A century ago, 300 African Americans worked together to establish the town of Allensworth, California, a community that thrived for many years. Recently, a two-day celebration was held there to honor the town’s 100th birthday. The celebration also paid tribute to the town’s place in the history of civil rights.
In honor of its 100th birthday, Allensworth hosted a variety of family events. These included bike rides, music and dance performances, history exhibits, and town tours. Thousands attended. Several guest speakers talked about the town. They said that to its residents, it was more than a hometown; it was a new beginning.
The town of Allensworth is located between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was founded in 1908 by a retired Army colonel and escaped slave. His name was Allen Allensworth. Allensworth held the honor of being the Army’s first African-American colonel. He served in the Civil War. Allensworth set up the town on fertile land in California’s San Joaquin Valley. He imagined a place where African Americans could own property and live with dignity in a self-sufficient farming community. His goal was to a build a town that would thrive. He believed it would then alter the poor views of African Americans during a time of intense racism. These views were evidenced first by slavery and then by Jim Crow segregation laws.
“[It was] a conscious effort to combat racism at a time when there was very little [being done to combat it],” said Lonnie G. Bunch. Bunch is founding manager of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Allensworth was unique in its sociological and political mission, Bunch said. “It was more than creating an all-African-American community; there was a national political strategy involved in the founding of Allensworth that makes it unique.”
Recognizing that education would be the key to their success, Allensworth residents placed great importance on learning. The town made the school the largest building in town. Citizens taxed themselves in order to hire an additional teacher beyond the one paid for by the state. City planners initially pictured a college in the town center. In 1913, however, California’s state government voted down funding during its drive to end segregation. In addition to schools, townspeople valued libraries as a source of learning and erected the county’s first free public library.
The public library was only one of the town’s many firsts. Allensworth residents elected California’s first African-American justice of the peace. They also elected the first African-American constable.
“I call the Allensworth pioneers ‘Genius People,’” said Alice Calbert Royal. Royal was born in Allensworth in 1923. “They had a vision that would uplift an entire race of people,” she said.
Allensworth flourished for 12 years, until several events caused the town to decline. Colonel Allensworth died suddenly. The wells that irrigated the town’s farms dried up. The Santa Fe railroad moved the train’s stop to a neighboring town. Eventually, educated young people began moving away in search of jobs.
But Allensworth is sometimes referred to as “the town that refused to die.” It went on to assume a different form. In the 1970s, the California government recognized the town’s historical importance. It turned Allensworth into a state park. Since then, on streets named after such influential African Americans as Sojourner Truth and Booker T. Washington, many of Allensworth’s buildings have been restored. These buildings include several houses, two general stores, a church, and a schoolhouse.
“Out of this community came people who believed… that anything is possible,” said Lonnie Bunch, who spoke at the celebration. `

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