The Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum, also known as Kam Wah Chung Company Building, is a state park and a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

that preserves early Chinese culture in John Day in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Built in the 1865 by George Hazeltine as a supply depot or stagecoach stop along the Dalles-Canyon City wagon road., it is the best-preserved example of a Chinese herbal apothecary and mercantile establishment dating to the post-

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

period of growth in the

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History

The Kam Wah Chung () Company Building was built along a wagon road later known as The Dalles Military Road, possibly as a trading post serving

placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits (particularly ...

operations on Canyon Creek. By 1878, it was under lease to the Kam Wah Chung Company, which was purchased in 1887 by the partnership of

Ing Hay Ing Hay (also known as Doc Hay; – 1952), was a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and an History of Chinese Americans, early Chinese American who immigrated to the United States in 1887. He was known in Oregon for treating patients with he ...

(known also as "Doc Hay") () and Lung On (), Chinese immigrants from Canton. The building remained abandoned after Ing Hay died in 1952. He asked that the building be deeded to the city of John Day with the provision it be turned into a museum. His wish, and the ownership of the building, were forgotten until 1967. While surveying for a new park the city discovered its ownership of the building and began to restore it as it was in the 1940s. The city also has custody of many of the company's records and personal documents relating to the proprietors. Currently the Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum contains one of the most extensive collections of materials from the century-long influx of Chinese immigrants in the American West. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1973 and designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior in 2005.. The museum received particular attention from Oregon First Lady Mary Oberst, wife of Governor

Ted Kulongoski Theodore Ralph Kulongoski ( ; born November 5, 1940) is an American politician, judge, and lawyer who served as the List of Governors of Oregon, 36th governor of Oregon from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrati ...

, who helped raise $1.5 million in private funds to renovate the building into a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

. The renovation began in November 2006 and was re-opened in August 2007. The renovated museum's grand re-opening was celebrated on May 3, 2008.

References

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External links

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Kam Wah Chung
Documentary produced by ''

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public broadcasting, public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington (state), Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stati ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kam Wah Chung and Co. Museum National Historic Landmarks in Oregon Chinese-American history Chinese-American museums Chinese-American culture in Oregon Museums in Grant County, Oregon State parks of Oregon Ethnic museums in Oregon Parks in Grant County, Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Grant County, Oregon John Day, Oregon

History

See also

References

External links