A sign that hangs in the Archview Building at 5 1/2 W. Pine St. suggests that Lodi was named after Lodi, a famous race horse. (Pam Bauserman/News-Sentinel)

A horse called Lodi: Fact or tall 'tail'?

Just how did Lodi get its name, anyway? A sign that hangs on the wall of a Pine Street office building suggests the town was named after a horse.

While there has been much debate over the story and many other theories have been proposed about the origin of Lodi's name, none have been verified as true.

The sign tells of a famous champion racehorse, Lodi, an unbeaten, five-year-old stallion. During a race in 1865 against a horse, Norfolk, Lodi suffered a crack in his right fore hoof and lost the race. According to the sign, the people were so impressed by the courageous horse than the town was named after him.

Chuck Easterling, the sign's owner, said he has been in Lodi for 25 years and has heard the story but was unsure of its accuracy. He said the story often comes up at City Council meetings.

"It's the only story I've ever heard about the name of Lodi," he said.

Easterling said the sign had been hanging in a bar on Main Street in the early 1900s. When a recent owner sold the building in 1998, the sign was given to Easterling. He had it reframed and after acquiring an office building on Pine Street in 2001, Easterling hung it on the wall.

"The frame was disintegrated and it appeared pretty old," he said.

Clay Saylor, who has been a Lodi resident since 1945, said he has heard the story and is not sure if it is authentic. He believes Lodi got its name because the train tracks were supposed to go through Woodbridge but came through here instead.

"I used to say, 'why a horse?' because when they made the tracks, someone fell asleep at the wheel," he said.

According to local historian Ralph Lea, Lodi was originally called Mokelumne. However, when the post office came in, the town needed a shorter name. He added that Salem was one of the proposed names.

Lea said George Lawrence, who served as a mayor of Lodi, wrote the story about the horse in a Lodi paper and no one corrected him. Everyone loved the story and eventually, the Lodi Native Sons put a sign together about it and hung the sign in front of City Hall.

Lea has heard other speculations about how Lodi got its name.

Some say the town took its name from Lodi, Italy because of a major victory by Napolean there.

Another, is about some settlers who came to the area from Illinois and pushed for the name because there is a town located there by the name of Lodi.

A News-Sentinel article written by Christy Kennedy in 2005, verifies all these speculations are true. Kennedy writes she believes the story with the Napoleonic connection is the most accurate.

"In my opinion, (the horse story) is a great story but it's not true," said Lea.