A special train journey is set to leave Saturday from the Sacramento Valley Station. In honor of Juneteenth, the Gold Runner train line will offer a special rate and make a stop at an iconic landmark in Californian and Black American history.
The town of Allensworth, in Tulare County, was co-founded in 1908 by Colonel Allen Allensworth. After his escape from slavery in Kentucky, Allensworth joined the Civil War on the Union side, becoming a chaplain and rising to the rank of Colonel.
Allensworth was “the first town in California founded, built, and governed by African Americans,” notes the Gold Runner website. However, the town’s prosperity faded within decades, due to a local company refusing to supply water and the removal of the train stop to another town…