Delano: Farmworker Movement History and Golf

In Delano, the history of the farmworker movement and the Delano Golf Course represent two clearly distinct topics. When choosing a hotel for your stay, it may help to consider whether you primarily want to explore the historical events, take the golf course into account, or include both in your plans. The history can be followed chronologically through a meeting, a strike, and a later union headquarters.

The Farmworker Movement in Delano

On the evening of September 7, 1965, predominantly Filipino farmworkers gathered at the Filipino Community Hall. They voted to strike against grape growers in the Delano area. The evening therefore marks a specific decision and a particular place in the movement’s history.

On September 8, Larry Itliong and other Filipino leaders of the predominantly Filipino Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led a walkout at table grape farms. It is now known as the Delano grape strike. During the strike, the two groups joined forces and founded the United Farm Workers of America. The meeting and the subsequent walkout were separate events; the sequence of dates helps distinguish between them.

The Filipino Community Hall served the strikers as a shared union hall and strike kitchen. It therefore had a different function from the walkout at the farms: the hall brought together a union hall and a strike kitchen. As you put the events in order, you can distinguish between the meeting place, the walkout, and the hall’s community function.

Another chapter followed in 1966: The Forty Acres in Delano became the headquarters of the United Farm Workers of America, the first permanent farmworker union in the United States. Its role as headquarters came after the events of September 1965. This keeps the origins of the strike and the later role of The Forty Acres as union headquarters distinct parts of the history.

The Forty Acres as a Preserved Site

The buildings, park, roads, and landscaping at The Forty Acres have been preserved to this day. Together with its role as headquarters, this connects the organization’s history with the named features of the site. Two aspects can be distinguished: the historical significance of The Forty Acres for the United Farm Workers of America, and the preservation of its buildings, roads, and landscaped grounds. This distinction helps keep local history from being reduced to a single date.

Golf and Getting Around Delano

The Delano Golf Course is a 9-hole course in Kern County Memorial Park. It offers a different focus from the history of the farmworker movement and can be considered as a separate topic when planning your trip. Your trip to Delano can therefore include historical events and a clearly defined golf option, without both requiring the same kind of stay.

DART operates four fixed routes throughout the city of Delano. If bus service is important to your plans, check before traveling which route suits your specific destinations.

More Topics in the Kern Destination

The wider Kern destination offers other distinct points of interest. Onyx Ranch State Vehicular Recreation Area is in eastern Kern County, next to State Route 14 on the western edge of the Mojave Desert. Tomo-Kahni State Historic Park in Kern County is accessible only on guided tours; check tour dates before your trip. Recreation at Lake Isabella is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. These regional topics add to the picture of Kern, while Delano’s history and golf course are the local points of interest described here.

Discover more destinations: Lamont, Tehachapi, Lost Hills, California City, Kernville, Pine Mountain Club, Wofford Heights, Inyokern.

View the main travel overview: Kern.