Related Sites Chinese and Asian American History Becoming American: The Chinese Experience The Chinese American Experience, 1857-1892 Historical Societies, Museums, and Exhibits: Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, WA The Mai Wah…
The dedication of the Olympia Chinatown Historical Marker took place May 22, 2004 at Heritage Park. Interpretive Marker located in Heritage Park, near the site of Olympia’s last Chinatown …
At Forest Memorial Gardens, 2501 Pacific Ave., Olympia Marker for Locke Mai Tuck Edward Echtle photo As late as the 1930s members of Olympia’s Chinese community still gathered at Forest…
Due to immigration restrictions it was prohibitively expensive and legally difficult for most Chinese men to bring a wife and family members to America. Nevertheless, a small but significant number of…
By the 1870s some of Olympia’s Chinese residents earned their keep as market gardeners. In fact, they were so efficient they effectively cornered the local produce market for some years. …
Restaurants were a pioneer business for Chinese immigrants. Many early Chinese found employment as cooks for affluent families, at lumber camps and in hotels and rooming houses and learned…
A number of Chinese owned laundries existed in Olympia over the years. As laundries required little start up capital, they were often the first business a recent Chinese immigrant could…
The International Chinese Business Directory of the World for the Year 1913 Over the years Olympia’s main Chinese quarters were located in three places. Available records show the earliest Chinatown…
Chinese railroad section hands at the Tenino Northern Pacific Railroad depot, early 1880s WSHS Image In the early 1870s construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad in western Washington brought…
by Edward Echtle This series of articles about the Chinese in Olympia was prepared by Edward Echtle, Olympia historian, for the Olympia Historical Society website. The Society is…
