, when it was just six months old. The young, upstart village then consisted of 25 buildings, most of them dwellings. It could hardly compare with the mining community of Buchanan, from whence C.E. Brown came, but it had promise. That’s why he decided to remain and become Madera’s first physi

Tyler Takeda/The Madera Tribune Madera City Councilwoman Anita Evans welcomes guests at the City of Madera Black History Month Celebration last year at the Pan Am Center. Black Saints United will host its annual Black History Month Celebration at the Pan Am Center, 703 Sherwood Way. The fifth annual celebration will be co-hosted by Madera City Councilwoman Anita Evans and the City of Madera. The event begins at 3 p.m., February 15. “I am guesstimating about 175 people,” Evans

The Madera Irrigation District (MID or District) will end water deliveries with the drain down of the system that began Wednesday. Due to the dry conditions that persisted in January and no storms on the horizon, releases from Friant Dam are ending. MID appreciates all landowners who took the water while it was available. This is a reminder that timing is crucial when water is available and all District landowners who have the ability should take the water for the benefit of

For The Madera Tribune General Waldo Sims, Madera’s first black police officer. The first recorded African-American resident of Madera was Dexter Hunt, a 31 year-old porter who worked for Captain Russel Perry Mace in his hotel. He arrived here in 1880. For the next 20 years, Madera continued to grow, from 217 residents in 1880 to 2,500 in 1900. By comparison, the African-American population of Madera grew from that single individual in 1880 to 42 in 1900. For the next two dec

For The Madera Tribune George Gruber, shown here second from the left, was the owner of the Fountain Saloon. He lost his liquor license after being accused of running a “disorderly business.” When Madera turned the corner into the 20th century and voted to incorporate in 1907, it had to elect a city council to pass the ordinances that would regulate life in the county seat. Chief among the concerns in those early days were the saloons that lined Yosemite, and at the top of th

Nancy Simpson/The Madera Tribune Chowchilla Chamber presents Jeff Sterling with the Unique Citizen of the Year award. From left are president Chad Middleton, Sterling, Tricia Placencia, and John Pope. The Chowchilla District Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Community Awards Dinner and Installation at the Portuguese Hall in Chowchilla. Dennis Haworth, Executive Director of the Chamber gave a warm welcome to guests on January 24, and thanked them for attending to honor the a

For The Madera Tribune Lena Northern, second from the left, was voted Madera Raisin Queen two years before this photo was taken. Maderans in the early part of the 20th century weren’t completely preoccupied with politics; after all there was going to be a contest to choose some local high school girl to represent Madera in the California Raisin Day Celebration in Fresno. April 30, 1914 was set as the day for pulling out the stops and raising three cheers for raisins. Although

For The Madera Tribune Diane Boland and CrisCom CEO Chuck Jelloian. COARSEGOLD — Over the weekend, The CrisCom Company presented Diane Boland with ts 2025 Leader For America Award in recognition of her extraordinary civic leadership and commitment to the Coarsegold community.  Family, friends, and community leaders gathered at the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino to recognize her volunteerism, and elected officials presented several proclamations in her honor.  “To receive the