The Locke Building was probably designed by Charles Beasley who moved from Missouri to Stockton around 1860. By the 1870s, he had established himself as an architect in the San Joaquin Valley. Many buildings constructed in Stockton in the 1880s and 1890s were designed by Beasley.

Several distinctive design features mark Beasey's works including prominent corner towers, bracketed cornices and arched windows with mannered keystones. An overall asymmetry and an obvious love of building materials are also typical of his work.

The Locke Building occupies a prominent position at the main intersection in the small town of Lockeford. Along with several other late 19th century commercial structures, the Locke Building vividly recalls Lockeford's past as a supply town on the route from Stockton to the mines.

The patron of the building, Luther Locke, was the son of Lockeford's founder Dean Jewett Locke.

Source: Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 1982.