Mitchell, John L.

John L. Mitchell was born on May 9, 1853, in Morrisville, Missouri, to Benjamin Mitchell and Matilda Looney. After completing a six-year classical course at Morrisville College, he taught school in Missouri and Texas before making his permanent move to Selma, California, in 1890. Upon settling in Selma, he purchased a forty-acre ranch planted to muscats, operated a successful real estate and insurance business, and briefly mined for gold in Nome and Teller, Alaska, in 1901.

In addition to his business ventures, Mitchell served two terms as city clerk and recorder of Selma as a stalwart Democrat and gave strong support to the California Raisin Growers’ Association. He held leadership roles as Past Master of the Selma Blue Lodge of Masons, Past High Priest of the Chapter, and district inspector. Married first to Sadie Scott and later in 1906 to Sallie A. Richards Wenty, he raised his stepdaughter Edith, belonged to the Methodist Church South, and remained a vital civic leader in Selma.