Allen Allensworth
Encyclopedia
Allen Allensworth was an American soldier and chaplain in the United States Army
, a Baptist minister and educator, who had been born into slavery
. He escaped by joining the 44th Illinois Volunteers
during the American Civil War
, and later served two years in the Navy. After being ordained as a minister, he worked as a teacher, studied theology and led several churches. In 1880 and 1884 he served as the only black delegate from Kentucky in the Republican National conventions. In 1886 he gained an appointment as a military chaplain to a unit of Buffalo Soldiers and served in the Army for 20 years. By his retirement in 1906, he had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and was the first African American to reach this rank.
In addition to his work in developing churches, he was notable for founding the township of Allensworth, California
in 1908; it was intended as an all-black community free of the racial discrimination faced by so many at the turn of the century. It was the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. Although environmental conditions inhibited its success as a farming community and the residents finally left, much of the former town has been preserved as the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
, to mark their dream and the thriving community his followers created for some time.
in Louisville, Kentucky
in 1842, Allensworth was the youngest of thirteen children of Phyllis (c. 1782 - 1878) and Levi Allensworth. Over the years, their family was scattered: their daughter Lila escaped with her intended husband to Canada by the Underground Railroad
; the older boys William, George, Frank, Levi and Major were sold down river to plantations in the Deep South
, which continued to buy workers from the Upper South. Mary Jane was one child who grew up in Kentucky and married there.
His mother was held by A.P. and Bett Starbird. The mistress assigned the young boy Allen to her son Thomas. When the Starbird boy started to school, Allen began to learn from him, although it was illegal. After his father died when he was young, and his mother chose to be sold as a cook to a neighbor, the attorney Nat Wolfe. When the Starbirds found Allen was learning to read, they separated the boys and place Allen with the Talbots. Mrs. Talbot, a Quaker, was kind to him and continued to teach him to read and write; she also took him to a Sunday school for slave children. When Bett Starbird discovered this, she took Allen back and in 1854 made arrangements with her husband's partner John Smith to send the boy to his brother's plantation
down the Mississippi River in Henderson
, to put an end to his learning. On the steamboat the boy was placed in the care of a slave steward rather than being chained with other slaves below deck, who were being taken for sale to downriver markets.
Pat Smith's wife Hebe took Allen for a houseboy; she prohibited him from continuing his studies and whipped him for trying to do so. Also working in the household was a white orphan boy Eddie; the two became friends and helped each other. Suffering on the farm from a cruel overseer, in 1855 at age 13, Allen planned to escape to Canada. He spent two weeks hiding out at a neighboring farm before returning to the Smiths for punishment. Later he ran away again and in retaliation, the Starbirds agreed to have him sold on the auction block in Henderson.
Allensworth was sold again in Memphis, Tennessee
and then at the big slave market in New Orleans. Finally he was bought by Fred Scruggs, who taught him to work as an exercise boy and jockey
in Jefferson, Louisiana
. His new master was pleased to learn that the boy could read and had him race his best horse.
While working nearby on a farm where Scruggs' deputy had placed him, Allensworth met soldiers from the 44th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
, a Union unit encamped near Louisville. When he told them of his desire for freedom, they invited him to join the Hospital Corps. In disguise, he marched with them past his old master through Louisville and off to war. After serving as a civilian nursing aide for some time, he was invited to accompany Dr. A. J. Gordon, one of the surgeons, to his home in Georgetown, Ohio
, where Allensworth dined with his family, was given a room of his own, and felt he first walked as a free man. With the war continuing, in 1863 Allensworth enlisted in the US Navy, where he earned his first pay as a free man. He was soon promoted to Captain's steward and clerk, and served on the gunboats Queen City
and Tawah for two years.
Allensworth first returned to Kentucky to work and study. In 1868 he joined his brother William in t. Louis where they operated two restaurants. Within a short time, they received a favorable offer and sold them out; Allensworth returned to Louisville. He worked to put himself through the Ely Normal School established by the American Missionary Association
. During Reconstruction, he taught at schools operated by the Freedman's Bureau.
After the war, Allensworth became involved with the Baptist Church in Louisville. He was ordained by the Baptists as a preacher in 1871. In the 1870s, he went on to study theology in Tennessee, as he felt he needed more education. During this time he also served as preacher in Franklin, Tennessee
, north of Nashville.
In 1875, he started working as a teacher in Georgetown, Kentucky
, where he also acted as the financial agent of the General Association of the Colored Baptists in Kentucky. They had joined together to support the founding of a religious school for teachers and preachers. He was among the founders of The State University, helped guarantee the salary of the president in the early years, and served on the Board of Trustees.
He returned to Louisville when called to be pastor of the Harney Street Baptist Church, which he reorganized and attracted many new members. They renamed it Centennial Baptist Church
, and it was selected as a model by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of America. Within a few years, Allensworth had increased the congregation nearly fivefold and it built a new church.
After his marriage in 1877, Allensworth was called to the State Street Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky
. In addition to preaching, he gave public lectures. That fall, he went to Boston to give a series of lectures, after studying public speaking in Philadelphia. On his return, he met people from the American Baptist Publication Society in Philadelphia, who appointed him as Sunday School Missionary for the state of Kentucky. He had always worked to build up the Sunday Schools at his churches, and this gave him the chance to continue to work on education around the state. The Colored Baptist State Sunday School Convention of Kentucky appointed him to the position of State Sunday School Superintendent. That year, he invited his mother to live with him and Josephine. They had several months together before she died in 1878 at the age of 96.
With his leadership positions and public speaking, Allensworth became increasingly interested in politics. In 1880 and 1884, he was selected as Kentucky's only black delegate to the Republican National conventions.
in Nashville, Tennessee
. She was an accomplished pianist, organist and music teacher. They had two daughters together, Eva and Nella.
, New Mexico Territory
to Fort Supply
, Indian Territory
and Fort Harrison
, near Helena, Montana
. His wife played organ in their chapels.
At Fort Bayard, Allensworth wrote Outline of Course of Study, and the Rules Governing Post Schools of Ft. Bayard, N.M.. The Army adapted these for use as the standard manual on the education of enlisted personnel.
By the time of his retirement in 1906, Allensworth had reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, the first African American to do so.
. He was inspired with the idea of establishing a self-sufficient, all-black California community where African Americans could live free of the racial discrimination
that pervaded post-Reconstruction, turn-of-the-century
America. His dream was to build a community where black people might live and create "sentiment favorable to intellectual and industrial liberty."
In 1908 he founded Allensworth
in Tulare county
, about thirty miles north of Bakersfield, in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley
. The black settlers of Allensworth built homes, laid out streets, and put up public buildings. They established a church, and organized an orchestra, a glee club, and a brass band.
The Allensworth colony became a member of the county school district and the regional library system and a voting precinct
. Residents elected the first African-American Justice of the Peace in post-Mexican
California. In 1914, the California Eagle
reported that the Allensworth community consisted of 900 acres (364.2 ha) of deeded land worth more than US$
112,500.
Allensworth soon became a town, not just a colony. Among the social and educational organizations that flourished during Allensworth's golden age were the Campfire Girls, the Owl Club, the Girls' Glee Club, and the Children's Savings Association, for the town's younger residents, while adults participated in the Sewing Circle, the Whist Club, the Debating Society, and the Theater Club. Col. Allensworth was an admirer of the African-American educator Booker T. Washington
, who was the founder and longtime leader of the Tuskegee Institute
in Alabama
. Allensworth dream that his new community could be self sufficient and become known as the "Tuskegee of the West".
The Girls' Glee Club was modeled after the Jubilee Singers
of Fisk University
, who had toured internationally. They were the community's pride and joy. Allensworth's streets were all named after notable African Americans and/or dedicated white abolitionists
, such as Sojourner Truth
, Frederick Douglass
, poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Uncle Tom's Cabin
author Harriet Beecher Stowe
.
The dry and dusty soil made farming difficult. The drinking water became contaminated by toxins as the water level fell.
In 1914 Allensworth was struck and killed by a motorcyclist in Monrovia, California
. Over the next couple of decades, the discouraged community slowly dispersed and moved away and the Allensworth township was reduced almost to a ghost town.
Allensworth is the only California community to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. The founders were dedicated to improving the economic and social status of African Americans. Uncontrollable circumstances, including a drop in the area’s water table, resulted in the town’s decline.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, a Baptist minister and educator, who had been born into slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. He escaped by joining the 44th Illinois Volunteers
44th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 44th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 44th Illinois Infantry was organized at Chicago, Illinois and mustered into Federal service on September 25, 1861....
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, and later served two years in the Navy. After being ordained as a minister, he worked as a teacher, studied theology and led several churches. In 1880 and 1884 he served as the only black delegate from Kentucky in the Republican National conventions. In 1886 he gained an appointment as a military chaplain to a unit of Buffalo Soldiers and served in the Army for 20 years. By his retirement in 1906, he had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and was the first African American to reach this rank.
In addition to his work in developing churches, he was notable for founding the township of Allensworth, California
Allensworth, California
Allensworth is a census-designated place in Tulare County, California. Allensworth sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Allensworth's population was 471....
in 1908; it was intended as an all-black community free of the racial discrimination faced by so many at the turn of the century. It was the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. Although environmental conditions inhibited its success as a farming community and the residents finally left, much of the former town has been preserved as the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park is a state park unit of California, USA, preserving Allensworth, the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. The small farming community was founded in 1908 by Lt. Colonel Allen Allensworth, Professor William Payne,...
, to mark their dream and the thriving community his followers created for some time.
Early life and education
Born into slaverySlavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
in 1842, Allensworth was the youngest of thirteen children of Phyllis (c. 1782 - 1878) and Levi Allensworth. Over the years, their family was scattered: their daughter Lila escaped with her intended husband to Canada by the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
; the older boys William, George, Frank, Levi and Major were sold down river to plantations in the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
, which continued to buy workers from the Upper South. Mary Jane was one child who grew up in Kentucky and married there.
His mother was held by A.P. and Bett Starbird. The mistress assigned the young boy Allen to her son Thomas. When the Starbird boy started to school, Allen began to learn from him, although it was illegal. After his father died when he was young, and his mother chose to be sold as a cook to a neighbor, the attorney Nat Wolfe. When the Starbirds found Allen was learning to read, they separated the boys and place Allen with the Talbots. Mrs. Talbot, a Quaker, was kind to him and continued to teach him to read and write; she also took him to a Sunday school for slave children. When Bett Starbird discovered this, she took Allen back and in 1854 made arrangements with her husband's partner John Smith to send the boy to his brother's plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
down the Mississippi River in Henderson
Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River in the western part of the state. The population was 27,952 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area often referred to as "Kentuckiana", although "Tri-State Area" or "Tri-State" are more...
, to put an end to his learning. On the steamboat the boy was placed in the care of a slave steward rather than being chained with other slaves below deck, who were being taken for sale to downriver markets.
Pat Smith's wife Hebe took Allen for a houseboy; she prohibited him from continuing his studies and whipped him for trying to do so. Also working in the household was a white orphan boy Eddie; the two became friends and helped each other. Suffering on the farm from a cruel overseer, in 1855 at age 13, Allen planned to escape to Canada. He spent two weeks hiding out at a neighboring farm before returning to the Smiths for punishment. Later he ran away again and in retaliation, the Starbirds agreed to have him sold on the auction block in Henderson.
Allensworth was sold again in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and then at the big slave market in New Orleans. Finally he was bought by Fred Scruggs, who taught him to work as an exercise boy and jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
in Jefferson, Louisiana
Jefferson, Louisiana
Jefferson is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, on the East Bank of the Mississippi River. Jefferson is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 11,843 at the 2000 census...
. His new master was pleased to learn that the boy could read and had him race his best horse.
Civil War and freedom
In early 1861 the Civil War loomed, but horse racing continued and Scruggs took Allen and his horses upriver for the fall meet in Louisville, where Allen hoped to see his mother again. He learned that her last master, a Rev. Bayliss, had freed her after she cared for his dying wife. She had recently gone to New Orleans with a Union man to look for her sons. (She found Major there, in prison.) Waiting for her return, Allensworth was reunited with his sister Mary Jane, who had married and had a son. She had purchased her freedom in 1849. Phyllis Starbird returned to Louisville, where she and Allen were reunited.While working nearby on a farm where Scruggs' deputy had placed him, Allensworth met soldiers from the 44th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
44th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 44th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 44th Illinois Infantry was organized at Chicago, Illinois and mustered into Federal service on September 25, 1861....
, a Union unit encamped near Louisville. When he told them of his desire for freedom, they invited him to join the Hospital Corps. In disguise, he marched with them past his old master through Louisville and off to war. After serving as a civilian nursing aide for some time, he was invited to accompany Dr. A. J. Gordon, one of the surgeons, to his home in Georgetown, Ohio
Georgetown, Ohio
Georgetown is a village in Brown County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,691 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. Georgetown was the childhood home of Ulysses S...
, where Allensworth dined with his family, was given a room of his own, and felt he first walked as a free man. With the war continuing, in 1863 Allensworth enlisted in the US Navy, where he earned his first pay as a free man. He was soon promoted to Captain's steward and clerk, and served on the gunboats Queen City
Queen City
-Official name:It is the official place name of two places in the United States:* Queen City, Missouri* Queen City, Texas-North America:* Allentown, Pennsylvania* Bangor, Maine* Beach Haven, New Jersey* Buffalo, New York* Burlington, Vermont...
and Tawah for two years.
Postwar years
Allensworth first returned to Kentucky to work and study. In 1868 he joined his brother William in t. Louis where they operated two restaurants. Within a short time, they received a favorable offer and sold them out; Allensworth returned to Louisville. He worked to put himself through the Ely Normal School established by the American Missionary Association
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on September 3, 1846 in Albany, New York. The main purpose of this organization was to abolish slavery, to educate African Americans, to promote racial equality, and to promote Christian values...
. During Reconstruction, he taught at schools operated by the Freedman's Bureau.
After the war, Allensworth became involved with the Baptist Church in Louisville. He was ordained by the Baptists as a preacher in 1871. In the 1870s, he went on to study theology in Tennessee, as he felt he needed more education. During this time he also served as preacher in Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
, north of Nashville.
In 1875, he started working as a teacher in Georgetown, Kentucky
Georgetown, Kentucky
Georgetown is a city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,098 at the 2010 census. The original settlement of Lebanon, founded by Rev. Elijah Craig, was renamed in 1790 in honor of President George Washington. It is the home of Georgetown College, a private liberal arts...
, where he also acted as the financial agent of the General Association of the Colored Baptists in Kentucky. They had joined together to support the founding of a religious school for teachers and preachers. He was among the founders of The State University, helped guarantee the salary of the president in the early years, and served on the Board of Trustees.
He returned to Louisville when called to be pastor of the Harney Street Baptist Church, which he reorganized and attracted many new members. They renamed it Centennial Baptist Church
Centennial Baptist Church
Centennial Baptist Church, in Helena, Arkansas, is significant for its 1905-1922 association with Elias Camp Morris, who was the pastor of the church from 1879 and who was a leader of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc...
, and it was selected as a model by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of America. Within a few years, Allensworth had increased the congregation nearly fivefold and it built a new church.
After his marriage in 1877, Allensworth was called to the State Street Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
. In addition to preaching, he gave public lectures. That fall, he went to Boston to give a series of lectures, after studying public speaking in Philadelphia. On his return, he met people from the American Baptist Publication Society in Philadelphia, who appointed him as Sunday School Missionary for the state of Kentucky. He had always worked to build up the Sunday Schools at his churches, and this gave him the chance to continue to work on education around the state. The Colored Baptist State Sunday School Convention of Kentucky appointed him to the position of State Sunday School Superintendent. That year, he invited his mother to live with him and Josephine. They had several months together before she died in 1878 at the age of 96.
With his leadership positions and public speaking, Allensworth became increasingly interested in politics. In 1880 and 1884, he was selected as Kentucky's only black delegate to the Republican National conventions.
Marriage and family
In 1877 he married Josephine Leavell (1855-1938), also a native of Kentucky; they had met while studying at Roger Williams UniversityRoger Williams University
Roger Williams University, commonly abbreviated as RWU, is a private, coeducational American liberal arts university located on in Bristol, Rhode Island, above Mt. Hope Bay. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. She was an accomplished pianist, organist and music teacher. They had two daughters together, Eva and Nella.
Military career as chaplain
In 1886, Allensworth gained an appointment by asking for support by both southern and northern politicians; his appointment was confirmed by the Senate, as necessary at the time, and approved by the president. He was one of the few black chaplains in the US Army and was assigned to the 24th Infantry Regiment, known as the Buffalo Soldiers. His family accompanied him on assignments in the West ranging from Fort BayardFort Bayard
Fort Bayard may refer to:* Fort Bayard, the city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, China*Fort Bayard Historic District, a frontier fort in New Mexico* Fort Bayard National Cemetery, at Fort Bayard, New Mexico...
, New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
to Fort Supply
Fort Supply
Fort Supply was a United States Army post established on November 18, 1868, in Indian Territory to protect the Southern Plains...
, Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
and Fort Harrison
Fort Harrison
Fort Harrison was an important component of the Confederate defenses of Richmond during the American Civil War. Named after Lieutenant William Harrison, a Confederate engineer, it was the largest in the series of fortifications that extended from New Market Road to the James River that also...
, near Helena, Montana
Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...
. His wife played organ in their chapels.
At Fort Bayard, Allensworth wrote Outline of Course of Study, and the Rules Governing Post Schools of Ft. Bayard, N.M.. The Army adapted these for use as the standard manual on the education of enlisted personnel.
By the time of his retirement in 1906, Allensworth had reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, the first African American to do so.
Allensworth, California
Upon leaving military service, Allensworth and his family settled in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He was inspired with the idea of establishing a self-sufficient, all-black California community where African Americans could live free of the racial discrimination
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
that pervaded post-Reconstruction, turn-of-the-century
Fin de siècle
Fin de siècle is French for "end of the century". The term sometimes encompasses both the closing and onset of an era, as it was felt to be a period of degeneration, but at the same time a period of hope for a new beginning...
America. His dream was to build a community where black people might live and create "sentiment favorable to intellectual and industrial liberty."
In 1908 he founded Allensworth
Allensworth, California
Allensworth is a census-designated place in Tulare County, California. Allensworth sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Allensworth's population was 471....
in Tulare county
Tulare County, California
Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner , and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border...
, about thirty miles north of Bakersfield, in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
. The black settlers of Allensworth built homes, laid out streets, and put up public buildings. They established a church, and organized an orchestra, a glee club, and a brass band.
The Allensworth colony became a member of the county school district and the regional library system and a voting precinct
Precinct
A precinct is a space enclosed by the walls or other boundaries of a particular place or building, or by an arbitrary and imaginary line drawn around it. The term has several different uses...
. Residents elected the first African-American Justice of the Peace in post-Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
California. In 1914, the California Eagle
California Eagle
The California Eagle was one of the oldest and longest-running African American newspapers in Los Angeles, California and the West. It started in 1879, founded by John J. Neimore, who had escaped slavery in Missouri...
reported that the Allensworth community consisted of 900 acres (364.2 ha) of deeded land worth more than US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
112,500.
Allensworth soon became a town, not just a colony. Among the social and educational organizations that flourished during Allensworth's golden age were the Campfire Girls, the Owl Club, the Girls' Glee Club, and the Children's Savings Association, for the town's younger residents, while adults participated in the Sewing Circle, the Whist Club, the Debating Society, and the Theater Club. Col. Allensworth was an admirer of the African-American educator Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, who was the founder and longtime leader of the Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Allensworth dream that his new community could be self sufficient and become known as the "Tuskegee of the West".
The Girls' Glee Club was modeled after the Jubilee Singers
Fisk Jubilee Singers
The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for their college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditional spirituals, but included some Stephen Foster songs...
of Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
, who had toured internationally. They were the community's pride and joy. Allensworth's streets were all named after notable African Americans and/or dedicated white abolitionists
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
, such as Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was the self-given name, from 1843 onward, of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she...
, Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
author Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
.
The dry and dusty soil made farming difficult. The drinking water became contaminated by toxins as the water level fell.
In 1914 Allensworth was struck and killed by a motorcyclist in Monrovia, California
Monrovia, California
Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 36,590 at the 2010 census, down from 36,929 at the 2000 census...
. Over the next couple of decades, the discouraged community slowly dispersed and moved away and the Allensworth township was reduced almost to a ghost town.
Allensworth is the only California community to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. The founders were dedicated to improving the economic and social status of African Americans. Uncontrollable circumstances, including a drop in the area’s water table, resulted in the town’s decline.
Legacy and honors
- The state has preserved the site and is gradually restoring its buildings. The most important building, historically and in the memory of Allensworth pioneers, is the school house. In use until 1972, it is furnished as it would have been on a school day in 1915. The park arranges special events to celebrate the former community's history, and the park’s visitor center features a film about the site. An annual re-dedication ceremony reaffirms the vision of the original pioneers.
- Col. Allensworth's residence is preserved and furnished in the 1912-period style. It contains items from his life in the military service and the ministry. A small display of farm equipment is a reminder of the Allensworth economic base.
External links
- Friends of Allensworth San Diego Chapter No 12
- http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/583/files/ColonelAllensworth.pdf
- Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
- Allensworth, California, African American RegistryAfrican American RegistryAfrican American Registry is a non-profit educational resource for the learning community to supply teachers with the information, method, and materials to provide a solid educational background in black history and heritage, in the sciences, business, the arts, and all facets of academics and...