Coming attractions -- Historic black settlement turns 100

Photo courtesy of California State Parks Lt. Col. Allen Allensworth

A look at the centennial of Allensworth, being celebrated this weekend, Oct. 11-12, 2008.  By Steve Chawkins Times Staff Writer In 1908, Lt. Col. Allen Allensworth, a charismatic ex-slave and retired military man, set out to build an all-black community on a hardscrabble patch of land 40 miles north of Bakersfield. This weekend, the centennial of his long-shuttered town will be honored by thousands of Californians trooping to the site, now known as Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. Read more here...