The Forty Acres
Background
The Forty Acres is best known as the workplace of labor activist Cesar Chavez during the Delano grape strike of the 1960s. Chavez first drew national attention to the complex in 1968, when he conducted a public fast at the site. In 1970, union leaders and grape growers signed labor contracts ending the grape strike at Reuther Hall; the contracts unionized over 70,000 farmworkers working in the grape industry. After the strike, Chavez moved the union headquarters to a new complex; The Forty Acres continued to function as a service center for farmworkers and a local office for the union.
The Forty Acres was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 6, 2008. In October 2013, the site was identified as one of several to be part of a proposed new National Historical Park to commemorate the life and work of Chavez and the farm worker movement. Other sites for the proposed new park—which requires Congressional approval—include the Filipino Community Hall in Delano, California (headquarters of the Delano grape strike), Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz (in Keene, Kern County, California), McDonnell Hall in San Jose, and the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
See also
- National Farm Workers Association Headquarters, also NRHP-listed in Delano
- United Farm Workers−related topics
- California Historical Landmarks in Kern County, California
- National Historic Landmarks in California
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Kern County, California
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Rast, Raymond W.; Gail L. Dubrow; Brian Casserly (February 2007). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: The Forty Acres" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
- ^ Stiles, Matt (March 28, 2021). "First Lady Jill Biden to visit California next week for Cesar Chavez holiday". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Burger, James (October 24, 2013). "Kern sites recommended for national park". The Bakersfield Californian. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2013.