Looking at vintage photographs of Lodi is like strolling through its past

Circa 1860s: Lithograph of the Jacob Brack ranch (est. 1850), a 1,500-acre spread skirting the far west side of present-day Lodi (in the vicinity of N. Jacob Brack Rd. and Interstate 5); note Mount Diablo in the backdrop.

There is an old saying I never quite understood, which goes: “The past is a place to learn from, not to live in.”

Yes, of course, we learn from the past, especially mistakes, big and small. But in many places of the world, we also live in the past. Like people do in Florence, Italy. I distinctly remember being struck by that once, in the late 1980s, when stumbling into the Palazzo della Signoria and suddenly being hit in the head by the real-life—bigger than life—vision of Michelangelo‘s David, created in 1501-1504, still standing in all its naked glory. 

Circa mid-1800s, Mokelumne River: Before bridges were built, San Joaquin Valley’s earliest settlers crossed the untamed rives by ferry, such as Benson’s Ferry in the Thornton area (northwest of the City of Lodi near present-day Interstate 5) depicted in this lithograph.

Suddenly I realized, this is an ancient city consumed in timeless edifices and monuments… yet people stroll around this place as if buildings and giant marble statues hundreds of years old were nothing… everyday stuff!

I had similar thoughts when I visited Lodi for the first time, back in 2002. By then I had already been a full-time wine professional for 24 years, and was privileged to have visited