Modesto area residents can ride special trains to Black history event in south valley
Amtrak will offer discounted trains to the annual Juneteenth observance in Allensworth, which was founded in 1908 by a former slave.
The June 11 event will commemorate the day in 1865 that people in Texas got belated news that slavery had ended.
The Amtrak San Joaquins line has five daily round trips between Bakersfield and Oakland and another branching north to Sacramento. Modesto and Denair are among the stations.
The trains normally don’t stop at Allensworth, a Tulare County town much reduced from its heyday. Amtrak will do so with four round trips on June 11, using a temporary platform near the small state park at the site.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Amtrak will serve it with southbound trains 702, 710, 712 and 714 and northbound trains 713, 715, 717 and 719. A shuttle bus will take visitors the short distance to the park, or they can bring bicycles on the trains and connecting Thruway buses.
Tickets to Allensworth will have a 50% discount. Booking and other information is at amtraksanjoaquins.com.
People driving from the Modesto area can take Highway 99 past Fresno, then Highway 43 to Allensworth.
Visitors that day can take self-guided tours of the few remaining buildings. The park will have food and drink vendors, square dancing, history-themed games, storytelling, and arts and crafts.
Col. Allen Allensworth founded the town with dreams of making it a center of commerce and education for Black people. Historians say it faded away after a few years due to the death of the founder and the racially motivated loss of its water supply and rail depot.
The original Juneteenth was June 19. The new federal holiday will fall on Monday, June 20, this year.
The June 11 event will happen about a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed $40 million for an Allensworth visitors center in his 2022-23 budget.
The rail system is promoting the observance with Friends of Allensworth, a nonprofit that supports the park.
