Smith, George W.

George W. Smith, born in Tennessee on March 27, 1851, is a highly esteemed resident and long-serving Justice of the Peace in Fresno County, California. He was raised on a farm as the son of Dr. John D. Smith, a prominent physician from North Carolina, and Isabella Dickson, who came from distinguished Colonial and Revolutionary War stock. After receiving a public school education and farming for several years, he left his native state in 1880 to live in Booneville, Arkansas, before permanently relocating to Fresno County in 1885. He quickly entered public service, spending four years in the Internal Revenue service during President Cleveland’s administration, and later spent ten years as a vineyardist in Temperance Colony while buying fruit for George West and Son.

In 1902, his community dedication led to his election as Justice of the Peace, a position he successfully maintained through four subsequent re-elections. He married Mary E. Kerr on December 31, 1871, and together they had a daughter named Olive Bell Smith and a son named James Dickson Smith, who served with distinction in the United States Navy as a first-class radio graduate and machine gunner. Following the passing of his wife in 1919, Judge Smith continued his active involvement as a Democrat, a Thirty-second degree Mason across multiple bodies, an Eagle, and a warmly welcomed member of the Elks. His continuous public service and high-minded, generous character cemented his historical importance as a true Southern gentleman who shaped the civic life of Fresno.