Italians of San Joaquin County

By Pacific Italian Alliance and Ralph A. Clark

Italians were among the first European settlers in California, as fishermen from Italy arrived in the 1830s. After gold was discovered in 1848, immigrants from all over the world came for the opportunity that California presented. For the Italians, they encountered a terrain and climate so similar to their homeland that many stayed on to make California their new home. In San Joaquin County, the Italian influence remains profound, with the immigrants and their descendants helping develop the area s cultural, agricultural, and business climate into what it is today. The legacy of the Italian pioneers has enriched San Joaquin County in immeasurable ways. Every aspect of life here has been touched, molded, and made better by this industrious group who came to a distant land to make a better life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Nov 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781439648155

Pacific Italian Alliance

The Pacific Italian Alliance, with the help of local author and historian Ralph A. Clark, has compiled and collected a treasure trove of exciting historic images from a variety of sources including the San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, the Haggin Museum, and the Bank of Stockton Historical Photograph Collection, as well as the generous contributions of several Italian American families that continue to live in San Joaquin County.

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INTRODUCTION

The Italian experience in San Joaquin County begins, as so many California stories do, with the discovery of gold on the American River in 1848. Prior to that time, during the 1830s, Italian fishing boats in search of better fishing waters were slowly working their way up from Peruvian harbors in South America to the California coast. Interestingly, these sailors mainly came from the coast of northwest Italy, an area that, with its active fishing culture, would play an important role in later immigration. With news of the gold strike reaching around the world, a small number of Italians who were able to make the trip came for the adventure and the chance to strike it rich.

It is important to remember the Italy of this time was in a full-blown state of civil war between independent regions and territories (often controlled by other competing European nations or interests), each with its own traditions, dialects, customs, and behaviors, and no real national identity. A person’s loyalty was often to his or her own geographic area—a phenomenon known as regionalismo (regionalism)—rather than to a wider Italian culture or identity. The Italian unification, or Risorgimento, would not be completed until 1871 (according to some scholars), and this historical backdrop provided the fuel for the massive amounts of immigrants that came to the United States from Italy. The regions of northwestern Italy were hardly an idyllic paradise. Years of strife in the early 19th century had created a series of economic hardships for the people of the region. Fewer than five percent of the population owned land, and there were very few opportunities available. Constant political strife, war, cultivation practices, and overpopulation had made the land barren, and the topsoil had almost completely eroded away.

The epicenter of emigration in Italy was the region of Liguria, located along Italy’s northwest coast, which features a very impressive and dramatic landscape of lofty mountains, hills, and steep cliffs that plunge into the western Mediterranean. It would be this area, and its capital city of Genova (the local Italian spellings for Genoa and Genoese—Genova and Genovese—are employed throughout this book), that would send the vast majority of its sons and daughters to California. Genova is Italy’s largest seaport and the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, and it has a deep and impressive history and culture. The second important center of emigration was the region of Tuscany, the birthplace of the Renaissance, which was renowned for its beautiful landscapes, traditions, and culture. By 1860, the largest number of Italian immigrants in the United States lived in California (with 80 percent of them being Northern Italian), and as late as 1890, there were more Italians in the Pacific states than in New England.

Immigration continued to increase considerably from the years 1880 to 1921 in a second wave of migration that brought a significant number of Italians to San Joaquin County. With the similarity in climate and the abundance of opportunity, the immigrants excelled. Aiding the Northern Italians was the fact that many were skilled laborers and brought with them knowledge of masonry, business, mining, finance, irrigation, and agriculture—talents perfect for building a new community. As the arrivals settled locally, they sent back for other family or friends and provided passage and employment once they established themselves. Natives of certain villages or towns lived near one another in the new country as they had in the old country. This village clustering, known as campanilismo, helped new arrivals deal with the culture change and the ethnic melting pot that was early California. They were able to assimilate much more quickly in California than elsewhere because of a relative lack of prejudice toward them and a hard-earned economic mobility. Various immigrants rose in status, becoming known as the prominenti—not just in the Italian community but in the wider community as well—and serving as pillars of the community, the state, and the nation.

Nowhere was the Italian presence felt more strongly than in the field of agriculture. Italian farmers had quickly planted varietal gardens of fruit and vegetables on the alluvial plains near rivers that other farmers could not use for the grain and wheat crops popular in the early days. These fertile plots were so prominent amongst the immigrants that they became collectively known as the Italian Garden lands. Growers would harvest and take their produce to cities and towns and sell from the backs of their wagons and trucks. The establishment of the Italian Gardeners Society in 1902 as a mutual aid society to help provide for farmers in the community who needed health and death benefits solidified the deep connection to their new homeland. It would be the Italian Gardeners who would establish the San Joaquin Marketing Association and build the Growers Market after selling in the streets was banned. The Italian Gardeners Society celebrated its 112th anniversary in 2014. The entire California wine industry owes its success to Italian immigrants and the hard work of the Mondavi, Gallo, Franzia, and Indelicato families, all pioneering winemakers.

Along with the immigrants came the traditions, entertainment, and customs that reminded them of the home they had left and connected them to their community. They formed groups and clubs, such as the Central California School of Italian Language and Culture, which offers classes for the descendants of those who settled here. They joined fraternal and business organizations and established musical bands and other entertainment groups. They excelled in sports and made homemade wine, sausage, and pasta, and they helped build churches, schools, and hospitals. Their community was always growing, adapting, and shaping the wider society with their traditions.

Unfortunately, by the end of the 20th century, connections to Italy had become distant, artifacts and histories had been lost, and apathy toward Italian culture was a concern. A push began for a new Italian organization, and among the first to support the idea were Faliero Luke Lucaccini and Frank Garavano. Their interest coincided with the arrival of Joseph Subbiondo and Robert Benedetti at the University of the Pacific. In 1991—joined by Joan Cortopassi and her husband, Dino—Lucaccini, Garavano, Subbiondo, and Benedetti proposed the formation of the Pacific Italian Alliance. Its mission would be to "bring the best that