Wishon, California

Wishon
Unincorporated community
Wishon Location in California
Coordinates: 37°17′58″N 119°33′16″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Madera County
ZIP code	93669[1]
Area code	559

Wishon is a former settlement in Madera County, California.^[2] It has been inundated by Bass Lake.

Established in 1923, Wishon served as the mountain terminus for the Minarets and Western Railroad during the 1920s, an official common carrier owned by the Sugar Pine Lumber Company. This 53-mile railroad extended from the western end of the Bass Lake Dam to Pinedale.

Primarily, the railroad was used to transport logs to a large mill in Pinedale. A privately-owned standard gauge railroad also carried logs from Central Camp, across Bass Lake Dam, to Wishon, which served as a switching yard. Wishon offered brief passenger railroad service to Pinedale in the 1930s.^[3]

Wishon was named after A. Emory Wishon, an influential figure in the early development of hydroelectric energy using Bass Lake water. He later became the executive vice president of Pacific Gas & Electric Company after it purchased the Bass Lake operation.

Despite the Sugar Pine Lumber Company's dissolution after eight years, the Wishon post office endured until 1986. It was located in what is today known as Miller’s Landing, a store established by John McDougald in 1928, Wishon’s first postmaster.^[4][5]

References

1. "Wishon ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wishon, California
3. "Stage Line To Bass Lake To Be Started". Madera Tribune. 12 June 1936. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
4. "John McDougald Taken by Death". Madera Tribune. 16 April 1947. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
5. Flanagan, Kellie (25 March 2016). "Miller's Landing Opens For 35th Season". Sierra News Online. Retrieved May 30, 2023.