About Lodi, CA

Lodi, California is located in the northernmost part of the Central Valley in the state of California in the county of San Joaquin. According to the census that was taken in 2001, the population of Lodi was 62,1348 people. In 2013, the approximate population of Lodi was 63,338 people.

While its vintages have been somewhat less prestigious traditionally than those of Napa and Sonoma counties, Lodi is well recognized as a hub for the production of wine. With the release of the song titled Lodi, by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lodi received national recognition. The close by Woodbridge is the home of the well-known winery, named Woodbridge by a man named Robert Mondavi. Mr. Mondavi was raised in Lodi, and his Winery is considered to be one of the most prestigious wineries in the wine industry in America.

In 2005, Lodi received attention internationally when two local residents named Umer and Hamid were arrested and charged in the first terrorism trial in California.

In 1859, when some local families elected to establish a school, they selected a location that was close to what is currently known as Turner Road and Cherokee Lane. The Central Pacific Railroad was in the process of establishing a new route, in 1856, and white pioneers named John Magley, Reuben Wardrobe, A. Ayers, and Ezekiel Lawrence offered some 160 acres for a new settlement. This was the incentive or the railroad to construct a station there. The railroad received some 12 acres in the center of the new settlement, and surveyors started laying out streets in the region between Walnut to Locust and Church to Washington. Pioneers arrived from Galt, Liberty City, and Woodbridge. Two of these pioneers were founders of the new settlement named Dan Crist and John Burt.

Originally known as Mokelumne Station and Mokelumne after the river, which was close by, confusion with other settlements and communities resulted in a change in the name of the new settlement. An assembly bill, which was officially endorsed in Sacramento passed. The city in northern Italy where, in 1796, Napoleon won his first military victory by defeating the Austrians was named Lodi, which is one theory for the name. However, it is most probable that some of the earliest pioneer families were from Lodi, Illinois, and they decided to use the same name as their hometown.

The year 1906 officially brought the incorporation of Lodi as a city. In 1911, the fire department was organized, and, in 1919, Lodi bought the Bay City Gas and Water Works in 1919. During this time period, some additional public buildings that were built in 1915, includes a hospital, a Carnegie library, and the Lodi Opera House. Some of the early industries in Lodi included cattle ranching, orchards, vineyards, a flour mill, and a sawmill.

In 1887, the Lodi Lumber and Land Company sawmill was constructed on the Mokelumme River’s southern bank. The success of the sawmill depended upon on the logs being able to float down from the Sierras during the rainy season. The mill was steam engine powered, and had a capacity of some 40,000 board feet each.

The early 1900’s, brought the construction of many large general service providers and manufacturers that had national distribution capabilities, that included the Goehring Meat Company, Valley Industries, the Holz Rubber Company, Pacific Coast producers, the Lodi iron Works, the Lodi Truck Service, the Pinkerton Foundry, and Supermold.

These days, the Lodi region is home to many large agricultural, general service, and manufacturing companies that include Woodbridge-Robert Mondavi Company, the Miller Packing Company, Lodi Iron Works, Kubota Tractors, the Holz Rubber Company, General Mills, Dart Container, Blue Shield of California, and the Archer Daniels Midland Company