Tour the Historic Town of Locke in the Sacramento Delta, Saturday, October 13
Explore Locke's origins and its unique role in California's past.
The Sacramento area is rich in California history. Here's a great way to learn more about it. Club member Cathy Wei, MLA '02, has planned a visit to the fascinating Delta town of Locke, listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the ". . .largest and most intact surviving example of an historic rural Chinese-American community in the United States."
According to the town's website, Chinese immigrants from Guangdong Province in southeastern China helped build Delta levees and then stayed to work in the Delta agricultural industry. They founded, designed, and built the town of Locke between 1915 and 1920 after a fire damaged the then-Chinese section of neighboring Walnut Grove. At one time, between 600 and 1500 people frequented Locke's shops, restaurants, rooming houses, schools, theater, gambling parlors, and brothels.
A docent will lead Club members on a tour of the well-preserved remnants of this colorful past, to be followed by lunch at the local Chinese restaurant (or bring a picnic).
- When: Saturday, October 13, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Cost: $5.00 per visitor ($3.00 for seniors)--lunch not included.
- RSVP: By October 1 to Cathy Wei at cathy@cweidesign.com. She will help with carpooling if desired.
LITERARY NOTE: In November, the Book Club will read Water Ghosts, a critically-acclaimed novel by Shawna Yang Ryan about Locke in its heyday. Ms. Ryan wrote the novel as her master's thesis in Creative Writing at UC Davis. If you plan on going to Locke, it might be interesting to read the book pre-tour, and then attend the Book Club meeting in November to discuss it.