Lockeford: A town rich in history

By Ralph Lea
Special to the News-Sentinel

The first pioneers to settle along the bluffs and fertile bottom land along the Mokelumne River, where Lockeford is located today, came in late 1849.

Forty-niners David Jackson Staples and Dean Jewett Locke first sought gold in the rivers of the Sierra. But they quickly discovered that owning land and farming was a more prosperous occupation than mining.

In the early 1850s, cloth tents and then wood buildings appeared among the oaks, willows and wild grass along the river and the main road between Stockton and Sacramento. In 1851, Staples brought his wife and daughter to the settlement, and Joseph Putman, Edward Whipple, Daniel Howard and Esdras Smith established their homes and began clearing away the wild brush for their farms.

In 1852, Charles R. Montgomery settled here, and George Locke, brother of Dean and Elmer Locke, arrived from New Hampshire to help on the Locke ranch. Charles Poppe and the Sheridans came in 1853, and Thomas B. Parker and Clarence Flanders came the following year.

In 1854, Dean Jewett Locke returned east, and on May 8, 1855, he married Delia Hammond.

The couple and Locke’s father, Luther, journeyed to the Locke ranch along the Mokelumne River in July 1855. In the fall of that year, Locke replaced his log cabin with a wood house for his bride. In July 1856, Luther Locke opened the settlement’s first store, which was called the White House.

As the community grew, the settlers established a church and school. Mrs. Staples and Mrs. G.C. Holman organized the first church services in a cloth tent supported with willow poles. The first school, called the “Rag Schoolhouse,” was conducted in the same tent.

In 1859, the tent was replaced with separate buildings for the church and school. The Octagon School House with its pointed roof opened with 38 students. Also in 1859, the cornerstone was laid for the brick Harmony Grove Church. The church, which still stands today, was not completed until 1862. Staples donated the 1O acres for the church, parsonage and cemetery.

While Staples concentrated on state politics and unsuccessfully sought the state senator and governor’s posts, Locke developed a town along the Mokelumne River.

In 1858, Locke erected a two-story building to be used as a granary with a public hall on the second floor. Locke, who did not tolerate drinking, tried to keep liquor out of town and actively participated in the temperance movement. The public hall in Locke’s building was used as a meeting place for temperance groups. The Sons of Temperance organized in January 1869. Four years later, the Good Templars Society was formed for men and women.

In 1860, S.P. Sabin came to the area and built a blacksmith shop and home which later became a store. The same year, W.D. Read built his wagon shop. As the town grew, Locke generously donated lots for schools and churches.

In June 1861, a post office was established with Luther Locke, Dean J. Locke’s father, as postmaster. The post office was in Locke’s store, the White House.

Luther Locke was postmaster until his death in 1866.

It’s not certain when the town started being called Lockeford, but the first official town map labeled “Lockeford” was not filed until June 14, 1862. The town’s name is credited to Dean J. Locke’s wife, Delia, who suggested the name since people called the river crossing “Locke’s ford.”

In the 1850s and 1860s, Lockeford competed with Woodbridge for road traffic. A town’s healthy economy depended on the stages, freight wagons and people traveling between Stockton and Sacramento. Jeremiah Woods in Woodbridge had succeeded in pulling away road traffic by offering free passage across the river to stages. The only mode of travel left to corner for Lockeford was by riverboat.

In late winter and early spring of 1862, the Mokelumne River was full of water from recent floods. In a valiant effort to prove that freight could be transported from San Francisco by steamboat to Lockeford, Locke chartered a steamboat, the Fanny Ann, in February. This boat, however, stopped in Woodbridge, and its captain refused to go further upriver. In April, Locke’s steamboat, Pert, successfully navigated the Mokelumne River to Lockeford.

Soon after this voyage, however, the Pert hit a snag and ran aground. All hopes of turning Lockeford into an inland port sank, too.

While Woodbridge and, later, Lodi flourished, Lockeford still continued to modestly grow. In 1881, Lockeford had three wagon manufacturers, a saddler and harness shop, and the largest employer was Benjamin Steacy who had nine employees. The San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad narrow-gauge line brought rail service to Lockeford and connected the town to Valley Springs, Lodi, Woodbridge and Brace’s Landing. This was a boost for farmers who shipped their crops, but the railroad was not a financial success.

Dean J. Locke died May 4, 1887 at age 64, and the town mourned his loss. He left behind 13 children who, in many ways, continued to help shape the town named for their family.

Howard Locke and N.H. Locke founded the Lockeford Creamery in 1898. James Anderson Hammond, a World War I veteran, became a local banker and a citizen worthy of much credit for Lockeford’s later growth and prosperity.

The Lockes are still well represented by Chet Locke and their many relatives. The town of Lockeford has recently shifted into a higher gear with more residential building, and there are high expectations for a new era for the small village along the river.