The 1912-1915 period marked the apex of Allensworth as a thriving community. African-American newspapers throughout the nation noticed the tiny hamlet: The New York Age chronicled its growth; the Washington Bee congratulated all involved with the enterprise; and the California Eagle gleefully exclaimed that there is not a single white person having anything to do with the affairs of the colony. Even the Los Angeles Times took note, labeling Allensworth an ideal Negro settlement.

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The national black community was starved for race victories. Newspaper editors, political leaders, businessmen and educators wall were pleading for blacks to prove themselves to be more than a dark blot on the national character (as a Southern senator had once labeled them). In a sense, these individuals endorsed (though many did so unknowingly) the belief of W. E. B. DuBois that a talented tenth must lead the race to new heights. Positive actions such as those taken by Allensworth residents were one way to portray blacks in a more favorable light.

Also during this period, Allensworth’s 200 affected the surrounding area’s economic and political structure. Sources such as the Oakland Sunshine [a leading San Francisco Bay area black newspaper] claim that in 1913, the citizens of Allensworth generated nearly $5,000 monthly in their business ventures, says Jayne Sinegal, chief librarian for the California Afro-American Museum.

Furthermore, voting registration records of 1915 list an impressive array of occupations of colonists, including farmers, storekeepers, carpenters, nurses and more, all suggesting that the colony’s business and industrial output was prodigious.

Allensworth’s grain warehouses, cattle pens and storage bins served the needs of the local farmers and the railroad. Business enterprises developed by the colonists included the large poultry farms of Oscar Overr; a 10-room, 75-cents-per-night hotel run by John Morris, that also served as a restaurant; a large general store, owned by the Hindsmon family; a cement manufacturing enterprise; plaster and carpentry shops; and sugar beet agriculture. All this industry was geared to prove to the white man beyond a shadow of a doubt that the black man was capable of self-respect and self-control.

Politically, Allensworth became a member of the county school district, the regional library system, and a voting precinct that elected Oscar Overr the first African-American justice of the peace in post-Mexican California.

In 1914, the California Eagle reported that the Allensworth community consisted of 900 acres of deeded land worth more than $112,500. In a strictly economic sense, this was an auspicious beginning.

Along with this burgeoning sense of political and economic influence came a true sense of community. It always seemed home to me, says former Allensworth resident, Gemelia Herring. The grass was green, and wildflowers grew all over. I thought Allensworth was one of the most beautiful places I ever saw.

Allensworth became a town, not just a colony. This is evident in the number of social and educational organizations that existed during Allensworth’s golden age. The Owl Club, the campfire Girls, the Girls’ Glee Club, and the Children’s Saving Association met the needs of the young, while adults participated in the Sewing Circle, the Whist Club, the Debating Society, and the Theater Club. The Girls’ Glee Club, modeled after the internationally known Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, was the community’s pride and joy, says Sibylle Zemitis. Organized by Professor Payne with musical accompaniment provided by the able teacher, Margaret Prince, the Glee Club traveled all over the various little white towns to sing, she says. Although primarily a form of entertainment, the Glee Club was also a tool used to win support for the colony.

Along with the school, the library was the focus of many community activities. From the colony’s inception, many had recognized the benefits of a public library system, and on February 2, 1912, residents petitioned the Board of Trustees of the Visalia Free Library to establish a depot station at Allensworth. Although the request was approved, the space designated for the reading room was inadequate, so in 1913, Mrs. Josephine Allensworth, as a memorial to her mother, donated land and money to build a library that would do credit to even a larger community. This coal box style edifice, begun in May and completed in July 1913 at a cost of $500, had a book capacity of 1,000. When the Mary Dickinson Library was dedicated on the Fourth of July, Colonel Allensworth immediately donated his private library to the enterprise. As word of the library spread, Zemitis relates, the community received books from Visalia, San Francisco and North Dakota. Tulare County supported the venture by paying the costs of a custodian for the facility, local Allensworth resident, Ethel Hall.

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