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Wagon Train At Millerton
Monday, April 17, 2006
Millerton Lake
While Fresno County's first seat ceased to exist well over a hundred years ago, a large crowd gathered last April 17 to pay tribute to the town and its enduring legacy. "Millerton Memories" was held at the old county courthouse, located at Mariners Point and not far from where the settlement once flourished. The construction of Friant Dam inundated the town site during the 1940s, necessitating removal and later reassembly of the courthouse at Mariners Point, where it has overlooked Friant Dam and Lake Millerton since 1971.
"Millerton Memories" is part of a series of events commemorating the 150th anniversary of Fresno County. It featured talks by local historians J. Randall McFarland and Cathy Rehart, who recollected the boisterous Gold Rush days of the town, and its later decline as agriculture gave way to mining as the county's pre-eminent industry.
A major highlight of the program was a visit by the Madera Method Wagon Train, led by educational coordinator Bill Coate. In the weeks previous to the celebration, the mule-driven wagons took fifth grade students to various historic locations throughout Fresno County, and made the stop at Mariners Point shortly before its run ended on April 19.
Following the speeches, members of Fresno County's Board of Supervisors and Historic Landmarks and Records Commission, along with other guests, boarded a barge which traveled to the place above Millerton's site.
After McFarland and Supervisor Phil Larson said a few words in fond remembrance of Millerton, those present scattered roses on the water. Timed to take place just as the sun was sinking below the lake's surface, the scene was both poetic and poignant to witness.
"Millerton Memories" was a joint project of the Fresno County Office of Education, Millerton Lake State Recreation Area, the Historic Landmarks and Records Commission, and the Fresno County Public Library.
Contact Information:
Karen Bosch Cobb, County Librarian, Fresno County Library 559.488.3185
Carole Lester, Fresno Historical Society, 559.441.0862
fresnocounty150@aol.com, www.fresnocounty150.org