Allensworth, California

Allensworth is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tulare County, California. Allensworth sits at an elevation of 213ft, the same elevation as the huge and historically important Tulare Lake shore when it was full. The 2010 United States census reported Allensworth's population was 471.It was a town founded in 1908, with the idea that African Americans could own property, learn, thrive, and live the American Dream. It was named by Lt. Colonel Allen Allensworth.Now designated Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, the community is located in the ZIP Code 93219 and in the area code 661.Terrain and environmentAllensworth marks the eastern high-water shoreline of Tulare Lake, (once the largest U.S. lake outside the Great Lakes,) which supported one of the largest Indian populations on the continent, herds of elk, millions of water fowl, as well as a commercial fishery and ferry service. Other townsites located on this historic shoreline include Lemoore on its northern tip, and Kettleman City on the western shore, while nearby Alpaugh is on the eastern end of a long, sandy ridge at elevation 210 ft. that was once called Hog Island. Due to diversions of the natural waterways since the mid to late 19th century, only a tiny remnant of Tulare Lake now remains. The last time Tulare Lake was full and overflowed its spillway (near Lemoore) was 1878.