The Chinese Presence in Virginia City Montana: a Historical Archaeology Perspective
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2004 The Chinese Presence in Virginia City Montana: A Historical Archaeology Perspective Kristin Bowen The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Bowen, Kristin, "The Chinese Presence in Virginia City Montana: A Historical Archaeology Perspective" (2004). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 9345. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/9345 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of Montana Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. **Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature** Yes, I grant permission No, I do not grant permission Author's Signature: A p U l / ^ "— Date: (j . p O O H______ Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. 8/98 THE CHINESE PRESENCE IN VIRGINIA CITY, MONTANA: A HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PERSPECTIVE by Kristin Bowen B.A. University of Montana,2002 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts The University of Montana 2004 Approved by chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School Date UMI Number: EP72657 All riyhls reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP72657 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT Bowen, Kristin, M.A., May 2004 Anthropology The Chinese Presence in Virginia City, Montana: A Historical Archaeology Perspective Chair: Dr. John Douglas During the latter half of the nineteenth century, a profusion of Chinese sojourners came to the western United States. Starting in 1849 with the discovery of gold in California a large population of Overseas Chinese lived and worked in the United States. Even though most western states had large populations of Chinese for around half a century, little is known about them, as in most places they left no written records behind. This thesis aims to “make history” for these people by using historic archaeology to examine the Chinese living in Virginia City, Montana from the 1860s to the 1910s. As Virginia City was not isolated from the outside world, I will set this history in a background of the Overseas Chinese in Montana and other western States, using historical documents. Also in this thesis I present an overview of archaeological investigations done at Overseas Chinese sites using currently available research. Then I will show the results of excavations that have been done in Virginia City, and the small amount of remains that indicate an Overseas Chinese presence there. Currently there is a lack of knowledge on the Overseas Chinese in Montana, and I am trying to change this. I feel compelled to put forth a database of knowledge on the Chinese in Virginia City to start trying to fill this void, as well as to aid future archaeologists dealing with the same topic or area. In the end of my thesis, I set up a research design for future archaeological work in Virginia City, in the Chinese area of town. Using maps and other accounts, I try and identify the most likely places to contain Chinese deposits. Finally, I propose research questions that could guide future excavations in Virginia City. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my thesis committee chair, John Douglas for all the help he gave me on this project starting from the beginning to the end. I want to thank Kelly Dixon for sitting on my committee, and for all the encouragement and information she provided me while working on this thesis. I also would like to thank Rich Clow for being on my committee and for suggesting helpfull changes. The Montana Historical Society provided me with all the historical photos for this thesis, and I thank them for that as well as all the people working in their library and archives for being incredibly helpful. Finally Priscilla Wegars also deserves thanks for she was frequently consulted for information on the Overseas Chinese, her specialty. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction....................................................................................................1 A. Introduction.............................................................................................l B. Thesis Organization .....................................................................2 2. Historical Background.................................................................... 4 A. Gold Mining in the West.........................................................................4 B. Chinese in the West................................................................ 6 C. History of Virginia City with Emphasis on Overseas Chinese......... 16 3. Archaeological Evidence............................................................................. 34 A. Archaeology of Chinese in the West....................................................34 B. Archaeology of Chinese in Montana....................................................36 C. Archaeology of Virginia City ................................................................ 38 4. University of Montana Excavations...........................................................40 A. Methods.................................................................................................40 B. Results...................................................................................................41 5. A Plan for the Future....................................................................................... 49 A. Research Questions...............................................................................49 B. Potential Areas for Excavation............................................................. 55 C. Public Archaeology ................................................................................57 REFERENCES...............................................................................................................59 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Virginia City Montana in 1866....................................................................18 Figure 2. Chinese miners in Alder Gulch (Hayden Survey 1869-1871)................ 21 Figure 3. 1884 Sanborn Map of Virginia City, Chinese section............................. 23 Figure 4. Chinese Masonic Lodge in Virginia City...................................................25 Figure 5. The Joss located in the Chinese Masonic Lodge in Virginia City.......... 26 Figure 6. Store in Chinese section of Virginia City (ca. 1900)............................... 28 Figure 7. Woman standing outside buildings in Chinese section of town, 1899.30 Figure 8. Map taken from Douglas and Brown report, 2000................................ 42 Figure 9. Double Happiness fragments from Lot 171, Main and Wallace............. 43 Figure 10. Bamboo rice bowl fragment from Lot 339, Dance and Stuart............. 45 Figure 11. Four Seasons refit from Lot 328, Dance and Stuart.............................. 45 Figure 12. Reign mark on refit from Lot 328, Dance and Stuart........................... 46 Figure 13. Opium pipe bowl fragments from Lot 328, Dance and Stuart............ 47 Figure 14. Fan Tan marker from Lot 330, Dance and Stuart................................ 48 Figure 15. West end of Wallace Street, Chinese section of Virginia City.............. 54 1 i. Introduction Introduction The main goal of this thesis is to try and give the fullest picture possible of Chinese life in Virginia City, Montana. I also want to show how Virginia City sits in the larger picture of Montana, in the western United States, and in the world. While historical archaeologists have been criticized for focusing on specific sites, and overlooking the connections to the world around it (e.g. Orser 1996; Cleland 1998), I plan to correct this and place Virginia City in its context of the modern world. Although historic archaeology is increasingly addressing links between sites and the modern world system, it has another major focus: an emphasis on underdocumented peoples (Cleland 2001). In response to this, a steadily growing amount of archaeology is being done on Chinese sites (e.g.Wegars 1993). Montana, however, does not fit into the current trend. Only a handful of archaeological excavations have been done on Chinese sites in Montana, and the only work done by historians in the state has consisted of a few magazine articles (Swartout 1988). Historic archaeology