Lodi, California

Lodi ( ) is a city in San Joaquin County, California, United States, in the center portion of California's Central Valley. The population was 66,348 at the 2020 census.

History

When a group of local families decided to establish a school in 1859, they settled on a site near present-day Cherokee Lane and Turner Road. In 1869, the Central Pacific Railroad was in the process of creating a new route, and pioneer settlers Ezekiel Lawrence, Reuben Wardrobe, A. C. Ayers, and John Magley offered a townsite of to the railroad as an incentive to build a station there. The railroad received a "railroad reserve" of in the middle of town, and surveyors began laying out streets in the area between Washington to Church and Locust to Walnut. Settlers flocked from nearby Woodbridge, Liberty City, and Galt including town founders John M. Burt and Dan Crist.

Initially called Mokelumne and Mokelumne Station after the nearby Mokelumne River, confusion with other nearby towns prompted a name change, which was officially endorsed in Sacramento by an assembly bill. Several stories have been offered about the origins of the town's name change. One refers to a locally stabled trotting horse that had set a four-mile (6 km) record, but as the horse reached the peak of its fame in 1869, it is unlikely that its notoriety would still have been evident in 1873. Alternatively, Lodi is a city in northern Italy where Napoleon defeated the Austrians in 1796 and won his first military victory. More than likely, some of the earliest settler families were from Lodi, Illinois, and they chose to use the same name as their hometown.

In 1906, the city was officially incorporated by voters, passing by a margin of 2 to 1. The fire department was established in 1911, and the city purchased the Bay City Gas and Water Works in 1919. Additional public buildings constructed during this period include the Lodi Opera House in 1905, a Carnegie library in 1909, and a hospital in 1915.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Lodi had a population of 66,348. The median age was 36.6 years. 25.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.1 males age 18 and over.

There were 23,816 households in Lodi, of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.5% were married-couple households, 17.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 34,387 || 51.8%

| Black or African American || 872 || 1.3%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 827 || 1.2%

| Asian || 6,354 || 9.6%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 146 || 0.2%

| Some other race || 14,690 || 22.1%

| Two or more races || 9,072 || 13.7%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 25,949 || 39.1%

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, Lodi had a population of 62,134.

Geography

Lodi is flat terrain at an elevation of approximately above mean sea level datum. Historically, land in the area has been used for grazing as well as for grain production.

There has long been a movement in the area to preserve a "greenbelt" as a buffer zone between Lodi and Stockton in order to keep the two cities separate.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers an area of , 98.38% of it land, and 1.62% of it water.

Economy

thumb|Signs point the way to various vineyards in Lodi, California

Early industries in Lodi included a sawmill, flour mill, vineyards, orchards, and cattle ranching.

The Lodi Land and Lumber Company sawmill was built on the south bank of the Mokelumne River in 1877, and relied on logs floated down from the Sierra during the rainy season. The mill was powered by a steam engine and had a capacity of per day.

The early 20th century saw the establishment of several large manufacturers and general service providers with national distribution capabilities, such as Supermold, the Pinkerton Foundry, Lodi Truck Service, the Lodi Iron Works, Pacific Coast Producers, Holz Rubber Company, Valley Industries, General Mills, and Goehring Meat Company. Lodi is the birthplace of A&W Root Beer and A&W Restaurants, established in 1919, which subsequently became one of the first franchised fast food restaurants.

According to the city's 2021 comprehensive annual financial report, the top employers in the city were:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! #

! Employer

! # of Employees

|Lodi Unified School District

|1,389

|Pacific Coast Producers

|1,298

|Adventist Health Lodi Memorial

|1,204

|Blue Shield of California

|1,042

|Walmart

|439

|City of Lodi

|415

|Rich Products

|276

|Costco

|265

|Frank C. Alegre Trucking

|210

|10

|Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California

|191

Arts and culture

A&W Root Beer

thumb|Lodi the birthplace of A&W Root Beer since 1919

thumb|Collectables at the A&W restaurant in Lodi, California

Lodi is the birthplace of A&W Root Beer, the first batch of which was made in 1919 on a hot dog cart during a parade. The spot where Roy W. Allen sold his root beer is now marked with a plaque. It is now sold in cans and bottles throughout the US, as well as in a chain of American restaurants. Lodi's A&W restaurant features a vast collection of A&W novelties.

Farmers market

The Farmers Market is held every Thursday evening from May 18 through September 1 (as of 2016) on School Street in Downtown Lodi. It is hosted and run by the Lodi Chamber of Commerce. It offers a large collection of fresh produce as well as baked goods, crafts, food vendors, and live entertainment.

Grapes and wine

thumb|Vineyard in Lodi, California.

Lodi and its surroundings are well known for the cultivation of grapes and production of wine. There are many vineyards in Lodi with century-old grapevines, some going into California wines like Bedrock and Turley. Starting in the early 20th century, and right up to the early 1980s, Lodi promoted itself as the "Tokay Capital of the World" due to the abundance of the Flame Tokay variety in the area. Nowadays there are over 100 different grape varieties planted in the Lodi AVA in over of vineyards. The town is surrounded by grapevines and the police cars have grape bunches painted on the sides of them. Winegrape culture pervades the town, with many business, street, and school names relating to the industry.

The "Flame Tokay" grape was introduced from Algeria in 1857 and was a central feature of the vineyards that gradually rose to prominence because of the sandy loam soil and the location directly east of the Suisun Pass. Local Marvin Nies used old flame tokay vines located on property farmed by Malcolm Lea to create, in conjunction with U.C. Davis plant breeding specialists, the seedless Tokay. Malcolm Lea, a co-founder of Guild Winery and East-Side Winery, sold substantial quantities of crushed grapes to Inglenook and other older Napa wineries, as well as truckloads of crushed grapes to San Francisco restaurants that made their own "house" wines. For a brief period during the late 19th century, the vines were usurped in favor of watermelons and wheat, but price cuts and labeling problems encouraged farmers to plant more vines.

In 1991, Lodi winegrape growers decided to self-impose a tax on their grapes to fund the Lodi Winegrape Commission. In 1992, the commission launched an integrated pest management program, known as Lodi Rules. In 2014, the commission was awarded a Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for the Lodi Rules program. In 2015, Lodi was named Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine. The Wine Bloggers Conference of 2016 brought over 300 wine bloggers to the area, where attendees filled the Internet with compliments about the small-town hospitality of Lodi's approachable, authentic winegrowing community.

Every September the Lodi Grape Festival is held and includes rides, food, and wine tasting. The Wine & Food Festival (formerly known as the Spring Wine Show, held in late March/early April, so as not to coincide with Easter every year) also showcases the area's 50-plus wineries. Beginning in 2016 there will also be a Beer Fest showcasing IPA and other types of beer along with food and music.

Conceived in 2005 by the Lodi Winegrape Commission, the Zinfest wine event is held at Lodi Lake and features Zinfandel wines. Usually held on the third weekend of May, this event includes a Friday-night dinner called "Vintner's Grille". As of 2020, Zinfest was renamed to RowXRow, but the 2020 festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Museums

thumb|Japanese Garden in Micke Grove Regional Park

The Hill House Museum, a restored Queen Anne Victorian built around 1901 for an early, skilled jeweler/watchmaking Lodian, George Hill, contains historical exhibits relating to the history of the town, including the house's original furniture.

The San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, the largest museum complex in the county, is just south of Lodi, at the Micke Grove Regional Park, and traces the history of the area through many exhibits and interactive displays.

World of Wonders, a downtown science museum, features interactive science exhibits, classrooms, and a retail store. The museum first opened on January 4, 2009.

Theater

Changing Faces Theater Company is a non-profit, student-run organization that is supported by the Lodi Arts Commission. An annual two-week production occurs each summer and is cast with mostly local children ranging from age six up to college students and, sometimes, a few adults. The production is normally staged at Jessie's Grove Winery, where a number of additional activities are typically held at the same time.

Lodi Musical Theater Company is also prominent in the Lodi theater community, staging shows at Hutchins Street Square such as West Side Story and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

From the 1970s to the late 1990s, Lodi was also home to the "Tokay Players," a group of local actors, directors, set builders etc. who had no professional experience, but put on dozens of productions over the period.

Transportation

thumb|Lodi Amtrak station

The City of Lodi operates the Lodi GrapeLine local bus service.

Lodi Transit Station is served by Amtrak Gold Runner train service on the Sacramento line. It became a regular stop in 2002. The station is also served by Greyhound Lines, San Joaquin Regional Transit District, and South County Transit. The Amtrak Thruway 3 bus line provides additional daily connections from the Lodi Transit Station to/from Sacramento and Stockton

Media

Lodi Monthly Magazine
Lodi News-Sentinel

Emergency services

Law enforcement services in Lodi are provided by the Lodi Police Department. Fire department services are provided by the Lodi Fire Department. Emergency medical services are provided by American Medical Response, who have been operating in both Lodi and Stockton since 1992.

In popular culture

A Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Lodi", was named for Lodi, California, although the songwriter John Fogerty admits he had never actually visited the city and simply thought it was "the coolest sounding name."

The opening scene from the film, Cool Hand Luke, in which Paul Newman was cutting parking meters, was shot in Lodi.

Lodi was featured by Huell Howser in Road Trip Episode 144.

Lodi is also often mentioned in the FX show, Sons of Anarchy. The show takes place in the fictional town of "Charming", which is said to neighbor Lodi.

Sister cities

Kofu, Japan (April 11, 1961)
Lodi, Italy

Notable people

A Skylit Drive, post-hardcore band
Jason Bartlett, Major League Baseball player
Greg Bishop, former National Football League player
Olympe Bradna, French actress and dancer, lived and died in Lodi
Sara Carter of the Carter Family retired to Lodi with her second husband, Coy Bayes.
Bill Cartwright, former National Basketball Association player
William Chaney, educator
David Cooper, Major League Baseball player
Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, former WWF professional wrestler
Nathan Diaz, UFC mixed martial artist
Nick Diaz, UFC mixed martial artist
Sione Fua, NFL player
Hamid Hayat, agricultural worker tried and convicted for, and then exonerated of terrorism-related activity
Brandi Hitt, journalist
Alyson Huber, former Member of the State Assembly
Patrick Ianni, Major League Soccer player
Tayt Ianni, former Major League Soccer player
Bridget Marquardt, model and television personality
Reagan Maui'a, National Football League player
Justin Medeiros, professional CrossFit athlete
Robert Mondavi, vintner and winery owner
Bill Munson, former National Football League player
Barbara Oakley, expert in the field of learning practices
Brad Wellman, former infielder for the San Francisco Giants
Destiny Rogers, R&B singer
Bob Sternfels, managing director of McKinsey & Company
Jae Suh Park, actress

References

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