Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 55
CHAPTER 142
Relative to the centennial of the founding of Locke, California.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
August 26, 2015.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 55, Pan.
Centennial of the founding of Locke, California.
This measure would commemorate the centennial of the founding of Locke, California, would recognize and honor Locke, California, as the last remaining Chinatown in North America, and would urge all Californians to learn about the important history of Locke, California, and its inhabitants.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
NO WHEREAS, The year 2015 marks the centennial of the founding of Locke, California; and
WHEREAS, Locke, California, is the only town in the United States of America built exclusively by the Chinese for the Chinese, and is the last remaining Chinatown in North America, as all other Chinatowns are connected to, or lay adjacent to, an existing town or city; and
WHEREAS, Locke, California, was founded in 1915 after the Chinese section of Walnut Grove, California, was destroyed by a fire and the Chinese inhabitants decided that it was time to establish a town of their own; and
WHEREAS, The inhabitants of Locke, California, have made tremendous contributions to farming methods that spearheaded California’s leadership in agriculture, especially as it pertained to pear orchards and asparagus fields; and
WHEREAS, Locke, California, was instrumental in reclaiming swamps along the Sacramento River Delta and turning them into rich arable farmlands; and
WHEREAS, Levee construction originally brought the Chinese to the area, but by the time Locke, California, was built most of the jobs in the area were in farming, which resulted in Locke, California, having many businesses that catered to the farmworkers and residents of the region; and
WHEREAS, From the 1920s through the 1940s, Locke, California, had a permanent population of 600, which swelled to 1,000 during the harvest season; and
WHEREAS, In 1970, Locke, California, was added to the Registry of National Historic Places by the Sacramento County Historical Society; and
WHEREAS, In 1990, Locke, California, was named as a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature commemorates the centennial of the founding of Locke, California, and urges all Californians to learn about the important history of Locke, California, and its inhabitants; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature recognizes and honors Locke, California, as the last remaining Chinatown in North America; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.