Allensworth is the first town in California to be founded, financed, and governed by Black people. The first group of settlers was a group of men led by Colonel Allen Allensworth who was the highest-ranking Black officer in the U.S. Army when he retired in 1906. The town fell on hard times after Allensworth’s death in 1914, but it survived and is today part of the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park.
References:
- Gudde, Erwin; William Bright. 2004. California Place Names (4th ed.). University of California Press. p. 9. ISBN 0-520-24217-3.
- Brewer. Chris. 2004. Historic Tulare County: A Sesquicentennial History. Historical Publishing Network.
Photo:
- Ha’Eri, Bobak. Allensworth’s restored buildings now occupy Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.