On a wedge of half-drained land
in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, tucked between the
Sacramento River and a slough named Snodgrass, is a ramshackle
collection of shiplap buildings that has been an oasis of Chinese
American culture for over 100 years. The hamlet of Locke, which
bills itself as “the last remaining rural Chinatown in the United
States,” celebrated its 10th annual Lunar New Year festival on
Saturday, Feb. 14, with a day-long event that showcased the
complex history and diverse present of this often overlooked
corner of California.
Stuart Walthall, a long-time resident, musician and chair of the
Locke Foundation, is a driving force in the town of Locke.
Chinese immigrants flocked to
Northern California in the latter half of the 19th century, drawn
by the Gold Rush and the money-earning opportunities that
mushroomed alongside it. In the Delta, those opportunities
included the grinding task of converting waterlogged marsh to
agricultural land. The Chinese laborers who did this reclamation
work lived in small “Chinatown” neighborhoods on the outskirts of
existing towns.
Local dignitaries gather to give opening speeches and kick off
the Chinese New Year celebration.
In 1915, the Chinatown in Walnut
Grove burned down, prompting the displaced residents to build a
hotel and a handful of other buildings on nearby land leased from
owner George Locke. (The builders couldn’t buy the land because
of the California Alien Land Law of 1913, which made it illegal
to sell farmland to Asian immigrants.)
Marilyn Wong performs as part of the Capitol Chinese Orchestra.
Existing on the fringes of the
mainstream, it attracted both people who were barred from
participating in that world and those who wanted to escape it
through temporary portals such as speakeasies, gambling halls and
opium dens. At its peak, it was home to over 1,000
residents.
Sifu Alan Hubbard, leader of Eastern Ways Martial Arts, and chief
instructor Tai Simo Molina pose with Peaches, who is almost 17
years old.
By the mid-20th century, Chinese
Americans had broader opportunities to live and work in
California, and many of the descendants of Locke’s early
inhabitants moved to more straight-walled and dry-soiled cities
and suburbs. The buildings aged but stayed mostly upright, their
out-of-the-way location shielding them from the waves of urban
renewal that claimed many other stretches of 19th- and early
20th-century vernacular architecture around the state.
The lions greet enthralled children.
Today, Locke is home to about 70
people, most of whom are not of Chinese descent. Still, its small
Main Street is an homage to its heyday as a Delta
Chinatown.
Louisa Yu, Jickmon Wong and Marilyn Wong performing as the
Capitol Chinese Orchestra. The orchestra’s mission is to promote
Chinese music by playing to the public and training musicians.
Visitors can peek into several
buildings preserved as 20th-century time capsules, like the Dai
Loy Gambling Hall with tables still set for craps and dominoes,
the Jan Ying Museum displaying heirlooms like Chinese screens and
ceramics brought across the Pacific, and the Chinese School
Museum flanked with busts of Confucius and Sun Yat-Sen. Scattered
among these are stores selling sundries like used books, vintage
clothing and art, in addition to a Chinese Cultural Shop that
sells souvenirs and pamphlets related to Locke’s history.
A child reaches out to pet one of the lions.
An inflatable horse — 2026’s
Chinese zodiac animal — appeared in front of the Confucius bust
during the Lunar New Year festivities Feb. 14. The shiplap
buildings, some of which are bulging with age and sinking into
the soft ground, were brightened up with red-and-gold banners and
strings of Chinese lanterns as hundreds of visitors thronged the
narrow Main Street.
Arianna Sanchez performs during the martial arts demonstration
put on by Eastern Ways Martial Arts.
In addition to lion dances,
martial arts, tai chi and musical performances, attendees could
watch the documentary “Voices: Chinese Women of the
Delta” or a lecture on
the Owyang family, one of the oldest and most prominent Chinese
families in the region.
Visitors enjoying a stroll along Main Street in Locke.
If you missed Locke’s Lunar New
Year festival, you can still visit the town to learn about
Chinese history in the Delta. Most stores and museums are open on
the weekend, and guided walking tours are available with prior
notice. For more information, contact the Locke Foundation.
Arianna Sanchez, a member of Eastern Ways Dance Team, poses
without her lion head.
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