Native People

The region now known as Madera County was originally the territory of several Native American tribes, notably the Mono, Chukchansi, and Miwok. The Mono inhabited the upper San Joaquin River region, encompassing areas around North Fork and Crane Valley. The Chukchansi tribe lived in what are today the communities of Oakhurst, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, and the lower foothills extending to the San Joaquin Valley. Meanwhile, the Miwok were located in the vicinity of Ahwahnee, Wawona, Mariposa, and the Yosemite Valley.^[12]: 8

Following the California Gold Rush, many Native American communities were displaced, a situation exacerbated by the Mariposa War and institutionalized by the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians.^[13] Despite these adversities, several communities persevered in their traditional lifestyles. However, the creation of the Sierra National Forest in 1897 introduced a citizen-only land use permit system, effectively excluding Native Americans until they were granted citizenship in 1924 through the Indian Citizenship Act.^[12]: 13

Early United States Era

Since the area was part of Mexico until 1848, it has maintained a significant population of Mexican descent.^[14] After the California Gold Rush, the region became a vibrant mosaic, drawing individuals from across the United States and beyond.^[15] Chinese laborers played a key role in constructing the Madera Flume and working in the Sugar Pine lumber yards. However, their numbers declined after restrictive immigration laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Immigration Act of 1917 were enacted. This led to Mexican immigrants filling the roles previously held by Chinese workers, signifying a notable change in the area's labor dynamics.^{[16][17]: 81}

20th Century

During the 1930s, Madera County became a destination for significant numbers of refugees from the Dust Bowl, primarily originating from Oklahoma and Arkansas.^[18][19]

In the mid-20th century, the Bracero Program, designed to recruit labor from Mexico, played a crucial role in mitigating the agricultural labor shortages that arose during World War II and the Korean War. Advocated by the Madera County Chamber of Commerce, efforts were made to persuade the federal government to prolong the guest worker program beyond its original expiration in 1964.^[20][21] Despite the program's conclusion, labor migration continued, and by the end of the century, Madera County had become increasingly dependent on a migrant workforce. As of the 1990s, this workforce was predominantly composed of Mixtecs from Oaxaca, Mexico, numbering an estimated 5,000 individuals.^[22][23]

Gold

Madera County became known for gold mining during the California Gold Rush. Madera County, created in 1893 from a portion of Fresno County, encompassed most of the region's productive gold mines. These mines, located primarily at the junction of the Sierra Nevada batholith with pre-Cretaceous schist and slate, stretched from Grub Gulch to Hildreth.^[48]

Grub Gulch, located near the end of Highway 49, was a gold rush town renowned for its easily accessible gold.^[49] Initially, Grub Gulch was a simple shanty town of tents, but it blossomed into a bustling community in the late 1880s, spurred by successful placer mining in nearby streams. At its peak, the town boasted five saloons, a general store, a post office, and a boarding house. Remarkably, out of the $1.35 million worth of gold extracted from Madera County, nearly $1 million originated from Grub Gulch.^[48]

By the 1950s, gold production had significantly dropped, primarily from dredging operations along the Fresno, Chowchilla, and San Joaquin Rivers with almost no production after 1959.^[48]

Tungsten

In the mid-20th century, Madera County's High Sierra regions became prominent for their significant tungsten deposits, leading to extensive mining activities near Mammoth Lakes, Central Camp, and Fish Camp. One notable example, the Strawberry Tungsten Mine, was valued at $1 million in 1955 and had the capacity to process 310 metric tons of ore daily by 1981.^[50]

However, tungsten mining in the Sierra Nevada faced challenges due to harsh winter conditions and intense competition from low-cost tungsten imports from China. These challenges were part of a broader decline in the U.S. starting in the 1980s, caused by falling market prices and economic issues, resulting in a major decrease in tungsten mining nationwide. As a result, tungsten mining in Madera County and the rest of the Sierra Nevada has stopped entirely.^[51]

Lumber

The discovery of gold was quickly followed by a high demand for lumber, which was essential for constructing sluice boxes and building early settlements. The first sawmill in the county was constructed in 1852 on the east fork of Redwood Creek, north of Oakhurst, in an area currently known as Old Corral. This mill primarily provided lumber to miners and settlers in the Coarsegold and Fresno Flats areas.^[52] In 1854, Charles Converse and Bill Chitister purchased the mill and relocated it to Crane Valley, the area now known as Bass Lake.^[52]

In 1872, the California Lumber Company initiated the region's first major lumber operation with a steam mill near Nelder Grove. They built a record-setting 65 mi (105 km) long log flume to Madera to float finished lumber to market.^[52] Although it ran out of money in 1874, it was restructured and operated at a profit for the next four decades.^[53]: 146

During the Great Depression, Madera County's lumber industry and logging railroads ceased operations. In 1941, the industry recovered when a new sawmill in North Fork was built, which used logging trucks and advanced equipment for deeper access into the Sierra National Forest. However, in the early 1990s, tighter government rules reduced forest yields, hurting the mill's profits. This downturn led to the end of Madera County's logging era in February 1994, when the last log was processed.

Employment

Madera County's employment sectors are a blend of traditional industries like farming and manufacturing, coupled hospitality and service-oriented fields.^[54]: 8 Based on the average employment percentages from 2015 to 2022, the employment sectors in Madera County are ranked as follows:

The sectors that saw the largest decrease in the period were information (-25%), financial activities (-12.50%) and manufacturing (-5.71%). Looking towards the future, Government, Health and Education and Professional Sectors are forecast to be the fastest growing employment sectors.^[54]: 8

Agriculture

Madera County is heavily invested in permanent crops, with almonds as the leading commodity, followed by grapes and pistachios.^[55] This area also places significant emphasis on cattle ranching and pollination services, particularly for almond cultivation, both ranking among the top five local agricultural sectors. In 2022, Madera County's overall gross crop production was valued at $1.9 billion. The county is renowned for its agricultural prowess, holding state rankings of #1 in fig production, #4 in both almonds and nuts, #4 in grape production (specifically the raisin variety), and #4 in pistachios.^[56]

In the 1990s Mixtec farmworkers were a large presence in the southern part of the state, and were beginning to filter northwards here along with other Mexican indigenous agricultural laborers to work in the county's farms.^[23]

Madera County Sheriff's Office

The Sheriff's Office and staff provide court protection, jail administration, and coroner service for all of Madera County with its total population of approximately 156,000 residents. The Sheriff provides police patrol and detective services to the unincorporated areas of the county, which contain approximately 70,000 residents, or 45% of Madera County's total population. The Sheriff's main station and offices are in the City of Madera. There are two Sheriff's substations: Oakhurst, population 3,000, and The Madera Ranchos, population 12,000, both on Highway 41 to Yosemite National Park in the Sierras.

Municipal police departments

The municipal police departments within Madera County are Madera, the county seat, population 62,000, and Chowchilla, population 19,600.

Voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration