Judge William W. Noland, Riverside’s well-known City Recorder and the impartial Judge of her municipal court, was born in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana, June 25, 1825. He is a descendant of representative Southern families. His father, Brazelton Noland, was a native of Kentucky. He was one of the earliest pioneers of Madison County, Indiana, locating there in 1821. Judge Noland’s mother was a native of North Carolina. Her name before marriage was Nancy Russell. The subject of this sketch was reared in the pioneer days of his native place, schooled in the log cabin schoolhouse by the itinerant teacher of that day, and taught the practical realities of life by labor on the pioneer farm of his father. Upon reaching his majority he engaged in farming upon his own account, and later was appointed railroad and express agent at Anderson. Judge Noland took a prominent part in the affairs of his county politically and otherwise, and in 1862 was elected as County Treasurer of Madison County. He held that responsible position until 1867, and upon his retirement from office was appointed as express agent of Anderson. In 1870 he moved to Indianapolis, and there, in partnership with John H. Batty, engaged in real estate and abstract business. He continued that business for about eight years and then established himself in the tobacco trade. In 1880 he decided to seek a home in California, and in December of that year, came to Riverside. The next spring he established his home on the eastside of Orange Street, just north of the city limits, at which point he purchased a five-acre tract and engaged in horticultural pursuits. In this enterprise, as in others, he has scored a success. His land is all in oranges, three acres in seedlings and the remainder in budded fruit. His three acres of seedlings in the season of 1888-’89 produced a crop which sold on the trees for $1,150. The Judge, from his first arrival in Riverside, has been one of her leading men.
In political matters he is a Democrat, but is liberal and conservative in his views. In 1883, upon the organization of the municipal government he was elected City Marshall and Tax Collector, and re-elected to the same offices in 1884. In June 1886, he was appointed by the Board of City Trustees City Recorder, vice Judge Conway, and in the fall of that year was elected to the same position. His administration of the affairs of his important office gave such satisfaction that he was re-elected in 1888 by a majority that was a flattering testimonial of the confidence and esteem reposed in the Judge by a community that is largely composed of his opponents in political matters.
Judge Noland has for years been a consistent member of the Christian Church. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is affiliated with Philoxenian Lodge and Marion Encampment of Indianapolis; Indiana. The Judge’s family comprises his wife and three children, all of whom are residents of Riverside. In 1844 he was married to Miss Anna McClanahan, a native of Logan County, Ohio. Her father, James McClanahan, was a native of New York. The names of the children are: Emma J., now Mrs. C. T. Rice; Clara J., now the wife of Jacob Van de Grift, the well-known postmaster of Riverside, and Thomas E., who married Miss Helen Condon, a native of Maine.