Road Scholars - Page 8

Woolen Mills Chinatown of San Jose by Anmarie Medin

The Guadalupe Parkway in San Jose, constructed in the 1960s, near the former Woolen Mills Chinatown was proposed for upgrading in the 1990s. This afforded an opportunity for Caltrans archaeologists and historians to tell the story of the Woolen Mills Chinatown.

In this essay, Caltrans Historical Archaeologist Anmarie Medin elucidates the history of a people for whom few English language records are available. Like the thousands of Chileans, Mexicans, Germans, Irish, and Americans, the Chinese also traveled to California in search of fortune. Most of their stories have been locked behind a cultural barrier of language and culture, so foreign to the dominant American culture that most of their history has been lost. Historical Archaeology provides one effective means of reawakening the times and lives of early California Chinese and the towns they built.

Woolen Mills Chinatown of San Jose
Anmarie Medin

Introduction

The story of Chinese immigration to nineteenth century California is familiar to anyone interested in California history. As was true for so many other immigrants, the Chinese came originally to make money in the gold fields. And, like others, they congregated in their own communities of language, culture, and shared goals, establishing Chinatowns in many cities and towns.

This paper is the story of one such Chinatown, the Woolen Mills Chinatown of San Jose.

In the 1960s the Guadalupe Parkway was constructed near the site of Woolen Mills Chinatown in San Jose. In the 1990s Caltrans proposed upgrading the facility. The involvement of federal funds in the project necessitated compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, thus affording an opportunity for archaeologists and historians to tell the story of the Woolen Mills Chinatown.

History

In the late nineteenth Century, San Jose was a center of agricultural production, shipping produce and raising sheep for wool. Norlh of San Jose was the Woolen Mills factory that employed Chinese laborers despite anti-Chinese sentiment. The economic rationale for this was made clear by Robert Peckham, president of the Woolen Mills, who testified before Congress that he hired cheap Chinese labor to compete with East Coast businesses. In 1887, under questionable circumstances, the Market Street Chinatown in the center of San Jose burned down. In response, the Chinese established two new Chinatowns in San Jose, Heinlenville and Woolen Mills. Heinlenville attracted many families while Woolen Mills was more of a "company town" populated by single male laborers. Newspapers editorialized about the "scourge" of Chinese living on the north edge of town and portrayed them as dirty, unkempt vagabonds or criminals. Woolen Mills thrived for several years under the patronage of Ng Fook, a businessman with interests in San Francisco and other bay area communities. After Ng Fook's death in 1888 the community went into a period of decline, finally being destroyed by fire in 1902. Memories of the Woolen Mills faded over the years while Heinlenville, with families and businesses, remained as San Jose's main Chinatown. 

Archaeology Archaeological and historical research carried out prior to the upgrade of Guadalupe Parkway revealed   the Woolen Mills Chinatown as a neatly organized community in direct contradiction to contemporary depictions of the Chinese as dirty and unkempt.

This Chinatown had graveled streets and a sewer system that tied into the city sewer almost 1000 feet away. Brick walls, hydrants, and other fire protections provided defense against fire, the common scourge of wooden cities. Given the general state of sanitation in nineteenth century cities, archaeology demonstrates that Woolen Mills, by comparison, was uniquely neat and an orderly place.

Archaeological excavation revealed a particularly interesting feature, a brick smoker located on the edge of town (Figure 1 on right). It was identified on the Sanborn map as a brick "roasting kettle." Archaeologists uncovered a brick a cylinder with mouth for cleaning out ashes. It stood on a brick platform, surrounded by faunal remains and broken ceramic dishes. Comparative research, including oral history accounts, demonstrated that this probably served as a smoker for preparing pork and other meats, as well as preparing food for feasts. Archaeologists have identified similar features in Australia as well. This feature is tangible evidence of a concerted effort by the Chinese to retain their traditional foodways despite their status as immigrants in a new land.

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Introduction

A Railroad Runs Through it: The San Luis Obispo Southern Pacific Railroad Historic District (pages 2 - 7)

Woolen Mills Chinatown of San Jose (pages 8 - 9)

Whitley Gardens and the James Dean Memorial (pages 10 - 12)

Harmony Along the Coast (pages 13 - 14)

Bibliography