The North Fork Station
Called the North Fork Station, the North Fork Branch Library
opened for business for the first time in December of 1910. By
1947 the collection was housed in the Jones and Williams General
Store on Main Street. In the early 1960s the Library first occupied
a building of its own and Ruth Eastman was the first Madera County
employee hired to oversee the Library. On July 21, 1979, the
new North Fork Library, located above the fire station on Main
Street, was dedicated and opened to the public. It has enjoyed
outstanding usage and support.
Where North Meets South
The center divider on Highway 99 just south of Avenue 11 in Madera
County yields a symbolic trail marker that is easy to spot while
driving. A pine and palm tree put together so the travelers would
know where Northern and Southern California meet.
It is easy to imagine two friends, one with a pine tree from
Northern California the other with a palm tree from Southern
California, and the celebration when they met and planted them
along the roadway. However, no one knows for sure who planted
them according to Bob Thomason of CalTrans, who after looking
into it, saved the trees from destruction by road crews.
The Exact Center of California...
Close to North Fork, a small survey marker is all that denotes
the spot. However, many grandiose designs have been made for
the site, including drawings and plans by University students
looking to build on the balancing point of the State, so they
could "turn the State with a push". An idea for an
age that needs balance and careful corrections in its heading.
Those looking for the touchstone at the true center of California
could make the trek to North Fork, have lunch and ask the friendy
folks they find there. They will have had a great meal and good
company in a hidden gateway to the many wonders past the end
of the road. The source of the mighty San Joaquin River truly
is the heart of California.
The Facts...
For those who want to know the directions before they begin the
trip; start at the North Fork Market, take Road 225 East and
South for 4.7 miles, make a right turn onto Italian Bar Road
for another 2.7 miles. Just past the cattle guard, look up a
small hill to the left and you will find a short stone lined
path to the marker.
Acourding to USGS's Alan Mikuni back as far as 1930, someone
had determined the center by making a cut-out map of California
and placing a point where it would balance. This "point"
turned out to be amazingly close. In 1995 Leonard Grabielson
answered the question by estalishing the exact center for his
senior thesis at CSUFresno. The U.S.Geological Survey verified
it, as did other various organazations involved in earlier searches,
and the event was documented by Huell Howser of P.B.S.
For more information about the Center of California, please
contact, Ginnie Sterling, Executive Director of the North Fork
Community Development Council, P.O.Box 1484, NorthFork, CA. 93643.
Telephone (559) 877-4267.
Supporting The Library
If you would like to support the Madera County North Fork Branch
Library, please contact: Friends of North Fork Library,
P.O. BOX 428, North Fork, CA 93643.
