unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Tulare County, California
Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lake ...
. Established by Allen Allensworth in 1908, the town was the first in California to be founded, financed, and governed by African-Americans.
The original townsite is designated as
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park is a state park unit of California, United States, preserving Allensworth, the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. The small farming community was founded in 19 ...
. The 2020 United States census reported Allensworth's population was 531, up from 471 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Allensworth as a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
(CDP).
Allensworth sits at an elevation of , the same elevation as the huge and historically important
Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake () ( Spanish: ''Laguna de Tache'', Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'') is a freshwater dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. After Lake Cahuilla disappeared in the 17th century ...
shore when it was full. The community is located in the ZIP Code 93219 and in the
area code 661
Area code 661 is a California telephone area code that covers the majority of Kern County, as well as part of Los Angeles County, Santa Barbara County, and Tulare County. It was split from area code 805 on February 13, 1999.
Principal cities i ...
Denison University
Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...
graduate Professor William Alexander Payne established the California Colony and Home Promoting Association. Allensworth and Payne were the chief officers, with the other constituents being miner John W. Palmer; minister William H. Peck; and real estate agent Harry A. Mitchell (all of whom were Black men). The Association purchased 20 acres of land from the Pacific Farming Company with the goal of establishing a town for Black soldiers. The land was situated at the then-extant Santa Fe rail line stop, titled "Solita." The land was divided into individual parcels, forming "a colony of orderly and industrious African Americans who could control their own destiny."
Allensworth's reputation drew many from all over the country to the town, causing some to buy property sight-unseen in order to support the efforts. In the early 20th century, the area boasted a great boom and hosted California's first African American school district by 1910.
The town was especially reported upon in 1912 to 1915, the period considered its apex as a thriving community. Its growth was reported in ''
The New York Age
''The New York Age'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1887. It was widely considered one of the most prominent African-American newspapers of its time.
'', the ''
California Eagle
The ''California Eagle'' (1879–1964) was an African-American newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded as ''The Owl'' in 1879 by John J. Neimore.
Charlotta Bass became owner of the paper after Neimore's death in 1912. She owned and ...
'' (which emphasized that "there is not a single white person having anything to do with the affairs of the colony") and the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
,'' which labelled Allensworth as the "ideal Negro settlement."
By 1914, the town had established a schoolhouse, thereby becoming California’s first African American school district. It also had a courthouse, a Baptist church, a hotel, and a Tulare County library.
However, multiple complications occurred in 1914. The Santa Fe rail system moved its railroad stop from Allenstown to Alpaugh. In September 1914, Colonel Allensworth died in
Monrovia, California
Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and co ...
, where he was struck by a motorcycle while crossing the street. The town experienced extreme losses, coupled with severe drought and decreased crop yields. Despite this, the 1915 voting registration showed "farmers, storekeepers, carpenters, nurses and more, all suggesting that the colony’s business and industrial output was prodigious."
Many residents left the area following World War I.
The California Colony and Home Promoting Association's 1929 blueprint of Allensworth is available for viewership online via the California State Archives.
The town of Allensworth was scheduled for demolition in 1966 when
arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...
was found in the water supply.
Legacy
The town was memorialized as a state park in 1974, and hosts seasonal events to preserve its history, which garner "thousands of visitors" from around the state. The area around the park is inhabited. In 1976, the Colonel Allensworth Historic Park was established, a process which was started by Cornelius Ed Pope. Historic buildings from 1908-1918 have been restored in the town center.
A number of the restored buildings are at the center of the 2022 documentary film ''Allensworth'' by James Benning. The film had its U.S. premiere at the 2022
Denver Film Festival
The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver, Colorado, now the Anna and John J. Sie FilmCenter (Sie FilmCenter). Premiere events are held in the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House ...
Allensworth marks the eastern high-water shoreline of
Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake () ( Spanish: ''Laguna de Tache'', Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'') is a freshwater dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. After Lake Cahuilla disappeared in the 17th century ...
, (once the largest U.S. lake outside the Great Lakes,) which supported one of the largest Indian populations on the continent, herds of elk, millions of water fowl, as well as a commercial fishery and ferry service. Other townsites located on this historic shoreline include Lemoore on its northern tip, and
Kettleman City
Kettleman City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kings County, California, United States. Kettleman City is located southwest of Hanford, 54 miles (88 km) south of Fresno, at an elevation of , and sits only about 1/2 mile north of the 36th p ...
on the western shore, while nearby Alpaugh is on the eastern end of a long, sandy ridge at elevation 210 ft. that was once called Hog Island. Due to diversions of the natural waterways since the mid to late 19th century, only a tiny remnant of Tulare Lake now remains. The last time
Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake () ( Spanish: ''Laguna de Tache'', Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'') is a freshwater dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. After Lake Cahuilla disappeared in the 17th century ...
was full and overflowed its spillway (near Lemoore) was 1878.
Just north of Allensworth is the
Pixley National Wildlife Refuge
Pixley National Wildlife Refuge is located south of Tulare, California and north of Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley. The nature refuge represents one of the few remaining examples of the grasslands, vernal pools, and playas that once bo ...
, grassland and wetland habitats operated by the Department of the Interior, US Fish and Wildlife Service. Of great interest, thousands of
sandhill crane
The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on ...
s (''Grus canadensis''), use this refuge each winter from November through March.
Red-tailed hawk
The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members wit ...
s (''Buteo jamaicensis''), are among the 141 type of birds that can be seen here.Natural Resource Projects Inventory (NRPI) Catalog - Allensworth Ecological Reserve Restoration Project /ref>
Burrowing owl
The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...
s are sometimes present. Also present are Pacific pond turtles, once an important part of
Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake () ( Spanish: ''Laguna de Tache'', Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'') is a freshwater dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. After Lake Cahuilla disappeared in the 17th century ...
's fishery trade with San Francisco.
Adjacent to the town is Allensworth Ecological Reserve. The endangered San Joaquin
kit fox
The kit fox (''Vulpes macrotis'') is a fox species that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. These foxes are the smallest of the four species of ''Vulpes'' occurring in North Amer ...
(''Vulpes macrotis mutica'') can be found in this area.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the CDP covers an area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km2), all of it land.
Demographics
The
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...
reported that Allensworth had a population of 471. The population density was . The racial makeup of Allensworth was 158 (33.5%)
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 22 (4.7%)
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0 (0.0%)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 279 (59.2%) from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 4 (0.8%) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 436 persons (92.6%).
The Census reported that 471 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 115 households, out of which 69 (60.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 67 (58.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 20 (17.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 11 (9.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 10 (8.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 13 households (11.3%) were made up of individuals, and 7 (6.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.10. There were 98
families
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
(85.2% of all households); the average family size was 4.37.
The population was spread out, with 187 people (39.7%) under the age of 18, 66 people (14.0%) aged 18 to 24, 100 people (21.2%) aged 25 to 44, 93 people (19.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 25 people (5.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males.
There were 142 housing units at an average density of , of which 56 (48.7%) were owner-occupied, and 59 (51.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.8%. 220 people (46.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 251 people (53.3%) lived in rental housing units.
Education
The Allensworth School District hosts a single school serving grades K through 8. That school is named Allensworth Elementary School.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...