Lt. Colonel Allen Allensworth
Lt. Colonel Allen Allensworth (1842-1914) was a Civil War Union Army veteran who was the highest ranking African American officer in American history at the time of his retirement in 1906. For twenty years, he was in the famed all-Black "Buffalo Soldier" regimen of the Twenty-fourth Infantry. Born into slavery in Louisville, Kentucky, he educated himself illegally and during the Civil War fled slavery and joined the Army. He gained a formal education and a teaching certificate and began teaching in 1868. In 1871, he became an ordained Baptist Minister and went on to become the Army's first Black Chaplain.
Upon retirement from military service, Lt. Colonel and Mrs. Allensworth and family resided in Los Angeles. There he envisioned a place where African Americans could live their lives free of racial discrimination, own property and live the American dream. It was his dream to build such a town.
Lt. Colonel Allen Allensworth and a group of other Black pioneers devoted to improving the economic and social status of African Americans began looking for the best possible location to build a town. The site they selected was midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was chosen for a number of reasons including that it had inexpensive farm land upon which the soil was fertile. It had a good ground water supply and it was located near a railroad depot station. The land, a rural area in Tulare County, 40 miles north of Bakersfield and 75 miles south of Fresno, was acquired and quickly renamed Allensworth. The settlers were made up of African Americans from around the nation seeking a better life.
Together the Black settlers of Allensworth built up the town. Homes were constructed, streets were built, public buildings were put up and the town grew into a small farming community. It came to have a school, library, post office and church. The businesses included a hotel, bakery, general store, barber shop, machine shop. Social activities were organized to bring the people of the town together. The town also came to have an orchestra, brass band and glee club. It had its own branch of the NAACP. "Of all the all-black towns of the period, none were as well conceived," said Dr. Lonnie Bunch, director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington in the New York Times. In 1908, Allensworth, the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by and for African Americans was born and there was tremendous hope.
Allensworth Community Motto
From 1912-1915, Allensworth was a self-sufficient and thriving small farming community. In 1914, Lt. Colonel Allensworth was killed from being struck by a speeding motorcycle.
His death is cited as a major factor in the decline of Allensworth. Dire water shortages also contributed as it lead many residents to leave. Without enough water to sustain farming, the town's economic base, many people had to go elsewhere to make a living. The population dwindled over the years until the town was almost abandoned. However, supporters convinced the state to turn the town into an historical landmark. Today, most of the town is the site of Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. The California Department of Parks and Recreation purchased the site in 1976 and it is open to the public. It is a cherished part of Black history in California.
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