Although the town of Galt was founded and named by two men from Scotland, Obed Harvey and John McFarland, there were many nationalities that left their imprint on this farming community in the Sacramento Valley. Many miners who left the Mother Lode intending to return to their native countries, reached the train station in Galt, and then decided to invest some time in the fertile land surrounding it. Others came from the coast to seek a place inland that would be suitable for farming.
Some were entrepreneurs. They saw a need for a specific product or service in this growing farming community, so they stayed and became a part of the Galt area. The Botsbach family (German) saw a need for a hotel, and so they built a hotel on the southeast corner of C and 5th Streets. Amadeo Lippi (Italian) saw a need for fresh vegetables for the hotels and the private homes in the area so he began a truck garden “Galt Gardens” and delivered fresh vegetables from his farm. Later he added grapes on his ranch and began to make wine, and so the Galt Winery was born. There was a need for a poultry ranch, so Theresa Enjalran and her husband (French) began a chicken farm.
During that same period of history, when Galt was just beginning (1860s), Galt had a Chinatown! Of course, it wasn’t anything as elaborate or as large as the one in San Francisco, but it did exist. It was located on 5th Street between C and B Streets, at what is now the parking lot behind the Spaans Cookie Company office.
Most of the Chinese residents worked on the railroad that was built through the area. Some returned to China, but others remained and maintained a laundry that did the linens for the Galt Hotel, the Gibson Boarding House, and for business travelers who came in on the train.
Old timers described the Chinese men, in their long kimonos, each with his long pigtail reaching the ground, coming in to pick up or deliver laundry to the Galt Hotel. Like the other foreign-born residents of the town, they did not speak English, but they were eager to learn the language and to become a part of this little town. They went about their work with a big smile and many courteous bows to their neighbors.
As time went by and the hotels and the Boarding House closed, work became less plentiful, so as silently as they had come, they left. For a while, the little wood structure that was once the laundry stood next to the jail. But eventually it was torn down to clear that area for a garage and storage area for Eddie Ambrogio’s shop on 4th Street.
If you would like to know more about the pioneers who created the tapestry that we call Galt’s history, you may order a copy of Tapestry, the most recently published book by the Galt Area Historical Society. In it you will find stories written by or about some of the pioneers who came to this area and created some of its history. The cost is $12, please add $3.00 for postage and handling. Send your request to Galt Area Historical Society, P.O. Box 782, Galt, CA 95632.
Travel in 1887:
In the October 1, 1887 edition of the Sacramento Daily Record-Union, the following interesting information was given:
“A new rate-sheet for overland travel, to go into effect October 1st, has been issued by the Southern Pacific Company to agents. The sheet shows a general reduction of between $1 or $2 for first-class limited tickets to points on direct routes beyond the Missouri river. The following table shows the old and new rates to principal Eastern cities from San Francisco…
| New York, via New York Central | $79.00 | $81.00 |
| Boston | $80.50 | $82.00 |
| Cleveland | $71.05 | $71.60 |
| Detroit | $70.35 | $70.35 |
| Washington | $77.75 | $77.77 |
What a difference!
Galt Area Historical Society Home page
Last edited 27 February, 2005