Madera County, officially the County of Madera, is a county at the geographic center of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 156,255. The county seat is Madera.
Chowchilla is a city in Madera County, California, United States. The city's population was 18,720 at the 2010 United States Census, up from 11,127 at the 2000 U.S. Census. Chowchilla is located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Madera, at an elevation of 240 feet.
Gabriel Moraga was a Sonoran-born Californio explorer and army officer. He was the son of the expeditionary José Joaquín Moraga who helped lead the de Anza Expedition to California in 1774, Like his father, Moraga is one of the most notable Spanish expeditionaries in the history of Alta California and the origin of the names of many of the most notable rivers and cities of Northern California and the Central Valley.
The Mariposa War occurred between Native Americans and miners in Mariposa in central California. The conflict arose following the California Gold Rush when thousands of settlers, immigrants and prospectors entered Native American lands through the California Trail. In several campaigns, the specially-raised Mariposa Battalion brutally raided and destroyed the villages of native Americans throughout the region. The war is part of the California genocide, in which thousands of indigenous peoples of California were killed by agents and forces of the United States government and private citizens in the 19th century.
Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) is a female-only California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison located in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Valley State Prison. CCWF is the largest female correctional facility in the United States, and houses the only State of California death row for women.
Valley State Prison (VSP), previously the Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW), is a state prison in Chowchilla, California. It is across the road from Central California Women's Facility. It used to be a prison for women.
State Route 233 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It serves as an alternate route between State Route 152 and State Route 99 in Madera County, running along Robertson Boulevard through the center of Chowchilla instead of bypassing the city. Drivers going from eastbound SR 152 to northbound SR 99 must use SR 233 since there is no such direct ramp at the 99/152 interchange.
The Merced Sun-Star is a daily broadsheet newspaper printed in Merced, California, in the United States. It has an estimated circulation of 20,000 copies. The newspaper is published every day except for Sundays.
The Chowchilla River is a river in central California, United States and a minor tributary of the San Joaquin River. It flows for 54.2 miles (87.2 km) from the western side of the Sierra Nevada Range to the San Joaquin River system in the San Joaquin Valley.
The Madera Canal is a 35.9 mi (57.8 km)-long aqueduct in the U.S. state of California. It is part of the Central Valley Project managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to convey water north to augment irrigation capacity in Madera County. It was also the subject of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Central Green Co. v. United States.
"Indian Summer" is a song by the American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was written by the duo's members, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, along with Bob DiPiero. As Brooks & Dunn's 49th single, it was released in May 2009 and was the lead-off single to the duo's third greatest hits album #1s… and Then Some, released on September 8, 2009 via Arista Nashville.
Dairyland is an unincorporated community in Madera County, California. It is located 7.5 miles (12 km) south-southwest of Chowchilla, at an elevation of 184 feet. Dairyland was at one terminus of the Chowchilla Pacific Railroad, and at a terminus of a branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Fairmead is a census-designated place in Madera County, California. It is located 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Madera, at an elevation of 253 feet. The population was 1,447 at the 2010 census.
Tyler is a former settlement in Madera County, California. It was located on the Chowchilla Pacific Railroad 5 miles (8 km) south-southwest of Chowchilla, at an elevation of 197 feet. Tyler still appeared on maps as of 1918.
H. V. Eastman Lake is an artificial lake in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, California. A small percentage of the northwest area of the reservoir is in Mariposa County. The lake was named in honor of Judge H. V. Eastman (1891-1972) who had served as Secretary Manager of the Chowchilla Water District.
Mariposa Creek, originally called the Mariposa River, is a creek that has its source in Mariposa County, California. It flows through the town of Mariposa then southwest through the Sierra foothills, into and across the San Joaquin Valley in Merced County, and empties the sloughs of the San Joaquin River south of the city of Merced.
The 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping was the abduction of a school bus driver and 26 children, ages 5 to 14, in Chowchilla, California, United States, on July 15, 1976. The kidnappers held their captives in a box truck buried in a quarry in Livermore, California, intending to demand a ransom for their return. After about 16 hours underground, the driver and children dug themselves out and escaped.
Merced station is a proposed California High-Speed Rail station in Merced, California, located in Downtown Merced on Martin Luther King Jr. Way near the interchange with Route 99/59, and is about 7 blocks south from the existing Merced Amtrak station. The station was initially intended to be the northern terminus of the system's Initial Construction Segment. The high-speed rail line runs along the right-of-way of the Union Pacific Railroad at this location.
The California High-Speed Rail system will be built in two phases. Phase 1 will be about 520 miles (840 km) long, and is planned to be completed in 2033, connecting the downtowns of San Francisco, Los Angeles using high-speed rail through the Central Valley with feeder lines served at Merced and an extension to Anaheim. In Phase 2, the route will be extended in the Central Valley north to Sacramento, and from east through the Inland Empire and then south to San Diego. The total system length will be about 800 miles (1,300 km) long. Phase 2 currently has no timeline for completion.
Chowchilla Union High School District (CUHSD) is a school district headquartered in Chowchilla, California. It operates Chowchilla Union High School and the continuation school Gateway. Its feeder elementary districts are Alview-Dairyland Union School District and Chowchilla Elementary School District.
