The State - News from April 21, 1988

It may be fate for a new women’s prison in Madera County to be named Kismet, or maybe the lockup will get a different destiny. Local officials want to recommend to the state a suitable name for a prison to be built south of Chowchilla. Some don’t want it named Madera Women’s Prison for fear that would suggest a negative image for their San Joaquin Valley community. So, other local place names were suggested, including Kismet, which means fate or destiny in Turkish, but which also was the name of a now-abandoned railroad signal station in the Madera County foothills. The fate of Kismet remains unknown as the Madera City Council deadlocked 2 to 2 this week on recommending it, and Madera County supervisors then decided to ask the public for ideas before making a decision.