Lockeford (Locke's Ford)

San Joaquin County · Locust Street, Lockeford · location approximate

It was on this hill that Dr. Dean Jewett Locke and his brother Elmer H. Locke built the first cabin on this section in 1851. Disturbed by grizzly bears, they spent their first nights in the oak trees. Dr. Locke, physician for the Boston and Newton Joint Stock Company, left Boston April 16, 1849, crossing the plains. Arriving at Sacramento September 16, 1849, he built and maintained a ford across the Mokelumne River, and because of this fact his wife, Delia Hammond Locke, in 1859 named the town he laid out on his ranch Lockeford.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

More markers nearby

Lone Star Mill4 mi
Site of Wood's Ferry and Wood's Bridge8 mi
Town of Woodbridge8 mi
San Joaquin Valley College8 mi

See your own family's places through time.

Start with your family tree