Download - CLowman SCA Paper: Our First Chinese
“Our First Chinese”
Potential Archaeology of Chinese Communities at Stanford University
Christopher Lowman, UC Berkeley
Research Questions
• How was cultural identity negotiated in a hybrid cultural context? – (In what way did members of the community “mash up” cultural
practices?)
• How did the community relate to other communities in the area? – (Is there evidence of trade, social networks, or responses to material
availability?)
Timeline
• 1869: Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.
• 1876: Leland Stanford purchases land for the Palo Alto Stock Farm. 1/3 of employees are Chinese.
• 1882: First Exclusion Act severely limits Chinese immigration.
• 1885: Construction of Stanford University begins. A Chinese work force constructs some of the first streets.
• 1887: Market Street Chinatown in San José is burned.
• 1891: Stanford University opens. All cooks are Chinese.
• 1892: Second Exclusion Act. Anti-Chinese sentiments published in Palo Alto soon after.
• 1900: Far fewer Chinese employees are at Stanford than ever before.
Doumen County (formerly Huangliang Du Administrative Region)
Chinese America: History & Perspectives 1998
Working on the Stanford Residence
Ah Wing in 1905, Memoir from 1906 Gardener working on carpet flower bed, Stanford Residence 1888
Palo Alto Historical ArchivesStanford University Archives
Types of Work
Vegetable Seller on Alvarado Row, c. 1890s
- Housekeeping- (private residences, boarding
houses, fraternities)
- Stock Farm Employees- (horses, barley)
- Construction- (roads)
- Fruit and Vegetable Growers- (strawberries, lettuce)
- Cooks- (residence halls, fraternities)
- Janitors- (residence halls)
Stanford University Archives
Stock Farm
Vegetable Grounds with Boarding House, “China House,” 1880
Detail of Stanford Residence Map featuring a “China Camp”, 1879
Stanford University Archives
Stanford University Archives
Residences and Fraternities
Faculty and Student Housing, 1915
Obituary for Lund Bing Moy, c. 1925
History San José
Stanford University Archives
Neighboring Communities: Palo Alto and Mayfield
Mok Wo is refused a restaurant license, 1905
Mayfield, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 1884
Northridge Map Library
Palo Alto Historical Archives
Neighboring Communities: Mountain View
Chinese Camp on C.C. Morse Seed Ranch, photographed 1940s-1960s but likely dating
much earlier
Yuen Lung Store on View Street, 1879-1946
Mountain View Public Library
History San José
Neighboring Communities: San José
Jue Mon Get and Friend, San José c. 1910s
“Chinese Sam” at the Quicksilver Mining
Company, before 1889
History San José
History San José
Next Steps
- Community Consultation: Contact with
Descendants and Stakeholder Community
- Sites Need to be Recorded: Digitizing records, Land
Survey, and GIS
- Follow-up on additional sites: Peter Coutts, Searsville, Jasper
Ridge
Stanford University Archives
Thank you—
Barb VossLaurie WilkieLaura JonesJun SunseriHistory San JoséStanford University ArchivesPalo Alto Historical ArchivesNorthridge Map Libraryclassmates from Anthro 227