Locke Boarding House Museum State Park

"Historical, but tragic at the same. I never knew how badly the Chinese laborers were exploited. They did a great job with the few renovations that were done. It is fascinating to imagine how it was back in the day."

"Chinese-Americans established this town in 1915 after being driven out of other communities. This site is a California state park, and many of the buildings are open to the public and contain historical artifacts and records. Entry is free. I especially enjoyed learning about Yow Wong, who recorded in his 1959 diary that he worked 3,414 hours doing various manual labor tasks in the Delta, carrying only a few personal items from work site to work site. It made me appreciate the easy life I have as a fifth generation Asian-American. Many Chinese-American historical records in the past two centuries were not kept or preserved (as many rural Chinatowns on the west coast were burned or torn down), and some of the buildings in Locke are not in great shape— I hope that we can continue to preserve what exists so that we can appreciate all of these American contributions and reflect on how far we have come."

"The historic town of Locke is part of Walnut Grove and borders the Sacramento River. It's known for being the only town remaining that was built by Chinese Americans back in 1915. This boarding house is a museum and visitors' center. You can read about its rich history and explore the rest of the town and other museums. There is a docent in the boarding house museum who can share about the town and answer questions. There's a lot of information about the town and the community that worked mainly in agriculture and helped build the delta region. A group of Chinese Americans were a very important part of California history and they are remembered in the various museums in Locke."

"Call ahead of time and check the locke foundation website as they're not always open. They opened the museum especially for us. Very educational! Great volunteers that keep this running"

"One of the last bits of Asain history in the delta. Chinese settlement town. Lots of old buildings artifacts preserved fir prosperity. Like, walking back in time"