Historic way-station on the old stage road, Raymond to Wawona. The tavern was built by William Sell in the late 1880's lunch was served to
many notable people such as: President Theodore Roosevelt, Susan B Anthony, Andrew Carnegie, John D . . . — — Map (db m149057) HM
On Grub Gulch Road (Road 600) when traveling south.
Built originally in 1878 by John Haley, named after
his wife, Gertrude. It was situated at the base of
Potters Ridge across the Fresno River in Fresno County. In 1893 the school was relocated to the Crooks Ranch. In 1913 a new school was built at . . . — — Map (db m148429) HM
On Grub Gulch Road, on the right when traveling north.
John C Shay settled in Grub Gulch at the turn of the 20th century to mine gold. When his mining efforts failed he homesteaded the land, built this shop and started blacksmithing. He serviced the numerous wagons, stages and horse travelers that . . . — — Map (db m147957) HM
Dating prior to the 1860s, the Wassama Roundhouse was reconstructed in 1985 on the location of the previous four houses. In 1903, the third roundhouse was built using portions of the center pole from the two earlier houses. The Roundhouse served as . . . — — Map (db m46774) HM
On Round House Road north of Golden Chain Highway (California Highway 49), on the right when traveling east.
The village of Wassama (leaves falling) is the site of the last above ground southern Miwok Roundhouse built in 1903. Religious ceremonies, dancing and gambling took place on the site until 1937. Southern Miwok dances including the 1870 Ghost Dance, . . . — — Map (db m51571) HM
On Beasore Road, on the right when traveling south.
As the cattlë were driven from the valley to the rich mountain grasses in the spring; at a site nearby, Tom Jones saw a need to supply the drovers with staples and
supplies that were consumed or forgotten. As is today, the cattle drives still . . . — — Map (db m148440) HM
On Humboldt Avenue south of South 8th Street, on the right when traveling east.
The original high school cost approximately $50,000 and was accredited to a university. The structure was later demolished in 1976.
September 11,1916
14 students presented themselves at the opening of Chowchilla Union High School in first and . . . — — Map (db m148196) HM
On Avenue 18 1/2 at Road 13, on the right when traveling west on Avenue 18 1/2.
Prior to 1915 children who lived in the northern Munich District of Madera County had to ride the train to Chowchilla to receive their
education. To answer the need for a local school, Dairyland opened in September 1915 in the DeSpain house. Plans . . . — — Map (db m148161) HM
On South 5th Street, on the right when traveling north.
Southern Pacific Railroad
Prior to 1912, there was no SP depot located in Chowchilla. The nearest depot was in Minturn, six miles to the north. Land developer O.A. Robertson bought the Chowchilla Ranch in 1912, and began selling parcels . . . — — Map (db m197167) HM
On South 5th Street at Orange Avenue, on the right when traveling north on South 5th Street.
Southern Pacific Railroad - Before the townsite was created the train stopped at Minturn. Chowchilla was known as McNears Crossing. After it was founded the company moved the train station to a site just south of Robertson Blvd. Twenty . . . — — Map (db m242668) HM
On Raymond Road (California Route 41) 0.2 miles east of County Road 415, on the right when traveling west.
Gold -- heavy coarse gold -- was discovered in this area and the texture led to naming the spot Coarse Gold Gulch. Nearby, the Texas Flat Mine which was filed on in 1853 became the oldest and most extensively worked ledge mine in the . . . — — Map (db m33714) HM
On State Highway 41, 0.2 miles south of Lucky Lane, on the left when traveling south.
Willow Glen was first inhabited by the Chukchansi Indians. The grinding holes and other artifacts indicate that they have lived in this area since prehistoric times. In 1870 a stage road was built and in 1897 John McGinity homesteaded at Willow . . . — — Map (db m60346) HM
For travelers in the 1880's one stage route to Yosemite left the Maxe Hotel in Madera, traveled east to the Adobe Ranch Stage Stop, then northerly into the foothills to Bates Station. From there the route ran north and cut northwest to this spot . . . — — Map (db m148363) HM
In the early days of highway travel, there was very little in the way of convenience for hot and tired travelers. In 1926, Frank “Pops” Pohl got the idea to open a giant orange shaped juice stand in Tracy, Ca. The stand sold orange juice, . . . — — Map (db m235405) HM
From 1899 to 1931 The Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company
logged over 30,000 acres in the immediate area, sawing almost a billion-and-a-half board feet of lumber. Wood-burning Shay locomotives hauled the logs from the woods over a large network of . . . — — Map (db m148547) HM
On Knowles Road (County Road 606) 0.2 miles north of Granite Road, on the left.
Founded by Frederick Erwin Knowles who bought the land from Frank Ducy and who organized the Raymond Granite Company in what had been referred to as
"Ducys Rock Pile"
In 1899, the Raymond Granite Company built a spur track from the quarry to the . . . — — Map (db m33718) HM
On Golden State Boulevard (Highway 99) 0.5 miles south of Avenue 20, on the right when traveling south.
June 1872 a former Fresno County Sheriff Leroy Dennis erected a store and hotel. Feb. 12, 1873 the first official Post Office of Madera County opened. Service stopped on Mar. 23, 1919 and USPS renamed the town Berenda "Female Antelope". The Central . . . — — Map (db m235395) HM
On Road 19 south of Avenue 18 1/2, on the left when traveling south.
In February of 1913 residents of the Dixieland farming district realized the need for a local school. They petitioned the county and the resulting school was named Munich, which came from a group of residents who migrated here from the town of . . . — — Map (db m148095) HM
On Highway 145 at Road 400, on the right when traveling west on Highway 145.
Once a part of Mariposa and Fresno Co, this area was traversed by local Indians, fur traders, explorers and gold seekers. The first settlement in what is now Madera County was 16 miles up the Fresno River where James D. Savage located his store, . . . — — Map (db m52241) HM
On Yosemite Avenue at North G Street, on the right when traveling west on Yosemite Avenue.
Starting in 1901 with a book on lumber, the library moved from place to place until 1917, when this historic building was built with county funds only. That eliminated strings from grants. An example of home rule. This was the first free library in . . . — — Map (db m34944) HM
On E Street at Yosemite Avenue, on the right when traveling east on E Street.
Switching from the iron horse to the horse drawn stage after a night at Madera's Yosemite Hotel, which still stands across the street from this monument, at 6 A. M. the tourists would load up in open stages to enable them a good view. Stagecoaches, . . . — — Map (db m39516) HM
On West 6th Street, 0.1 miles west of South Gateway Drive, on the right when traveling west.
In the year 1912 a Mr. William King Heiskell built an aviary with its first inhabitants being a green parrot and several species of birds from around the world. The zoo also had several ponds and water fountains and a bandstand. Although the Madera . . . — — Map (db m34946) HM
Browns Place was established in 1852 when Milton
Brown settled on the north fork of Willow Creek near this present location. His cabin was one of the first homes built in the area. As the many miners and stockmen came to the area, they used
his . . . — — Map (db m148197) HM
On Old Yosemite Road, on the right when traveling north.
Elick and Emma Bissett homesteaded 160 acres,
5 miles up Wawona-Sugar Pine Road from Oakhurst. Elick erected a house, stables and a small store.
They stabled teams that hauled machinery and materials to Wawona and the Sugar Pine mill. . . . — — Map (db m149060) HM
On Fresno Flats Road (Road 425B) at Crane Valley Road (Road 426), on the left when traveling south on Fresno Flats Road.
Fresno Flats was a farming and supply center for the mining and lumber industries. The local blacksmith was known throughout the area as the only one able to fabricate and repair large wheels. The oldest still-operating in Madera County Post Office . . . — — Map (db m60306) HM
On State Highway 41, 0.2 miles south of Teddy Bear Lane, on the left when traveling north.
This slab of a Giant Sequoia was cut from a 2,000 yr old Sequoia toppled by a winter storm in 1979 in Eastern Tulare County. 200 feet in length and 50 feet in circumference, the tree weighed 900,000 lbs. In 1981, LDG Logging Co of Oakhurst purchased . . . — — Map (db m60308) HM
Melodrama, a caberet style play with music, based on a hero, a heroine, and a villain, provided entertainment and escape from the harsh realities of the gold miner's lives. Troupes
of actors and musicians traveled from camp to
camp setting up . . . — — Map (db m148027) HM
On State Highway 49 north of State Route 41, on the right when traveling north.
This monument marks the Southern Terminus of Highway 49 which passes through fifty-one cities, towns and settlements in eleven counties in its three hundred and ten mile route through some of the most scenic and mineral-rich areas in all the land. . . . — — Map (db m148433) HM
On State Highway 41, 0.4 miles east of Road 426, on the left when traveling west.
Built by volunteers with donated materials, this church was first consecrated June 20, 1894. It was the only house of worship in the region for half a century. Services were discontinued in the early 1950's. The community rallied to save the church . . . — — Map (db m34934) HM
On California Route 41 at Cain Drive, on the right when traveling north on State Route 41.
Taking two years to construct and opening in August 1876, The flume ran 52 miles from Sugar Pine sawmill to the planing mill and railroad in Madera. This wooden flume transported lumber and loggers to Madera across deep canyons, streams and . . . — — Map (db m84537) HM
Near High School Road, on the right when traveling west.
Population:
1912 = 419
2012 = 12,981
In the early years Oakhurst, or Fresno Flats as it was originally known, provided supplies to miners, ranchers, and lumber companies in the surrounding sierra foothills. One hundred years later and now . . . — — Map (db m149009) HM
On Fresno Flats Road (Road 425B) 0.2 miles south of Crane Valley Road (Road 426), on the left when traveling south.
Fresno Flats (Oakhurst) was the western end of the Old French Trail (Fresno Flats Trail). Built by J. S. French, it was 54 miles long and a vital east - west route for supplies, mail, equipment and pioneers through the Sierra Mountains.
It . . . — — Map (db m60307) HM
The original one room schoolhouse was built in 1889, on land granted by Charles O'Neil. Students were combined from Hanover School of Hildreth, Marysdale near Little Table Mountain, Zebra near Blackhawk Lodge and
Mountain View School north of . . . — — Map (db m148535) HM
On Avenue 12 at Road 28¼, on the right when traveling west on Avenue 12.
The Central Pacific Railroad later Southern Pacific,
neared the village of Arcola in the Alabama Colony
in 1872 and as it was being built mainly with Chinese
labor established near here a Chinese camp of 2,500
men. Leland Stanford named the . . . — — Map (db m147956) HM
On Avenue 12 at Road 28¼, on the right when traveling west on Avenue 12.
This one-acre cemetery was created in 1872 by and for the 2,500 Chinese laborers who were building the Central Pacific, later named Southern Pacific, railroad south from Sacramento. A tiny town, mostly tents was established beside the tracks . . . — — Map (db m197261) HM
On County Road 600, 6 miles State Route 41, on the left when traveling south.
"Gold Fever" hit the streams in Madera County in 1849. Grub Gulch got its name from the fact that "miners could always pan enough gold from the river to grubstake themselves into better times."
Grub Gulch developed after the Gambetta Mine opened . . . — — Map (db m33719) HM
Hydraulic mining using monitors was popular by large mining operations. More material could be processed daily for significantly less cost and higher profitability than other methods. Monitors larger than this one were common at the Malakoff . . . — — Map (db m148195) HM
On Harrison Street at Road 600 also known as The Raymond Road, on the left when traveling east on Harrison Street.
The San Joaquin Valley and Yosemite Railroad was incorporated on February 15, 1886 by the Southern Pacific Company. The 21 miletrack ran between Berenda and Raymond. At this location, a turntable allowed the locomotive to be turned around and . . . — — Map (db m39517) HM
On Raymond Road (County Road 600), on the right when traveling north.
The first house in Raymond was home to Charles Miller. He was the first railroad station master and stagecoach agent. He filed the homestead for Raymond and is a
substantial part of Yosemite history.
California Point of Historical Interest . . . — — Map (db m20545) HM
On Road 600, 9 miles west of State Highway 41, on the left when traveling west.
In 1886 the Yosemite Stage and Turnpike Co. owned by Henry Washburn started daily stage service from Raymond to Wawona and on to Yosemite Valley. The next day only the wealthy could afford the $45 round trip exiting the train at Wildcat Junction . . . — — Map (db m27854) HM
