Editing Madera County, California (section)

== History ==
Madera County was formed in 1893 from [[Fresno County]] during a special election held in Fresno on May 16, 1893. Citizens residing in the area that was to become Madera County voted 1,179 to 358 for separation from Fresno County and the establishment of Madera County.<ref>Madera County GenWeb, [http://cagenweb.com/madera/MadHistory.html Madera County History]. Accessed 2017.09.01.</ref>

The Madera County Sheriff's Department employed the first woman in California to die in the line of duty as a sworn law enforcement officer—Tulare native Lucille Helm (1914–1959). For 15 years, the Madera housewife and mother of four worked on call as a "matron" assisting with female transfers.<ref>"Memorial for law agents," [http://www.maderatribune.com The Madera Tribune], May 13, 2014, Pages A1 and A3</ref>

=== Human History ===

====Native People====
[[File:Photograph with text of a Mono couple living near Northfork, California. This is from a survey report of Fresno and... - NARA - 296289 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Mono couple living near Northfork, California, ca. 1920]]
The region now known as Madera County was originally the territory of several Native American tribes, notably the [[Mono people|Mono]], [[Yokuts|Chukchansi]], and [[Miwok]]. The Mono inhabited the upper [[San Joaquin River]] region, encompassing areas around [[North Fork, California|North Fork]] and [[Bass Lake (Madera County, California)|Crane Valley]]. The Chukchansi tribe lived in what are today the communities of [[Oakhurst, California|Oakhurst]], [[Coarsegold, California|Coarsegold]], [[Ahwahnee, California|Ahwahnee]], and the lower foothills extending to the [[San Joaquin Valley]]. Meanwhile, the Miwok were located in the vicinity of Ahwahnee, [[Wawona, California|Wawona]], [[Mariposa, California|Mariposa]], and the [[Yosemite Valley]].<ref name="Dwight 2001">{{cite book |last=Barnes |first=Dwight H. |date=2001 |title=Miners, Lumberjacks and Cowboys: A History of Eastern Madera County. |publisher=Sierra Historic Sites Association |isbn=0-9707605-0-7}}</ref>{{rp|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]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Freeman |first=Marcia Penner |date=2013 |title=Willow Creek History: Tales of Cow Camps, Shake Makers & Basket Weavers. |url=https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/ |publisher=The History Press |pages=23–29 |isbn=978-1-60949-644-9}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Dwight 2001"/>{{rp|13}}

===Immigration and Migration===

==== Early United States Era ====
Since the area was part of [[Mexico]] until 1848, it has maintained a significant population of [[Mexican Americans|Mexican descent]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nateras |first1=Myrna Martínez |last2=Stanley |first2=Eduardo |title=Latino Immigrant Civic and Political Participation in Fresno and Madera, California |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/Fresno%20Eng.pdf |publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |page=6 |access-date=}}</ref> After the [[California Gold Rush]], the region became a vibrant mosaic, drawing individuals from across the [[United States]] and beyond.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fresno Census in the 1800's |url=https://abc30.com/archive/7298949/ |publisher=ABC30 |date=February 28, 2010 |access-date=}}</ref> 
Chinese laborers played a key role in constructing the Madera Flume and working in the [[Madera Sugar Pine Company#Chinese Labor|Sugar Pine lumber yards]]. However, their numbers declined after restrictive immigration laws like the [[Chinese Exclusion Act#The aftermath|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.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=August 8, 2017 |title=Sugar Pine's Chinatown had its revenge |url= https://www.maderatribune.com/single-post/2017/08/08/sugar-pines-chinatown-had-its-revenge |work=The Madera Tribune |access-date=August 3, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Johnston 1968">{{Cite book |last=Johnston |first=Hank |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/239958 |title=Thunder in the Mountains: The Life and Times of Madera Sugar Pine |publisher=Stauffer Publishing |year=1968 |isbn=0-87046-017-X |edition=Second Edition (Revised) |location=Costa Mesa, Calif. |oclc=239958}}</ref>{{rp|81}}

==== 20th century ====
During the 1930s, Madera County became a destination for significant numbers of refugees from the [[Dust Bowl#Human displacement|Dust Bowl]], primarily originating from Oklahoma and Arkansas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dust Bowl Refugees in Madera |url=https://maderamethod.com/dust-bowl-refugees-in-madera/ |website=Madera Method Living History |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Maderan in Discussion on Migrants: State Chamber Told "Okies" Must Work Out Own Problems |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19400203.2.51&srpos=1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-madera+county+migrants------- |work=Madera Tribune |volume=LXXV |number=78 |date=February 3, 1940 |access-date=}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mexican Labor Slated To Arrive In August |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19510302.2.17&srpos=4&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22madera%22+Mexican+immigrants-------1 |publisher=Madera Tribune |volume=59 |number=283 |date=March 2, 1951 |access-date=January 29, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Farm Labor Bill Wins Approval |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19631101.2.46&srpos=5&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22madera%22+bracero-------1 |publisher=Madera Tribune |volume=72 |number=121 |date=November 1, 1963 |access-date=January 29, 2024}}</ref> 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 [[Mixtec]]s from Oaxaca, Mexico, numbering an estimated 5,000 individuals.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mydans |first=Seth |title=A New Wave of Immigrants On Farming's Lowest Rung |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/24/us/a-new-wave-of-immigrants-on-farming-s-lowest-rung.html |publisher=New York Times |date=August 24, 1995 |access-date=January 29, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Mix-1995">{{cite journal | access-date=August 28, 2022 | year=1995 | title=Mixtec Farm Workers | department=Rural Migration News | journal=Migration Dialogue | publisher=Regents of the [[University of California, Davis]] | volume=1 | number=4 | url=https://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=71}}</ref>