Walnut Grove, established in 1850 by John W. Sharp, was one of the earliest settlements along the Sacramento River. Chosen for its abundant walnut and oak forests, it quickly prospered as an agricultural center and riverboat stop, with the forests timbered for steamship firewood. By 1865 it had become a major shipping port for agricultural produce and fish, with Bartlett Pear as its primary product, and by 1870 it was a thriving town with small businesses, a school, post office, and Union Guard Armory. Although demand for rich agricultural land kept the town compact, it became the only river town along the Sacramento River to occupy both east and west riverbanks. A ferry connected the two sides for years until the first bridge opened in 1916; that bridge, later replaced, was the first cantilevered counter-weight bascule drawbridge constructed west of the Mississippi River. Locke, built in 1915, was one of the early towns in the United States built entirely by Chinese settlers. It endured two major fires, yet many original buildings still stand. Locke was a bustling place with gambling houses, merchant stores, and a movie house owned by Chinese settlers. The Southern Pacific Wharf and warehouse was built in three stages, beginning in 1906, and grew to more than 800 feet in length. During harvest season, a half dozen or more fruit packers rented warehouse space, and a rail spur connected it with the Walnut Grove Branch line. Two freight elevators raised produce from riverboat decks, and the warehouse is now used to store and launch pleasure boats about a quarter mile north of this site.