A train that almost never stops in Allensworth is rolling into the Tulare County town in full force on Saturday, October 10, carrying Sacramento-area riders to a 50th anniversary celebration at Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. The Gold Runner departs Sacramento's I Street station at 7:41 a.m. and is scheduled to arrive at the park by 11:41 a.m., offering a $19 one-way adult fare for the trip.
The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority is fully activating the Allensworth station for the occasion, according to Valley Voice, since the stop usually functions only as an inactive whistle station for pre-booked groups. Gold Runner trains typically do not serve Allensworth except for special occasions or tours, and the line previously offered similar special service for Juneteenth earlier in 2026. Discounted fares will also be available for seniors, children, people with disabilities, veterans, and active military, and tickets can be purchased online, by phone, or at ticket counters and kiosks inside Amtrak stations, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Once riders step off the train, Tulare County Area Transit will be running two complimentary 29-passenger shuttles to carry them from the rail platform directly to the park's historic schoolhouse, per the same Valley Voice report. The arrangement solves a real logistical gap for visitors arriving without a car, bridging the distance between the tracks and the heart of the park's activities, which will include historical reenactments, tours, dancing, and crafts.
A Whistle-Stop With Growing Ridership
Interest in reaching Allensworth by rail has been climbing for years. Passenger participation on special event trains to the park grew from just 97 rail riders in 2018 to more than 500 passengers in 2025, according to the Richmond Standard. Lori Wear said the train gives families an affordable way to reach the park, a sentiment reflected in the jump in ridership the Standard documented.
Saturday's rededication marks the 50th anniversary of the park's original dedication, which followed California's 1974 purchase of the townsite and the park's official opening in October 1976, according to the California Landmark Foundation. Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park preserves the history of the first California community founded and governed by African Americans, and the site still contains a preserved historic schoolhouse, church, and library about 40 miles north of Bakersfield.
Founded in 1908 by a Formerly Enslaved Union Chaplain
The town was named for co-founder Colonel Allen Allensworth, who escaped slavery in Kentucky, joined the Union side during the Civil War, and later became a chaplain and colonel. He founded Allensworth in 1908 alongside Professor William Payne, Rev. William Peck, miner John W. Palmer, and real estate agent Harry A. Mitchell under the California Colony Home Promoting Association, envisioning what backers called a “Tuskegee of the West” built on Black economic independence during Jim Crow.
The town's prosperity faded within decades of its founding. A local water company refused to supply the town, and the train stop was moved to another town, according to the Sacramento Bee's reporting. Water access and racialized infrastructure also shaped the town's history.
State Dollars and Grassroots Defense
California committed $40 million in its 2022-23 state budget toward Allensworth's revitalization, including $28 million to build a new Visitor and Event Center at the park, according to KQED. The same allocation set aside $10 million for a teaching and innovation farm.
Protecting the park has also fallen to its neighbors. The nonprofit Friends of Allensworth, founded by activist Nettie Morrison, fought off industrial mega-dairies proposed near the park to safeguard local air and water quality, according to the California State Parks Foundation. The group now works as a formal cooperating association with California State Parks.
The unincorporated community surrounding the park has roughly 500 residents and is predominantly Latino. Saturday's rededication will bring the Gold Runner to the park.
