Once known as the Jack Ross Boardinghouse, the Locke Boarding House was constructed in 1909, prior to the formal development of the town of Locke. Chinese men working on the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad boarded in the small establishment which was located near the Southern Pacific Railroad shipping warehouse. The Kuramoto family operated the boarding house from 1921 until they were interned during World War II in 1942. The family did not return to resume operation of the Boarding House after the war. In 2008 it became the Locke Boarding House, a unit of the state park system. Today, the boarding house is operated in partnership with the Locke Foundation as a museum that provides visitors a glimpse into the past.