The Filipino Farm Center: It All Started with A Photo

By Evan Hust

While scrolling through Facebook one day, Linda Claramo came across a photo showing the officers and members of the Filipino Farm Center, 1945-1946. The image of the smartly dressed group immediately caught her attention and piqued her interest. She was especially curious as the post mentioned that the center once existed locally in San Joaquin County. Linda began researching to hopefully learn more about the Filipino Farm Center. Surely, with an image of a large, established group there would be some historical information. However, to her surprise there was very little documentation or information to be found, mainly just a sentence or two here or there. She then reached out to her friend, Val Acoba, who had posted the photo and the Filipino Farm Center project was born.

Located on Manila Road in the unincorporated community of Lathrop, California, the Filipino Farm Center served as an important hub for Filipino farm owners and their families who lived in the area from the 1940s to the 1960s. During this period, the homes and farmland surrounding the Farm Center, which spanned hundreds of acres, was mainly owned by Filipinos. By the 1950s the area was likely the largest Filipino-owned farming area in the state. Created in response to racism and persecution perpetuated against Filipinos at the time, the Farm Center became not only a meeting place for agricultural workers but a formative force for generations of Filipinos and their families in the region.

In December 2023, a group of descendants of the Filipino families that lived, worked or were active members of the Farm Center convened and shared old photographs and fond memories of the Farm Center. The families requested that their memories and stories be recorded and documented to preserve the Farm Center’s history and to share this important part of Filipino American history with the wider community. Now, in partnership with the San Joaquin County Historical Museum, their desire is becoming a reality in the new exhibit, The Forgotten History of the Filipino Farm Center.

Through photos and artifacts as well as firsthand accounts recorded by videographer Louis Ambriz, visitors will learn about the history of Filipinos in California and San Joaquin County, the factors that led to the formation of the Farm Center, its active years and its legacy that lives on today through the lives of those who were there. A companion issue of the San Joaquin County Historical Museum’s academic journal, The San Joaquin Historian, will be published as an accompaniment.

The Forgotten History of the Filipino Farm Center will debut to the public on Sunday, September 8, 2024, with an opening celebration at the San Joaquin County Historical Museum in Lodi. Features of the day will include local Filipino food, vendors and entertainment in addition to the exhibit itself. Visit sanjoaquinhistory.org for more information including location, event times and admission pricing.

The Forgotten History of the Filipino Farm Center exhibit is a joint project between the Filipino Farm Center Committee and the San Joaquin County Historical Museum. Committee members include Linda Claramo, Elizabeth Claramo, Arlinda Acoba Campo and Dr. Bernard Remolino, Filipino American historian and associate professor of Asian American and U.S. history at San Joaquin Delta College. Special thanks to the families of the Filipino Farm Center for their contributions to the project: Arlinda Acoba Campo, Cathy Acoba Santini, Lily Burgarin, Mitch Tabaldo, Laurena Cabanero, Terri Torres, Linda Soliven, Larry Bermudez, Cathy Gravely and Val Acoba.