History of Madera
“Madera" is the Spanish word for "lumber", the first industry in this County. Part of the historic Sugar Pine Railroad remains as a tourist attraction. A huge flume once ran from the high Sierra Forest area down to Madera. It is one of the engineering marvels of early California. The mountain area is rich in the history of the 1859 California Gold Rush towns, with such names as Coarsegold, Finegold, Grub Gulch, Ahwahnee and Nipinnawassee. Panning for gold is still popular for both fun and profit. In 1855, a portion of Madera County separated from Mariposa County when Fresno became a County and in 1856, the rest of Madera separated from Mariposa County and became a County.
The growth of the territory known as Madera County has progressed in waves. The first small wave of men was composed of a few explorers, soldiers, trappers, and Spanish-speaking settlers with Mexican land grants. These men came in the first half of the last century, and few stayed longer than a few months.
The discovery of gold brought the first big wave of immigrants, most of them placer miners who worked along the streams that were rich in the precious metal, and soon a new mining era came with the development of hard-rock mining for gold, silver and copper.
The State Legislature officially named Highway 49 the "Mother Lode Highway" in 1921. At that time, it extended south only as far as Mariposa, and the section from Mariposa to Oakhurst was known as Bootjack Road. In 1969, the State Highway Commission and State Legislature finally incorporated Bootjack Road into Highway 49. Oakhurst rightfully received recognition and was legitimized as the southern terminus of the scenic and famous route, which winds its way through eleven counties.
Gold fever hit the hills here in 1849 and 1850 but the actual gold rush came more slowly. Until then no one had any reason to explore the mountains and they had remained wilderness.
The records show that one early resident of the area, Jim Savage, employed Chinese to work the San Joaquin River for him. At first, Jim was involved in fighting the Indians, but as the area became more populated, he made friends with them. He is given credit for the discovery of Yosemite Valley on March 27, 1851, and named it after the tribe that inhabited it.
Legend has it that at one time there were 5,000 residents in Grub Gulch and 10,000 in Coarsegold. There is considerable evidence of Chinese labor in that area; miles of stonewalls meander through hills between Raymond and Mariposa. Local ranchers hired the Chinese to clear their fields of rocks and to use them for boundary fences. They were built without mortar and still stand today.
Early placer mines were located around Coarsegold Gulch, Grub Gulch, along the Fresno River and Gold Creek near Hildreth (southeast of Oakhurst) and Fine Gold Gulch. The latter community, no longer in existence, was given this name to distinguish it from Coarsegold Gulch. Gold found at Coarsegold was generally in nugget form; that at Fine Gold was more in the form of dust. Millions were reportedly mined, but no accurate records were kept. Due to the fact that the gold dust was used as a medium of exchange, the amount actually taken was probably exaggerated by changing hands so frequently.