The Forty Acres, located in

Delano Delano or DeLano may refer to: Places in the United States * Delano, California * Delano, Wichita, Kansas, a neighborhood in Wichita and former community before merging with Wichita * Delano, Minnesota * Delano, Nevada * Delano, Pennsylvania * De ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, was the first headquarters of the

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...

labor union. The union acquired the site of the compound in 1966, and the buildings were built in the ensuing years. The first building constructed on the property was a service station built in 1967, and several smaller service buildings were built soon afterward. The main building on the property, the

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

styled Reuther Hall, was built from 1968 to 1969; the hall was named for

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

organizer Roy Reuther. A health care clinic and a retirement village were added to the property in the early 1970s.

Background

The Forty Acres is best known as the workplace of labor activist Cesar Chavez during the Delano grape strike of the 1960s. Chavez first drew national attention to the complex in 1968, when he conducted a public fast at the site. In 1970, union leaders and grape growers signed labor contracts ending the grape strike at Reuther Hall; the contracts unionized over 70,000 farmworkers working in the grape industry. After the strike, Chavez moved the union headquarters to a new complex; The Forty Acres continued to function as a service center for farmworkers and a local office for the union. The Forty Acres was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

on October 6, 2008. In October 2013, the site was identified as one of several to be part of a proposed new

National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...

to commemorate the life and work of Chavez and the farm worker movement. Other sites for the proposed new park—which requires Congressional approval—include the Filipino Community Hall in

Delano, California Delano ( ) is a city in Kern County, California, United States. Delano is located north-northwest of Bakersfield at an elevation of . The population was 51,428 in 2020, down from 53,041 in 2010. It is Kern County's second-largest city after B ...

(headquarters of the Delano grape strike), Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz (in Keene, Kern County, California),

McDonnell Hall Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is a Roman Catholic church in San Jose, California, located in the Mayfair neighborhood of East San Jose. It is historically important for its association with Californian civil rights activist César Chávez, who at ...

in San Jose, and the Santa Rita Center in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forty Acres United Farm Workers Labor movement in California Buildings and structures in Kern County, California National Historic Landmarks in California National Register of Historic Places in Kern County, California History of labor relations in the United States Mission Revival architecture in California Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California Buildings and structures completed in 1969 Cesar Chavez Trade union buildings in the United States

Background

See also

References