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 Society, Butte MT The Chinese Historical Society of America The Promise of Gold Mountain: Tucson’s Chinese Heritage Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Chinese Historical and…
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 The Olympia Area Chinese Fellowship Youth Orchestra provided traditional music for the ceremony. Bill and Toy Kay, Brian Lock, Jimmy Locke, Mary Pang, and City Councilman…
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 Cemetery for the traditional springtime Ching Ming memorial ceremony. After tidying the site, they laid out offerings of food, burned incense and set off fireworks to…
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 Chinese American families established homes in Olympia from very early on. Census records show several families that came and went over the early decades 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. Two or more crops annually were common, and some even harvested wild blackberries which were offered for sale along with garden produce: We are asserting…
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 this trade “on the job.” Since opening a restaurant required a relatively small capital investment, it was a more accessible first enterprise. While it is…
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 start. Since profit margins were small, laundry operators had to cut expenses wherever possible. For example, the continual need for wood to heat water prompted…
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 was located ½ block west of Capital Way on Fourth Avenue, although some Chinese-owned businesses located near the intersection of State and Washington Streets. The…
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 a large influx of new Chinese laborers to Olympia, adding to the existing population. Excitement ran high locally over the approach of the rails and residents expected…
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 grateful to Edward for his willingness to share his years of research into this important aspect of Olympia’s history. Origins and Early Arrivals Railroads and…
