Kam Wah Chung's 140 year Anniversary! On June 9th, we are celebrating the anniversary of Kam Wah Chung’s 140 years in John Day ... and the 10 year anniversary of the historical site's restoration. Originally a Chinese medical clinic, general store, community center and residence, Kam Wah Chung provides an incomparable glimpse into the past. This remarkable site, a National Historic Landmark, is located in the town of John Day, and includes a museum and a separate interpretive center. The Foundation played a critical role in the restoration of this historic site. Ten years ago, we successfully led a campaign to raise over $1.5 million to preserve and restore the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site. The fundraising drive was chaired by Oregon First Lady Mary Oberst and supporters included over 300 individuals, businesses, foundations, and agencies ... all committed to preserving the physical site and the history of the Chinese communities in Oregon. The museum was built in the 1870s, possibly as a trading post. This tiny, unassuming building became home to two Chinese immigrants, Ing “Doc” Hay and Lung On. Both became locally famous: Lung On as a general store proprietor and businessman, and “Doc” Hay as a practitioner of herbal medicine. For over 50 years, the building was a social, medical and religious center for the Oregon’s Chinese community. Gold was discovered in Canyon City, Oregon in 1862. The population began to grow rapidly in the region as miners flooded in. The Chinese population also grew in the region as well. At first, Chinatown was located in Canyon City, but after several fires with the final one being in 1885, the Chinese were not allowed to rebuild in Canyon City. The roughly 400 Chinese then relocated to the already burgeoning Chinatown in John Day. Chinatown had several names one of which was Tigertown. The Chinese population at its height was approximately 2,000, making it the third largest Chinatown in the United States at the time, only slightly smaller than San Francisco and Portland. https://www.opb.org/television/programs/oregonexperience/segment/kam-wah-chung/
