Locke, California
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Locke Historic District
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The main street of Locke, in 2006, has some Chinese shops among habitations.
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| Location | Bounded on the W by the Sacramento River, on the N by Locke Rd., on the E by Alley St., and on the S by Levee St., Locke, California |
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| Coordinates | 38°15′2″N 121°30′34″W / 38.25056°N 121.50944°WCoordinates: 38°15′2″N 121°30′34″W / 38.25056°N 121.50944°W |
| Area | 14 acres (5.7 ha) |
| Built | 1915 |
| Architectural style | Neo-Gothic, Other |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000174 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 06, 1971 |
| Designated NHLD | December 14, 1990 |
Locke (traditional Chinese: 樂居; simplified Chinese: 乐居; pinyin: Lèjū; Jyutping: Lok6geoi1), also known as Locke Historic District, is an unincorporated community in California's Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta built by Chinese immigrants during the early 20th century. It was originally named Lockeport after George Locke, who owned the land that the town was built upon at a time when Chinese people were not allowed to own land. Locke is located in the primarily agricultural region south of Sacramento, California, near State Route 160. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and further was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1990 due to its unique example of a historic Chinese American rural community.
The ZIP Code is 95690, and the community is inside area code 916.
Legislation such as the Swampland Reclamation Act of 1861 was enacted in California to put perceived empty and wasted lands to use and stabilization. Much of this involved draining the Delta wetlands and building levees to regulate flood control in places like Locke. Mainly poor Chinese immigrants were hired to do this backbreaking reclamation work. Through contracted labor often equaling less than one dollar a day per worker, they built hundreds of miles of levees in waist deep water where malaria still rampaged, reclaiming a total 88,000 acres.
The original beginning of Locke, then called Lockeport, was in 1912, when three Chinese merchants, two from the nearby town of Vorden and one from Walnut Grove, contracted tradesmen to construct three buildings. Chan Tin Sin built the first building. It was a combination dry goods store and beer saloon. Yuen Lai Sing built a gambling hall. Owyang Wing Cheong built the Lockeport Hotel & Restaurant.
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