Open: 10am to 4pm – interpretive video – “The Spirit of Allensworth” – Tours on request.
Location: Approx. 50 miles southwest of Visalia. Take Hwy 99 south to Earlimart, turn onto County Road J22 (Ave. 56), drive 7 miles west to Hwy. 43, turn left (south) one mile to Allensworth.
Phone: 661-849-3433
Col. Allen Allensworth was a former slave and military hero – the Union army’s highest ranking black soldier – when he founded the colony of Allensworth in 1908. He dreamed it would be a utopian community where African-Americans would achieve independence and self-sufficiency.
The village thrived until a poor water supply and Allensworth’s death in a Southern California traffic accident caused it to slowly die. Today, many of the town’s buildings have been rebuilt to their original specifications.
The Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park is a center for historical, cultural and interpretative black studies. Annual events, such as the Old Time Jubilee in May; Junteenth in June; Founders Day in August and Rededication in October, attract thousands of visitors from all over the state and nation.
Amtrak’s San Joaquin trains will stop at Allensworth for group travel with advance reservations.
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