North Fork is situated in the Sierra Nevada foothills at an elevation of 2,638 feet. It is roughly 46 miles (74km) miles north-northeast of Fresno, 41 miles (66km) miles northeast of Madera, and 17 miles (27km) miles southeast of Oakhurst by road. The CDP has a total area of 32.3 square miles (84km2) square miles, with Willow Creek, North Fork, and South Fork serving as its primary bodies of water. North Fork also holds the distinction of being the community closest to the geographic center of California.
North Fork is within the ancestral home of the Mono Native Americans. The community developed into a significant hub for the timber industry, which was the mainstay of the local economy until the late 20th century.
Attractions in North Fork include the Sierra Mono Museum and the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway. The Buckhorn Saloon, a mainstay since the 1800s, continues to function as a restaurant and tavern. North Fork is also the site of the annual Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree, a tribute to the region's logging history.
Geography
North Fork is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 2,638 feet (804m).[2] It is 46 miles (74km) north-northeast of Fresno, 41 miles (66km) northeast of Madera, and 17 miles (27km) by road southeast of Oakhurst. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the North Fork CDP has a total area of 32.3 square miles (84km2), of which 0.04 square miles (0.10km2), or 0.14%, are water.[1] The community is drained by Willow Creek and by its North Fork and South Fork. Willow Creek is a south-flowing tributary of the San Joaquin River.
The geographic center or midpoint of the state of California is located between North Fork and Italian Bar. The point is about 7.1 miles (11.4km) driving distance from the United States Forest Service office in North Fork. The location is marked by a sign and a survey marker. The site has wooden stairs leading up the hillside about 50 feet (15m) from the road. The marker is not wheelchair accessible.[6]
North Fork CDP, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
According to the 2020 United States Census and American Community Survey, North Fork has an older population than the state average, with a median age of 58 and 36.2% of residents aged 65 or older.[27] Veterans make up about 13% of the community, and 18.6% of residents report a disability.[27]
The median household income was $65,850, below the California median, and 15.7% of residents lived below the poverty line. About 17.9% of adults held a bachelor’s degree or higher.[27] Housing costs were relatively low, with a median gross rent of $981 and a total of 1,633 housing units.[27]
The racial composition included 2,388 White residents, 385 Hispanic or Latino, 356 American Indian, and 352 identifying with two or more races. About 5.2% of the population was foreign-born.[27]
History
Native People
Mono couple living near Northfork, California, ca. 1920
North Fork is within the ancestral home lands of the Mono people, who still constitute a significant portion of the population (9.4% according to the 2000 Census).
The Sierra Timber Reserve Act, enacted in February 1893, resulted in the land around North Fork coming under federal control. This left the Mono Indians, who were not recognized as US citizens until 1924, left out. They were unable to pursue their traditional way of life or maintain their newly adopted practice of cattle grazing, finding themselves effectively excluded from their ancestral lands. Faced with these obstacles, many Mono Indians either assimilated into the settler community or dispersed to other areas.[28]:122
Early History
The first permanent settlement in the North Fork area was established in 1865, when Milton Brown built a log cabin at the end of a wagon road from Crane Valley to the north fork of the San Joaquin River. The location, known locally as "Brown's Place," served stockmen, sheepmen, and miners who left their wagons there before traveling further into the mountains.[28]:115–117
In 1886, Brown and John Bartram built a sawmill on Peckinpah Mountain, forming the North Fork Lumber Company. A post office was established the following year under the name "North Fork," which became the name of the settlement.[29]
Early accounts describe the settlement as a small community with a few stores and hotels. Alder Creek was renamed Whiskey Creek after reports that the general store mainly sold whiskey.[30] The Fresno Morning Republican described it as "a bleak little mountain center," isolated from valley towns such as Friant and Madera.[31]
Film director Sam Peckinpah spent part of his youth on his grandparents’ ranch in North Fork. His grandparents settled there in 1884, and Peckinpah Mountain is named for their sawmill site.[32] Elements of the town’s history influenced Peckinpah’s later Western films and television work.[33]
Forestry
In 1902, North Fork was selected as the headquarters of the Sierra Reserves, the predecessor to the Sierra National Forest, when Charles H. Shinn was appointed head ranger. The town’s location, between the northern boundary at Tuolumne County and the southern boundary at Kern County, provided a central base for administration.[31]:18 The supervisor’s office remained in North Fork until 1989, when it was relocated to Clovis.[31]:168
Lumber industry
Logging in eastern Madera County declined sharply during the Great Depression, and the Sugar Pine Lumber Company, operating in the mountains above North Fork, shut down in 1933.[34]
In 1941, the Associated Box and Lumber Company purchased 135 acres (55ha) of land and moved its operations from Bieber to North Fork the following year. The mill began operating in 1942 and processed its first log on April 1, 1943. In its first year it produced about nine million board feet of lumber, primarily from ponderosa pine, sugar pine, lodgepole pine, and incense cedar.[35]
By 1951, North Fork’s population exceeded 2,000, and the mill employed more than 130 workers.[36] The facility included a sawmill, planing mill, storage areas, workshops, and company housing for employees.[37]
In 1985, Ron Yanke acquired the operation, renaming it South Fork Timber Industries. From 1985 to 1991 the mill averaged 143 million board feet of lumber annually.[38][39] A cogeneration plant was added in 1986 to generate electricity from sawdust, with surplus power sold to utilities.[38]
Reduced forest yields in the early 1990s, combined with higher costs, led to layoffs beginning in 1991. The mill closed on February 25, 1994.[38]
Economy
Until 1996, the timber industry was the backbone of North Fork's economy, with the local lumber mill serving as the town's main source of livelihood.[40]
Employment in North Fork is distinct, with 20.9% of its workforce employed in local, state, and federal government roles, a proportion that surpasses California's 14.2%. However, the overall employment rate in North Fork stands at 34.3%, significantly lower than the state's 60.0%.[27]
The US Forest Service Crane Valley Hotshots, a crew of wildland firefighters, remain based in North Fork.[41]
Arts and culture
The Sierra Mono Museum in North Fork preserves and interprets the history and culture of the Mono people.[42] North Fork is also the starting point of the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway, a 100-mile route through the Sierra Nevada.[43]
The Buckhorn Saloon
The Buckhorn Saloon has operated in North Fork since the late 19th century. In the 1950s it functioned partly as a dude ranch, catering to fishing and hunting parties as well as loggers.[44] In 1952, its proprietor was convicted of assault and sentenced to six months in jail after firing a .45-caliber pistol at a patron.[45][46] The Buckhorn continues to operate as a restaurant and saloon.
A historical marker established by E Clampus Vitus notes the site of the community’s former stagecoach stop.[47] North Fork is also near the geographic center of California, identified by a survey marker located about 7 miles (11 km) from the town.[48]
The North Fork Loggers Jamboree began in 1959 as an annual competition for loggers from seven surrounding counties.[49] Events included logging skills contests, a parade, and a pageant.[50] Following the closure of the local mill in the 1990s, the event was renamed the Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree and continues as a heritage festival.[51]
1 2 3 Rose, Gene (1994). Sierra Centennial: 100 Years of Pioneering on the Sierra National Forest. Three Forests Interpretive Association. ISBN0-944194-31-1.
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