META STRAUSS : Locke Town, California

Monday, February 8, 2010

Locke Town, California - Chinese Settlement

In the 1850’s thousands of Chinese fortune seekers rushed to California’s gold fields. After the mines played out, the workers stayed helping complete the transcontinental railroad. They then settled in the California delta area where they built a complex system of levees transforming miles of swamps into the vital agricultural region it is today. These Chinese families faced great hardships including poverty and discrimination prohibiting them from associating with or living near Caucasian Americans. Many of their descendants still live along the Sacramento River Delta working the farms while others live in the village of Locke Town.

Visiting the historic site of Locke Town is quite an experience. There are generations of Chinese settlers still living in wood buildings originally built in the 1800's. The structures are were built from scraps and added on to, one on top of the other, as families increased in size. Yellow tape marks the ones that are condemed but historians are guarding and preserving the town because of its significance.

Tasting some of the Chinese delicacies at the Locke Garden is a must when visiting. Food not fabulous, but the people are friendly and readily share stories about the area.

There are interesting alleyways throughout the town.

Then any visitor must stop in the "Tourist Trap" before heading on to Sacramento along the levee road.

No comments:

Post a Comment

ABOUT META

Meta Strauss moved from her life-long home, Houston, Texas in 2005 to northern California. She lives in the heart of wine country where the scenery, weather and people are so perfect locals don't like to brag for fear the entire world will move to Sonoma and spoil the small town atmosphere. Meta joins the long list of artists, writers, film-makers, chefs, gardeners and philosophers who live in the Valley of the Moon, fertile ground for growing in creativity and contentment.

Meta's writing is often published in the Sonoma Sun's Fine Art Section. Her work appears in the anthology Cry of the Nightbird and a memoir of family tales, Stories for Emma, is available on Amazon.

Meta's first novel, Saving El Chico was released in January, 2016, available on Amazon, Kindle and at local book stores.

From the owners of Ed’s Salvage Yard and Golf Course to the Be Lovely Boutique, citizens of the small west Texas town of El Chico band together in order to survive and flourish in the twenty-first century. A devastating drought appears to be the final blow to the community and Bea McPherson’s Circle McP Ranch. Taking advantage of the situation, a fast-talking Dallas businessman joins with the local mayor to swindle the residents. They don't count on the unwavering devotion to the land and shrewdness of the female rancher aided by Jake, a cowboy who was born a hundred years too late, and Silver Crow, the Great-Grandson of Quanah Parker, noble chief of the Comanche nation.