Amtrak 714 hustles past the small community of Allensworth on a cool afternoon in the Central Valley. Founded in 1908, Allensworth is notably the first exclusively African American-founded town in California. The town, established by Colonel Allen Allensworth himself, was originally dubbed "Solito" but was quickly renamed to Allensworth the same year it was established to honor its founder. At it's peak in the 1920's, the town boasted a staggering number of 300 residents. Allensworth suffered a pair of devastating blows in 1914 both when it's namesake founder died after being struck by a motorcycle while visiting Los Angeles and when the Santa Fe Railway moved its station stop here to Alpaugh. Despite the setbacks the town continued to grow until 1925 when water shortages began to take their tole on local agriculture. As the community continued to dwindle for another 30 years, high levels of arsenic were discovered in 1966 pushing many more to leave in a hurry. Only 34 families are reported to have remained following the mass exodus in 66' - leaving Allensworth to remain the small ghost town it continues to have the feeling of today. Colonel Allensworth Historic Park took shape ten years later in 1976 and has restored many buildings on site to their original 1908 luster for tourists traveling down Highway 43 a chance to stop by and enjoy. Along with an assortment of restored buildings, a makeshift boxcar, painted in the Gulf Coast & Santa Fe Railway (G.C. & S.F) paint scheme, rests near the turnoff just outside the park grounds and alongside the still active mainline here - now owned and operated by the BNSF Railway.
