Welcome to Our Club

Welcome to the
Rotary Club of Walnut Grove...

...on the Sacramento River in NorCal

Rotary Club of Walnut Grove was chartered in 1948 and our club is located in NorCal at the southern tip of Sacramento County, in the quaint town of Walnut Grove.  Bridges, ferries, boats, and our volunteer first responders are a part of our daily living.  A historical town established in 1850 by John W. Sharp, Walnut Grove is one of the earliest settlements along the Sacramento River.    The town quickly prospered as an agricultural center and riverboat stop.  With Bartlett pears as its primary product.  Today, acres of vineyards, cherries, nut trees, wheats, and pears are just some of the products harvested each year.

After Sharp's death in 1880, the heirs sold a large portion of the estate to Agnes Brown and her son Alex.  The Brown family subsequently became heavily involved in the commercial life of the community, operating a general store, hotel, an asparagus packing house, as well as the Bank of Alex Brown.  Generations have continued supporting the community with many of our Rotarians operating their businesses out of these historical buildings.

Due to the demands of rich agricultural land and although the town has remained compact in size, it holds the distinction of being the only river town along the Sacramento River to occupy both the east and west riverbanks.

With a population of about 1,000 people, Walnut Grove has many sites of interest that puts itself on the maps:

• Our historical TOWERS:  Walnut Grove's location has made it the site of a rare collection of very tall radio and television transmission towers.  Since 1962, these towers dominate the skyline at great heights up to 2,048 feet, one of the tallest constructions in the world.  TOWERS capture a line of sight coverage for over 60 miles to the the Sierra foothills and the mountains across the valley.
• The Delta Meadows State Recreation Area:  Located along the Railroad Slough Levee and accessed from the River Road between Walnut Grove and Locke is a water diversion facility on the Sacramento River.
• The historical town of Locke:  In the early 1900's Locke was a bustling place with gambling houses, merchant stores and a movie house all owned by Chinese.  Locke today is much like it was many years ago.  Most of the original buildings are still standing and occupied by artist, musicians, and artifacts from the Chinese people.  The Southern Pacific wharf and warehouse was over 800 feet in length.  During harvest season the fruit packers would load their product via a rail spur serving the warehouse and connected with the Walnut Grove Branch line.  The warehouse operated two freight elevators which raised produce from the decks of the riverboats.  The warehouse is now privately owned and used to store and launch pleasure boats.

• Bo Eason - former safety for the University of California, Davis and the Houston Oilers, actor and playwright
• Tony Eason - former quarterback for the University of Illinois and the New England Patriots
• John Garamendi - Representative in US Congress, former lieutenant governor, former insurance commissioner