On Friday, our friends Denise and Caleb took us to a very different part of Northern California. We drove about an hour and a half to our first stop - the town of Locke. Founded in 1915 during the time when it was illegal for Chinese immigrants to own land in California. There were many Chinese workers in the area who were originally brought in to build the railroads and then shifted over to build the levees that created farmland in the Delta. A Chinese neighborhood had grown up in Walnut Grove, but was decimated by a fire. So a group of Chinese merchants negotiated with George Locke to lease the land and built a town in Locke. It’s fairly well preserved and some people still live there, but it also has the feel of an old Western "ghost town" in someways. It's now a historic site with several small museums that tell the story of the town and the folks who lived there. Some familiar themes about immigrant workers and how they have been (are still) exploited, but who created community despite harsh conditions.
The old boarding house - now a museum and visitors center:
The main street:
The old gaming hall
An interesting intersection - apparently the town is a popular stop for bikers who frequent the local bar
The dollar bills on the ceilng are placed by throwing a bill with a thumbtack and quarters. The quarters drive the thumbtack in.
After our tour, we had a lovely picnic lunch including tangerines and olives from Caleb's trees (he cures the olives himself)
From the memorial garden
Some ofthe current residents have a more laid back modern California approach to business
