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Yreka's Chinatown, circa 1899.
The first Chinese to arrive in Yreka came in 1853. They came to the west because in their own
Kwang Tung Province in Southern China (today known as Guangdong, which
essentially surrounds modern day Hong Kong) civil strife and crop failure
caused many to immigrate to California with one of six major Chinese Companies,
essentially as indentured servants.
The New York Daily Times on June 28, 1853
(page 3) likely reprinted an article from one of our more local papers,
stated: “It was a shocking arrival this
day in June when 35 Chinamen arrived here in Yreka. They are the first of this kind who have made
their appearance here, and their arrival created quite an excitement in
town. The Chinamen promptly tendered the
amount of the foreign miner’s tax, but no officer was authorized to receive
it. There was great discussion of what
to do among the men present, and after quite some discussion they were
permitted to remain.” Between 1860 and
1870 the Chinese population doubled in Siskiyou County to 1,176 persons ~ but
was likely higher as women weren’t always counted in the census at that time.
The Chinese
in Yreka did not have an easy life. At
first attitudes towards them were tolerant, but once it became apparent that
they were not going to purchase many American made goods and better the local
shopkeepers pocketbooks as well as embracing their different customs and
lifestyles, attitudes against them hardened.
The majority of the Chinese worked in mining, while the older or less
physically able may have worked as cooks, washers, or as Chinese shopkeepers
selling goods largely from China.
There were
3 different “Chinatown’s” in Yreka over the years. The first area settled by the Chinese was on
the south side of the 500 Block of West Miner Street, but many of them moved
from that location by 1868. Many
merchants discouraged them from being on Miner Street as they were reported to
live in “shacks” that caught fire easily, and had poor sanitary conditions,
especially the laundry houses.
The second
location of Yreka’s “Chinatown” and likely the longest residency was along Main
Street which was on both sides of the street from Center to Miner about half
way up the block. Their stores would
have stopped just short of the location where the Rex Club is today at 111
South Main Street, Yreka. In 1871 a
great fire devastated Yreka and a great deal of the business section of town
burned, including the Chinese section.
They went to work and rebuilt right away, this time many buildings were
rebuilt with brick. Misfortune came to
the Chinese again when in 1886 the Main Street Chinatown was once again
consumed by fire. A “citizens meeting”
followed immediately on the heels of this fire and a new Chinatown was created
across Yreka Creek on what was then the far east end of Center Street.
In less
than 5 years at the third Chinatown location, tragedy struck again. The hard winter of 1889-90 followed by warm
rains caused massive flooding in Yreka Creek and throughout the county. The vast majority of Chinatown was literally
washed downstream. By 1900 there were
only 4 or 5 Chinese stores that operated within a total of 14 buildings
occupied by the Chinese settlers. Today
there is nothing left of the last “Chinatown” in Yreka, when Interstate 5 was
created it essentially was built right over the top of the remains of Chinatown
at the central exit. While there were no
buildings left by the time the freeway was constructed, some archaeological
digs were performed in the area.
There are
many local stories and lore regarding the Chinese here in Yreka, for further
information one can contact either Yreka Preservation or the Siskiyou County
Historical Society. Information for this
article was found largely from the Meamber Research Files located at Yreka
Preservation as well as some information from an article by the former Museum
Director, Mike Hendryx as well as the 1990 edition of the Siskiyou Pioneer
published by the Siskiyou County Historical Society.
Copyright: Claudia East, 2015
Copyright: Claudia East, 2015
