Sam Etchegaray

Battle for piece of black history Allensworth, a town founded for African Americans, may get new neighbors -- 2 huge dairy farms Col. Allensworth State Historic Park includes restored wo... Col. Allen Allensworth, a former slave, founded Allenswor... Visitors to the park peer into the windows of the old sch... Nettie Morrison fears cattle operations near Col. Allensw... More... (01-08) 04:00 PST Allensworth, Tulare County -- Nettie Morrison moved to Allensworth 30 years ago to get closer to a nearly century-old chapter of black history that she and other residents say is now under attack. The 72-year-old lives blocks from Col. Allensworth State Historic Park, a neatly preserved settlement started by black people in the San Joaquin Valley in 1908 that has been in the spotlight since residents learned of plans to build two mega-dairies on neighboring land. Morrison and other park advocates say Allensworth, California's most important monument to black culture and self-sufficiency, will change irrevocably if thousands of cows move in across state Highway 43. "You can relocate cattle but you can't relocate history," Morrison said during a walk through the park's historic schoolhouse last week. "We as a black culture don't have an awful lot to relate to, and now they want to kill one of the only things we do have." The Tulare County Board of Supervisors tentatively approved the proposal for the farms -- on 320 acres with more than 9,000 cows -- last month and will take a final vote March 20. Supporters of the park from across the state -- including busloads from the Bay Area and Los Angeles -- have crowded county meetings to protest the plan. The park is a four-hour drive southeast from San Francisco and 38 miles northwest of Bakersfield. "Allensworth is probably one of the bright lights for black people throughout the country and particularly here in the valley," Buddy Jones of Visalia said at a recent meeting. Col. Allen Allensworth founded the town -- the first and only California settlement governed, financed and operated by black people -- as a place where its residents could live free of discrimination. Allensworth was born into slavery in Kentucky in 1842 but learned to read and write from his master's son and eventually went to college and joined the Army, according to park literature. After he retired in 1906, he promoted Booker T. Washington's philosophy of African American self-reliance and lectured about the need for black people to become self-sufficient. He purchased 800 acres along the Santa Fe rail line in 1908 and extolled the virtues of the new town in black newspapers. The town grew and eventually had a glee club, sewing circles, chocolate hours and family gatherings. By 1910, it had a school and a judicial district. Allensworth was killed in 1914 when a pair of motorcyclists ran over him. The Santa Fe Railroad stop moved shortly afterward, and a lack of funds meant the local water company couldn't expand to meet the community's needs. After flourishing for a decade, the town began to crumble. In 1976, the abandoned town was transformed into a 240-acre state park including 23 buildings, each of which serves as a mini-museum. The state has spent millions of dollars to preserve original buildings and reproduce others from photographs. The original schoolhouse holds antique desks, chalkboards and water cups. The Allensworth family home is filled with furniture and clothing, and a general store is stocked with old-fashioned grocery supplies. The visitor center has photos, a video and other information on the town. And there is a campground with picnic tables, showers and grills. People who cherish Allensworth -- because it holds personal memories, because they have family reunions and historical celebrations there or just because of its symbolism -- fear the smell and flies from dairy operations will drive away the park's estimated 70,000 annual visitors. The state has similar concerns and is negotiating to buy the rights to open dairies there and persuade property owner Sam Etchegaray to do something else with the land, like grow crops. "We are proposing a restriction against an animal facility," said Kathryn Tobias, senior staff counsel for the state Department of Parks and Recreation. "A dairy farm near the park will affect picnics and people gathering. If there are flies or odor or manure dust, it will kill the use of the park." David Albers, a dairy farmer and Etchegaray's lawyer, said the dairies will provide 60 new jobs and "great economic opportunity" for the people who live in the unincorporated community of Allensworth adjacent to the park. He pointed out that most of the opposition to the plan is not local. But many residents said the jobs will not make up for the smell and the impact on water and air quality. They point out that support for the plan is also from out of town. At the Dec. 5 public hearing, the only person who spoke in favor of the plan, apart from Albers, was Visalia resident Brian Blain of the Tulare County Farm Bureau. "The impact to those living in Allensworth and visiting will be minimal," Blaine said. "I live on the southeast edge of Visalia. We have a dairy approximately three-quarters of a mile away and it is a very rare occasion that there is any odor or dust that would indicate there is a dairy nearby." Victor Carter, president of the Friends of Allensworth advocacy group, which formed in 1984, said the dairy farms would ruin the memory of Allensworth and eliminate outdoor activities. "Imagine trying to picnic next to a stockyard," said Carter. "It wouldn't be comfortable and it wouldn't be pleasant. It would run people away and they will not come back." County supervisors, who unanimously approved plans for the dairies, said they were disappointed by the perception that dairy farming is dirty or disrespectful to people's culture and heritage. "I lived a half-block for 13 years from a dairy," Supervisor Connie Conway said at a recent hearing. "My home was not covered with manure. My home was not inundated by flies. I'm saddened that a land-use decision has been confiscated by a group of environmental lawyers from the Bay Area whose only mission is to stop dairy production in this county." The lawyers she referred to include some from the Center for Race, Poverty & the Environment, who have argued that Tulare County -- home to more than 300 dairies -- needs tougher standards on assessing their impact on air and water quality. Residents and environmentalists have argued the farms would contaminate nearby groundwater and create dust that would harm children with asthma and allergies. Francisco Castillo Medina, who has lived in Allensworth for 40 years, said he is concerned about all of the dairies' potential impacts. "The more I research and learn about the impact of the cows, the worse I feel," said Medina, 65, a retired director of finance for the Boy Scouts of America. "I have been here since before the park was built and saw it evolve into what it is today. "To slap tons of manure in front of it is demeaning and disrespectful." About 150 families, most of them Latino, live in present-day Allensworth, about 15 miles from Delano, the nearest city. Most are low-income, retired or migrant workers and their families. Many live in trailers. The community has a small church but no stores and no gas station. About 100 students attend the Allensworth School. Morrison, who was one of the first docents at the state park, said placing a dairy right next to an impoverished neighborhood is unfair because its residents are less able than most people to move away. William and Susie Smith, who belong to the Fremont chapter of the Friends of Allensworth and visit monthly, have been involved with the park since the late 1970s and now coordinate the many volunteers who serve as docents. "People come from all over the world to visit the park," William Smith said. "It is part of our history, the only real dedication to black history west of the Mississippi."

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