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| Landmark #423 | Tuolumne County | Visited: June 27, 2015 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | A plaque in the town of Chinese Camp! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: Reportedly founded about 1849 by a group of Englishmen who employed Chinese as miners, Chinese Camp was headquarters for stagelines in early 1850s and for several California Chinese mining companies. Much surface gold was found on hills and flats. The first Chinese tong war in the state was fought near here between the Sam Yap and Yan Woo Tongs. Stone and brick post office, built in 1854, is still in use. The St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, built in 1855, was restored in 1949, its first pastor was Father Henry Aleric.
OTHER TIDBITS: Apparently, these English miners were so successful that the American miners in the surrounding area got jealous and incited a race riot that drove off all the Chinese laborers! They resettled into Chinese Camp and used supplies abandoned by the English to rebuild! Their new land was dry and hard to mine for that reason, but Chinese miners did very well for themselves here, pulling about $2.5 million in gold out of the ground! Also, in case you were wondering, a tong is a fraternal order, and the Tong War was fought between two such orders! They were not allowed to use firearms, so the two sides hacked at each other with pitchforks and knives! Four people died before local law enforcement broke it up. It is hard to say for sure how many were involved, because official census takers generally ignored the Chinese during this time! Not a single Chinese person has lived in Chinese Camp since 1930! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: NW corner of State Hwy 120 (P.M. 15.9) and Main St Chinese Camp, CA 95327 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~319mi (514km) — 5.4hrs |
| When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |