The people spoke — Madera incorporated

For The Madera Tribune

Craig Cunningham (center) led the move to incorporate Madera in 1907.

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Madera’s early history has several watersheds. The town was founded in 1876; it became the county seat in 1893. Construction of the brand new granite courthouse was commenced in 1900, and the Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company began operation in 1902. These are some of the more significant salients that protrude above the flow of history to give the reader some sense of the real stream of events that lead to the present.

There is one event, however, that emerges from Madera’s past and dwarfs most everything that came before it or anything that has occurred since. Incorporation finally came in 1907.

Two years earlier, Madera had made an attempt to incorporate, but the effort failed because the property of the Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company had been included within the proposed boundaries of the new city limits. Opposition by the powerful leaders of the lumber company caused enough voter resistance to derail the incorporation drive. By 1907, however, most of these objections had been overcome, thanks to the adroit handling of a public relations campaign by the Madera Board of Trade and the exclusion of the lumber company property from the proposed city limits.

On Feb. 25, 1907, Maderans flocked to a town meeting that had been called by the Madera Board of Trade Chairman, Craig Cunningham, who had led a committee in conducting a survey among their fellow citizens as to how they felt about the incorporation of Madera now. Cunningham wanted to publicly explore the possibility of another incorporation vote. It didn’t take long for observers to see that the overwhelming sentiment was in favor of the move.

The meeting, which was held in Athletic Hall on Yosemite Avenue, was described as “large and enthusiastic.” It was filled with scores of interested citizens. Cunningham took charge of the meeting, called it to order, and began the discussion.

He indicated that he and his committee had interviewed a “great number of people” with the intent to determine two things: their sentiments regarding incorporation and their ideas as to the boundaries for the proposed city. He claimed to have found a “substantial majority of Madera’s citizens in favor of incorporation.”

Armed with the results of his survey, Cunningham made an official recommendation at the town meeting. In addition to urging that those in attendance support a second incorporation vote, he suggested that they also approve a list of nominees — Madera’s first Board of Trustees or City Council.

Cunningham and his committee, which included J. R. Richardson, C.R. Wagner, and Guy Windrem, nominated E.M. McCardle, J.R. Richardson, J.G. Roberts, W.A. Moore, George A. Clarke, R.C. Dyer, Charles Wagner, J.L. Butin, John High, and J.E. Newman to be placed on the ballot for City Council. They also nominated C.F. Bonner, W.C. Maze, Nathan Rosenthal, Herman Brammer, A.J. Etter, W.G. Kenney, G. Hill, Joseph Stitt, and G.H. Toby, but they declined.

Finally, Cunningham recommended that no nominations be made for the offices of City Marshal, City Clerk, or City Treasurer, but that these positions remain open to all candidates desiring to run.

Joe Barcroft made the official motion that incorporated all of Cunningham’s recommendations. An election would be held, and the people would decide once again whether or not they wanted their town to become Madera County’s first incorporated city, with city limits extending from the Southern Pacific Depot for one and one-half square miles. The motion was carried by a vote of 87-0, and the meeting adjourned with three rousing cheers for a “Greater Madera.”

On March 23, 1907, the voters went to the polls in Madera, and by the end of the day the people had spoken again. Madera would be incorporated.

The Madera Mercury called it a “Great Victory.” Of the 417 citizens who voted, 273 cast ballots in favor of incorporation, and 144 voted in the negative. The people also chose J.G. Roberts, E.M. McCardle, Dr. J.L. Butin, C.W. Wagner, and J.R. Richardson to the office of City Trustee (City Council). William Utter was elected without opposition as City Clerk, and Ray Northern nailed down the job of Madera’s first Town Marshal, defeating D.S. Lewis and E. Briggs.

The results of the election were forwarded to Sacramento, and on March 27, 1907, the California Secretary of State declared that as of that date, Madera had been incorporated.

It didn’t take Madera’s first City Council long to go to work after the election. On March 28, the day after the validation by the California Secretary of State, they held an organizational meeting in the office of lawyer, Francis Fee, who would soon be selected as Madera’s first City Attorney. J.G. Roberts, who received the highest number of votes in the election, was chosen President of the Board of Trustees, making him Madera’s first mayor. The Council also decided to designate the vacant room next to Fee’s office as its permanent meeting place.

With that Madera the village became a town. A few years later it was destined to become a city.