Now & Then: Former judge got his start selling clothes

Edward Edgar Warne opened his clothing store on South Washington Street in November 1908, at the site of what is now part of the Candy Vault. He had formerly owned the same type of business in Mariposa and Turlock.

His son, John Ten Broeck Warne, worked in the store, but his strongest desire was to be a lawyer. He earned his law degree through the University of Chicago’s Lasalle Extension school. It was said he received a perfect score on the California state bar exam in 1914.

In 1912, E.E. Warne purchased 70 acres of land a mile and a half from Oakdale, with the intent of moving there at some time in the future. He sold the Sonora store seven years later and moved to his ranch. A company from San Bernardino purchased the business, with the intent of making improvements.

Sanford Goldman had purchased the business in 1922 and opened Sanford’s, an upscale women’s clothing store, which was in business at this location until 1980.

J.T.B. Warne stayed in Sonora, practicing law. In 1922, at the age of 36, he was appointed the Superior Court Judge for Tuolumne County, filling the unexpired term of George Nicol, who had recently died. J.C. Webster, was a local attorney who also applied for the job, but found out that he was not eligible for the office.

Webster was a state assemblyman, and the state Constitution at the time prohibited an assemblyman from being appointed to any other office during the term for which he was elected.

Gov. William Stephens was a Republican and did not want to pass the matter over to the incoming Democratic governor, Friend Richardson, so he quickly appointed Warne. Sound like a familiar scenario?

J.T.B. Warne served as the superior court judge until his retirement in 1957. After retiring, he served as an appellate court judge for five and a half years.

J.T.B. Warne was active in the community, a member of the Masonic Lodge, past president of the Sonora Lions Club, a member of the Tuolumne County Historical Society and was a lifetime member of the Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce and the PTA. He died on Sept. 12, 1978, and was buried in Sonora’s Masonic Cemetery.

Courtesy photo / City of Sonora This photograph was taken in the early 1900s.the building, still referred to as the Bradford building, is located at the southwest corner of South Washington Street and Bradford Avenue. Warne’s store occupied the south half of the building, while the First National Bank was in the north half. Dr. Innis Bromley had his offices upstairs.