By Roger Mitchell — A few years ago, I was attending a wedding reception, talking to a gentleman who seemed to be very knowledgeable regarding Madera County history. Somehow the subject of the oldest dwelling structure in what is now Madera County came up. I had researched that very subject once, and I felt confident when I expressed the view ...

Does anyone know where this interesting rock formation is located? Does it have a name? The North Fork History Group would like to develop a catalogue of interesting natural formations in the area. If you have any information about this one, or any others, please make comments here, or send to dongrove1@yahoo.com. Don Grove North Fork History Mystery Coordinator HISTORY ...

E Clampus Vitus Grub Gulch 41-49 has been researching the Yosemite Stage Route and the stage stop west of Blackhawk Lodge. This route left Madera, stopped at the Adobe Ranch, then Bates Station, went north and cut westward to the Zebra area. At the end of Longhollow Court in Yosemite Lakes Park is the supposed site of a stage stop, ...

RAYMOND — This month we have two items we would like folks to check out and see if they know what they are or what they were used for. They were donated by local museum visitors and came from old family homes. We have had many guesses but no definitive answer. The board item looks homemade and the green metal ...

We have a few facts about the history of the Bonnie B Ranch in our files. However, we have many gaps in our knowledge. We know the Ranch began as property owned by G. L. Smith when he obtained it sometime after 1891 under the Homestead Act. Mr. Smith was also the first owner of the Buckhorn Saloon and was ...

This sign was found in some brush in the 1960s by Malcom Fulmer while he was gathering cattle. It was in the area of the Philp family cattle permit off the dirt road running from Fish Camp to Mount Raymond. Malcom’s wife, Anita Fulmer donated it to the Raymond Museum and of course the mystery is, what does it say? ...

Submitted by Karen Morris, Coarsegold Historical Society/Museum – The picture of these two little women is painted on paper with a fabric backing. It was donated to the Coarsegold Historical Society and now hangs in the Adobe building on the museum grounds. Do you recognize who these two young girls are? We are asking for help in identifying the girls ...

Submitted by Roger Mitchell China Wells & Burford? What are the sites “China Wells” and “Burford”? Why are they significant to the community? While browsing through some topographic maps of the Oakhurst area, I noticed two “sites” which I had never heard about previously.

This photo is of the Lisenby CCC Camp that we received from the Bass Lake District of the Sierra National Forest. We know there were two major Civilian Conservation Corps camps in North Fork during the 1930s. The one referred to as the North Fork Camp was located on Road 222 between North Fork and Manzanita Lake, but we don’t ...

We welcome E. Clampus Vitus as our newest contributing partner in the History Mystery Series. This submission for April is a continuation of a project they have been working on at the bottom of Hensley Lake. In the 1850’s Major James Savage of the California Militia erected a trading post along the Fresno River at the North West section of ...