Walnut Grove, California

Walnut Grove
FIPS code		06-83374
GNIS feature ID	1660121

Walnut Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,542 at the 2010 census, up from 669 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Walnut Grove is located at 38°14′37″N 121°30′44″W / 38.24361°N 121.51222°W / 38.24361; -121.51222 (38.243490, −121.512100).^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 10.9 square miles (28 km²), of which, 10.2 square miles (26 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (6.62%) is water.

Demographics

2010

The

of any race were 673 persons (43.6%).

The Census reported that 1,533 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 9 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 585 households, out of which 182 (31.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 293 (50.1%) were

(66.7% of all households); the average family size was 3.23.

The population was spread out, with 357 people (23.2%) under the age of 18, 137 people (8.9%) aged 18 to 24, 376 people (24.4%) aged 25 to 44, 432 people (28.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 240 people (15.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.9 males.

There were 689 housing units at an average density of 63.1 per square mile (24.4/km²), of which 309 (52.8%) were owner-occupied, and 276 (47.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%. 701 people (45.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 832 people (54.0%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

of any race were 46.79% of the population.

There were 245 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.46.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $40,179, and the median income for a family was $39,667. Males had a median income of $41,563 versus $23,417 for females. The

, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

Established in 1850 by John W. Sharp, Walnut Grove is one of the earliest settlements along the

]

After Sharp's death in 1880, the heirs sold a large portion of the estate to Agnes Brown and her son Alex. The Brown family subsequently became heavily involved in the commercial life of the community, operating a general store, hotel, and asparagus packing house,^[citation needed] as well as the Bank of Alex Brown.^[6] Due to the demands for rich agricultural land over time, although the town has remained compact in size, it holds the distinction of being the only river town along the Sacramento River to occupy both the east and west riverbanks.^{[citation needed]}

Ferry service operated for many years between parts of town on either side of the river until the first bridge was opened in 1916. The bridge, since replaced by a modern span, was the first

]

As early as 1914, a large Japanese community lived in Walnut Grove, which they called "Kawashimo". The Nichi-Bei Nenkan (Japanese American Yearbook) of 1914 includes a directory of 67 Japanese-owned businesses, including one tofu shop: Sakai Tofu-ya. There was still a tofu shop in town in 1975, according to The Book of Tofu.^[7]

The community was racially segregated up to the start of World War II. Only whites were allowed to own homes on the west side of the river. Even on the east side, the Asians separated into a Japanese section and a Chinese section. There were two elementary schools, a "white" school and Walnut Grove Oriental Elementary, until the Japanese were forcibly moved out of the area at the start of World War II. Then, the two elementary schools were combined. After elementary school, the students were bused to Courtland for high school, until that school became identified as an earthquake hazard.^{[citation needed]}

The Chinese residents primarily immigrated from two different areas of the Guangdong Pearl River Delta region of China; immigrants from Zhongshan resided in Locke, while those from Taishan populated Walnut Grove.^[8] During the Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s, the Walnut Grove-Locke-Isleton area was a prime target for visiting Chinese government VIPs to raise funds for the Chinese government.^{[citation needed]}

The principal activities in the Walnut Grove Chinese community were operating illegal gambling houses and Chinese restaurants. These services were primarily for

]

In the early 1930s, Walnut Grove was a thriving community until fire again consumed the Chinese section in the mid-1930s. In its glory days of the 1930s and early 1940s, a daily shuttle operated by the Ow family carried Chinese to and from San Francisco; it also accepted and executed orders for merchandise from San Francisco. The route started from Courtland with stops at Locke, Walnut Grove, and Isleton and returned nightly.[9]

After World War II, gambling operations ceased. Members from the small Chinese community in Walnut Grove moved to the cities and many elder Filipinos returned to their homeland.^{[citation needed]} The town now hosts both the Walnut Grove Chinese-American Historic District [Wikidata]^[10] and Walnut Grove Japanese-American Historic District.^[11]

Sugar beet harvesting was active up to the late 1940s. There were two leading areas where beets were unloaded from trucks into a hopper, then conveyed up a belt to fill Southern Pacific railroad cars for the trip north to Sacramento for processing. Asian women worked in fruit packing houses throughout the Delta area [Locke, Walnut Grove, Ryde, Isleton] while men worked in the fields.^{[citation needed]}

In 1961, documentary photographer Pirkle Jones did a photo essay on Walnut Grove.^{[citation needed]}

Sites of interest

Towers

Walnut Grove's location has made it the site of a rare collection of very tall radio and television transmission towers. The first major tower here was the

]

Delta Meadows State Recreation Area

Located along the Railroad Slough Levee, and accessed from the River Road between Walnut Grove and Locke, via a small gravel road just north-east of the Delta Cross Channel, a water diversion facility on the Sacramento River. Additionally, a docent program through Delta Natural History Association provides canoes with guides in the spring and fall, reserved through Brannan Island State Park.^{[citation needed]}

Walnut Grove Buddhist Church

The Walnut Grove Buddhist Church in the Japanese district was founded in 1926 to serve the spiritual needs of the community, with over 100 members prior to WWII. It also served as a temporary hostel to house families who had lost their homes following their incarceration during the war.^[12]

Through the 80s and 90s, church membership fell as many of the older generation passed away, although many local residents as well as the children and grandchildren of the original members continue to support the church through the popular annual summer Bazaar and

Locke

Chan Tin-San is commonly credited as the earliest resident of Locke, California. He was the first Chinese person to construct a building on the Locke brothers' property, where he realized the business potential of the Southern Pacific wharf and warehouse. After the October 1916 fire which destroyed the Walnut Grove Chinatown, a number of Chung-San District people moved to the area and Locke was officially established. Lee Bing, the leader of the group, financed nine of the buildings. Locke is one of the only towns in the United States built entirely by Chinese. It was built in 1915 and burned down twice. Locke was a bustling place with gambling houses, merchant stores and a movie house all owned by the Chinese. Locke today is much like it was many years ago. Most of the original buildings are still standing. The Southern Pacific wharf and warehouse was built in three stages, the first in 1906. It grew to over 800 feet (240 m) in length. During the harvest season a half dozen or more fruit packers would rent space in the warehouse, among them were Scobel & Day, Simons & French, Earl Fruit Company, and the California Packing Corporation. The rail spur served the warehouse and connected with the Walnut Grove Branch line. The warehouse operated two freight elevators which raised produce from the decks of the riverboats. The warehouse is now used to store and launch pleasure boats.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people

• Bo Eason – former safety for University of California, Davis and the Houston Oilers, actor, playwright.^[13][14]
• Tony Eason – former quarterback for the University of Illinois and the New England Patriots.^[13][15]
• John Garamendi – Representative in U.S. Congress for California's 8th congressional district, former lieutenant governor, former insurance commissioner.^[16]
• Mike Honda – Former US Representative and former member of the California state assembly.^[17]
• Kamajiro Hotta – influential Japanese immigrant farmer of the early 20th century, referred to as the Asparagus King by Walnut Grove residents.^[18]

Government

In the

In the United States House of Representatives, Walnut Grove is in California's 7th congressional district, represented by Democrat Doris Matsui.^[20]

In popular culture

In

References

External links

• “Locke and Walnut Grove: Havens for Early Asian Immigrants in California”, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan