Dairy could doom historic California town, group says - USATODAY.com
Dairy could doom historic California town, group says
By John Ritter, USA TODAY
ALLENSWORTH, Calif. — A few restored buildings among sprawling flat acres of farmland are all that's left of an ambitious experiment a century ago — one doomed to fail but still an enduring symbol of African-American self-sufficiency.
Allen Allensworth, a former slave who rose to Army colonel, brought a colony of blacks here to a sparsely settled corner of the Central Valley in 1908. His vision was a discrimination-free town where blacks, through hard work and education, could compete in white America.
Unforeseen events killed the dream, but in the 1970s, the state preserved the town as a historical park. Today, Allensworth, an icon of black history, is threatened by a herd of cows, its patrons say.
Tulare County, the USA's top milk producer, has tentatively approved plans for a large dairy outside the 240-acre park. The Friends of Allensworth, a group with members across the state, fears odor and flies from 9,000 cows and their manure will drive visitors away. The group wants the dairy located somewhere else.
"Allensworth is one of a kind. It can't be replaced," says Victor Carter, president of the Friends of Allensworth. "It should be there for our youth, to see what we can accomplish given a chance." The park had 7,843 visitors in fiscal year 2006, according to the state parks department.
Ed Pope's family settled in Allensworth in the 1930s. He returned in retirement "to become a preservation activist on the scene." The park is on the National Register of Historic Places. If the dairy comes, Pope says, he could stand on railroad tracks next to the park "and throw a rock and hit a cow."
"If people stop coming, the state can't justify spending money to keep the park open. And if the park dies, Allensworth dies," says Pope, 77.
