Amtrak Offers Half-Price Fares To Visit Historic Black Town

Amtrak will once again run special trains to Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park in Tulare County, California.

Amtrak will once again run special trains to Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park in Tulare County. The trip connects travelers to the only California town founded, financed, and governed by African Americans.

The Oct. 11 trip will mark the 49th anniversary of the park’s creation. The journey to Colonel Allensworth began as a partnership between Amtrak and California State Parks in 2018.

The upcoming celebration will feature live music, dancing, and food vendors. Additionally, guided tours of the historic schoolhouse, church, and library are available. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Amtrak’s San Joaquins line will operate three northbound and three southbound trains for attendees, according to a California State Parks press release.

Colonel Allen Allensworth, a formerly enslaved man and U.S. Army chaplain, co-founded the town in 1908. He hoped the town would become a model for Black economic independence and self-governance. Although floods, drought, and economic isolation forced its decline, the site was later restored as a state historic park to preserve its legacy of resilience and community-building.

Amtrak offers travelers a 50% discount on the day of the event. Routes will connect to cities including Bakersfield, Oakland, Sacramento, Modesto, Merced, and Fresno. Visitors arriving by car or bus will pay a small entry fee: $10 for a car, $50 for a small bus, or $75 for a large bus.

The annual trip has become a key cultural event in the Central Valley, with each year’s observance honoring a milestone in Black history. Some excursions have coincided with Juneteenth or Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Both occasions align with the park’s broader mission of education and remembrance.

Attendance has grown steadily since Amtrak began the partnership. Ridership rose from 97 participants at the first event to more than 500 travelers during this year’s Juneteenth celebration. The 49th-anniversary celebration is expected to draw visitors from across the state, cementing the legacy of Colonel Allensworth as a symbol of Black achievement.