Saving a Town

Lee Bing and a group of Chinese immigrants approached George Locke and asked him for permission to build a town in his pear orchard. This was the immigrants' second settlement in California -- their first, located in Walnut Grove, suspiciously burnt to the ground. But Locke took a chance, and a little town in his name was born. On ten acres the immigrants built houses, grocery and dry-goods stores, restaurants, a gambling hall and a one-room schoolhouse, a movie theatre/brothel.

But Lee Bing and the residents of Locke never owned the land on which their businesses thrived. Although Bing made and lost three fortunes in his lifetime, the Alien Land Laws of 1913 and 1920 kept Chinese immigrants from owning land. The laws forbade property ownership by anyone but U.S. citizens, and at that time only Caucasians and African-Americans could become citizens. The Alien Land Laws were repealed in the 1950's, but by then most of the residents of Locke had moved away.

Today, the town of Locke

Ping Lee is the descendent of Lee Bing, but he no longer lives in Locke. He is, however, involved in helping the 80 remaining residents to save their home. They have found a surprising savior in the Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Authority. Locke is the last free-standing rural Chinatown in California; Anne Moore, Executive Director of the SHRA, negotiated an agreement with Locke Property Development, Inc. to give the SHRA temporary custody of the land on which the town and its' 51 buildings sit. Locke is listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Moore said about the town, "We need to make critical improvements to Locke's infrastructure before this wonderful community is lost. The county needs legal title if we're going to get the improvements made in time before the sewer system fails. There are strong historic reasons for preserving Locke, but the town is a unique living, rural community and it is important to maintain that, too."

The needed improvements to the sewer system will cost about $1 million and take about a year to complete. The money for improvements will come from a Federal Grant. Escrow on the land will last 16 months so the SHRA can implement all the improvements and then find a permanent owner to preserve the town. The building owners have been unable to fix the town because they don't own the land, which is why the SHRA must assist them. Stephen Young, SHRA's director of community redevelopment activities, is also trying to help the residents of the town solve their problem in the long-term.

"SHRA will be holding extensive meetings with the residents, building owners and other interested stakeholders in Locke to help identify the ultimate custodian of the township. No decisions have been made yet on any specific recommendations to take to the county Board of Supervisors for final approval. Once the sewer system is rehabilitated, building owners can then make improvements to their structures."

Connie King, now 77, came to Locke with her parents from Canton province. When they arrived in Locke, the entire town was Chinese. Now there are only 10 Chinese residents left in the town. She remembers when Locke was a thriving town.

"In the old days, there was baseball and basketball for the kids. We worked together with the church. We had parades and a Thanksgiving party, and I was a skinny Santa Claus at the town Christmas party. We all had fun."

"The homeowners' and merchants' association could be similar to a condominium association, with one share for each building owned. Collectively, the association would determine how the town would be run. Another option would be to establish a nonprofit agency with an interest in historical preservation, or create a new nonprofit that might be willing to step in as an oversight board with title transferred to them."

The SHRA will be holding meetings over the next several months to establish the ownership and maintenance plan for the town. The plan will be presented to the Supervisors on January 1, 2001.Although the residents of the town still won't own the land on which the town rests, the unknown future owners will be responsible for maintaining the town as an historical landmark. Steve Young explains that the SHRA plans for a homeowners and merchants' association.