County of Madera
—  County  —
Seal
Location in the state of California
California's location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
Region	San Joaquin Valley/Sierra Nevada
Metro Area	Metropolitan Fresno
Incorporated	1893
County seat	Madera
Area
• Total	2,153.32 sq mi (5,577.1 km2)
• Land	2,135.86 sq mi (5,531.9 km2)
• Water	17.46 sq mi (45.2 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	150,865
• Density	70.6/sq mi (27.3/km2)
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
Website	www.madera-county.com

Madera County is a county of the U.S. state of California, located in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada north of Fresno County. It comprises the Madera-Chowchilla, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census the population was 150,865. The county seat is Madera.

The southeasternmost part of Yosemite National Park is located in the county's northeast.

  History

  Logging in the Sierra, Madera County, about 1901

Madera County was formed in 1893, from the southern part of Mariposa County during a special election held on May 16, 1893. Citizens residing in the area that was to become Madera County voted 1,179 to 358 for establishment of the new county.^[1]

Madera is the Spanish term for wood.^[2] The county derives its name from the town of Madera, named when the California Lumber Company built a log flume to carry lumber to the Central Pacific Railroad there in 1876.^{[citation needed]}

  Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 2,153.32 square miles (5,577.1 km²), of which 2,135.86 square miles (5,531.9 km²) (or 99.19%) is land and 17.46 square miles (45.2 km²) (or 0.81%) is water.^[3] The total area is 0.81% water.

  Cities and towns

• Ahwahnee
• Bass Lake
• Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos
• Chowchilla
• Coarsegold
• Knowles
• Madera
• Madera Acres
• North Fork
• O'Neals
• Oakhurst
• Parksdale
• Parkwood
• Raymond
• Ripperdan
• Sugar Pine
• Yosemite Lakes

  Adjacent counties

• Fresno County, California - south, west
• Merced County, California - northwest
• Mariposa County, California - north
• Tuolumne County, California - northeast
• Mono County, California - northeast

  National protected areas

• Devils Postpile National Monument
• Inyo National Forest (part)
• Sierra National Forest (part)
• Yosemite National Park (part)

  Transportation infrastructure

  Major highways

• State Route 41
• State Route 49
• State Route 99
• State Route 145
• State Route 152

  Other roads

The eastern side of Madera County, which includes Devil's Postpile National Monument and part of Minaret Summit, is unconnected to the rest of Madera County by road. This only road into this area is Minaret Summit Road which becomes State Route 203 at the Mono County border, connecting this area to Mammoth Lakes. Red's Meadow Road is a further extension of this route.

The gap between Minaret Road (not to be confused with Minaret Summit Road), which runs northeast into the Sierras from North Fork, and the end of the Red's Meadow Road is less than 10 miles, and plans for a highway (or tunnel) connecting the Eastern Sierra and the San Joaquin Valley via Minaret Summit had often been discussed. An area southwest of Minaret Summit was not included in the Wilderness Act of 1964 in order to leave a corridor for this possibility. During his time as Governor of California, Ronald Reagan made a horse packing trip into the area. Afterwards he supported conservationists' efforts to prevent this highway. Reagan continued his efforts after being elected President in 1980 and the area was eventually designated wilderness by the California Wilderness Act of 1984.

  Public transportation

• Madera County Connection provides service between the cities of Madera and Chowchilla. Routes also run to eastern Madera County. A connection to Fresno can be made at Children's Hospital Central California near the county line.
• The cities of Madera and Chowchilla also have their own local transit services.
• Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains stop in Madera.

  Airports

• Madera Municipal Airport and Chowchilla Airport are general aviation airports.

  Demographics

  2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Madera County had a population of 150,865. The racial makeup of Madera County was 94,456 (62.6%) White, 5,629 (3.7%) African American, 4,136 (2.7%) Native American, 2,802 (1.9%) Asian, 162 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 37,380 (24.8%) from other races, and 6,300 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 80,992 persons (53.7%).^[6]

  2000

  County government office building.

As of the census^[7] of 2000, there are 123,109 people in the county, organized into 36,155 households, and 28,598 families. The population density is 58 people per square mile (22/km²). There are 40,387 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county is 62.2% White, 4.1% Black or African American, 2.6% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 24.4% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. 44.3% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.0% were of German, 5.9% English, 5.4% American and 5.3% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 63.6% spoke English and 33.7% Spanish as their first language.

There are 36,155 households out of which 40.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.9% are married couples living together, 12.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% are non-families. 16.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.18 and the average family size is 3.52.

In the county the population is spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $36,286, and the median income for a family is $39,226. Males have a median income of $33,658 versus $24,415 for females. The per capita income for the county is $14,682. 21.4% of the population and 15.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 28.6% of those under the age of 18 and 9.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

  Government and politics

Madera is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

The vast majority of Madera is part of California's 19th congressional district, which is held by Republican Jeff Denham; a tiny part of Madera is in the 18th district, which is held by Democrat Dennis Cardoza. In the State Assembly, most of Madera is in the 25th district with a small part in the 19th district. Both districts are held by Republicans, Kristin Olsen and Linda Halderman respectively. In the State Senate, Madera is part of the 12th and 14th districts, which are held by Republicans Anthony Cannella and Tom Berryhill respectively.

On November 4, 2008 Madera County voted 73.4 % for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

The county is one of three counties in California to establish a separate department to deal with corrections pursuant to California Government Code §23013, the Madera County Department of Corrections, along with Napa County and Santa Clara County. The officers receive their powers under 831 and 831.5 of the California Penal Code.

  See also

• Sierra National Forest
• Nelder Grove
• Fresno Dome
• List of museums in the San Joaquin Valley
• List of school districts in Madera County, California
• Madera Community Hospital
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Madera County, California
• USS Madera County (LST-905)

  References

  External links

• Madera County GenWeb - Genealogy
• Official Madera County website
• Madera County History -- Transcription of 1933 document on the county's history
• Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce
• Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau
• Madera Tribune, newspaper for the county founded March 31, 1892
• Superior Court of Madera County
• Madera County Library
• Madera Community Hospital
• Madera Values Quarterly Magazine

	Merced County	Mariposa County	Tuolumne County and Mono County
	Fresno County
		Madera County, California
		Fresno County

Municipalities and communities of Madera County, California, United States County seat: Madera Cities Chowchilla Madera CDPs Ahwahnee Bass Lake Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos Coarsegold Fairmead La Vina Madera Acres Nipinnawasee Oakhurst Parksdale Parkwood Rolling Hills Yosemite Lakes Unincorporated communities Ahwahnee Estates Bass Lake Annex Berenda Bonadelle Ranchos Bonadelle Ranchos Five Bonadelle Ranchos Nine Bonita Borden Cascadel Woods Central Camp Dairyland Daulton Fine Gold Fresno Crossing Gregg Hildreth Indian Lakes Estates Indian Springs Irrigosa Italian Swiss Colony Kismet Knowles Knowles Junction Lake Madera Country Estates Madera Country Club Estates Madera Highlands Madera Ranchos Minturn North Fork Notarb Old Corral O'Neals Raymond Ripperdan River Road Estates San Joaquin River Estates Sharon Sierra Vista South Fork Storey Sugar Pine Sumner Hill The Pines Trigo Valley Lake Ranchos Whisky Falls Yosemite Forks Yosemite Lakes Park Indian reservations Northfork Rancheria Ghost towns Ash Bailey Flats Bethel Birch Buchanan Califa Cascadel Femmon Fort Miller Gertrude Gold Grub Gulch Herbert Hillside Jesbel Lankershim Lincoln Magnet Medano Miami Millerton Minarets Narbo Oak Ovejo Plains Rallsville Starville Talbot Tharsa Tillman Tyler Watt Willow Glen Wishon

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Coordinates: 37°13′N 119°46′W / 37.22°N 119.77°W / 37.22; -119.77