This collection affords insights into the development of a small but growing agricultural community in California's San Joaquin
Valley during the Progressive Era, World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, and the postwar years, as seen through civil
and administrative records. The collection spans the years from 1907 to 1962, with bulk of material focused on 1907 to 1943.
It includes records from the City of Lodi's assessor, clerk, police, and public works department, as well as selected maps
and records of property transfers. Of special note is material that documents the course of local politics and public administration
as the city planned for, approved, and supervised contracts to improve its roads and sewers during the first two decades of
the twentieth century.
The City of Lodi traces its origins to 1869, when a group of civic-minded residents from the small community of what was then
known as Mokelumne or Mokelumne Station convinced the Central Pacific Railroad to establish a station in their town. The next
two decades saw steady growth, due largely to the commerce that the railroad attracted. In 1878, residents changed the name
of their town to Lodi and, in 1906, voted to incorporate. At that time, the population stood at approximately two thousand.
Lodi's population continued to climb throughout the first half of the twentieth century. By 1926, it contained approximately
7,600 people. In 1940, the figure stood at 11,079, and ten years later at 13,798. The bulk of records in this collection cover
a period during which Lodi matured into a thriving agricultural center with an increasingly sophisticated government, society,
and physical infrastructure. Notable developments during this period included establishment of the Lodi Improvement Club (1906;
later Lodi Women's Club) and construction of an Opera House (1905), Library (1910), City Hall (1912), High School (1913),
and jail and first city park (1914). In 1907, the Central California Traction Company commenced service to Sacramento, to
the north, and Stockton, to the south. The same year also saw construction of the Lodi Arch, a longstanding symbol of civic
pride, and the Tokay Carnival, which celebrated Lodi's importance for California's grape and wine industries.