Walnut Grove is located some 30 miles south of Sacramento, 30 miles north of Stockton, and 70 miles northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area.

As early as 1914 a large Japanese community lived in Walnut Grove with about 67 Japanese-owned businesses.

Walnut Grove, one of the older Delta river towns, was settled in 1850 by John Sharp. Sharp journeyed west from Ohio with his young family and chose the site of Walnut Grove because of the abundant walnut and oak forests in the area. The town quickly prospered as an agricultural center and riverboat stop. (The forests were timbered for steamboat firewood.) By 1870 it was a thriving town full of small businesses (many owned by the Sharp family), a school, post office, and Union Guard Armory. 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, and the well-known Bank of Alex Brown. Walnut Grove is the only river town, throughout the length of the Sacramento River, which is located on both east and west riverbanks. For years a ferry connected between, until the first bridge was opened in 1916. The bridge, since replaced by a newer span, was the first cantilevered counterweight. bascule drawbridge constructed west of the Mississippi River. It was officially opened by the Governor of California who traveled with various dignitaries to Walnut Grove on the gubernatorial yacht.

During World War II, the United States government placed over 120,000 Japanese Americans in war relocation camps.

For more about the Japanese and WWII click here