Ryan ChartrandThe people of China were desperate for relief from their disaster filled lives in the 19th century. In a span of just 56 years, they endured typhoons, earthquakes, famishes, plagues and a civil war.
Thousands of Chinese immigrants found their refuge on the coast of California during the Gold Rush. By the 1850s, over one-third of all immigrants in California were Chinese, several of whom made San Luis Obispo their home.
The Chinese immigrants had a significant impact here, including the construction of Highway 46 and digging the railroad tunnels through the Cuesta mountains that are still in use today.
“My great-grandfather was one of the workers on the railroad tunnels in San Luis Obispo,” said civil engineering senior Caty Tsu. “It’s a part of history that seems to be forgotten.”
A one-block area on the corner of Palm and Chorro streets became a local haven for the Chinese immigrants known as Chinatown that, unknown to many, still exists today.
An archaeological excavation took place in 1987 during the construction of the Palm Street parking garage. The excavation uncovered nearly five tons of artifacts which are still being sorted through.
“We’re really trying to reconstruct people’s lives by sorting through their stuff. We have almost everything of theirs because they had no garbage – everything they owned got thrown into communal outhouses at some point,” said archaeologist John Parker, who has been the Chinatown project coordinator for the last 10 years.
Jewelry, rice bowls, tea sets and opium pipes are among the significant artifacts that have been found at the site, all of which help to fill in the blanks about the lives of the Chinese immigrants.
Their lives were not easy, largely in part to the widespread discrimination they faced.
“There was a lack of employment in the 1870s and the Chinese, being the largest minority, were blamed. Rallies were held against them and the slogan was ‘send the Chinese people home,'” Parker said.
Several Chinese owned laundry houses became a main point of discriminatory attack in the so-called ‘laundry wars’. Local residents were discouraged from taking their laundry there and the San Luis Obispo City Council raised quarterly license fees to unaffordable prices.
On June 29, 1883, The Tribune wrote, “San Luis Obispo is in a state of siege.no one sees the way out, unless, oh horrors! The women should do a little washing on their own account,” sarcastically urging women to do their own laundry.
The laundry wars landed several Chinese workers who refused or who were unable to pay the new fees in prison and escalated tensions.
“They literally tried to run the Chinese out of here. A Chinese man was murdered in San Miguel and others were chased out of their homes in Arroyo Grande,” Parker said.
The Chinese were also faced with poverty and cultural barriers.
“My grandparents couldn’t bring anything from China. They came with nothing,” Tsu said. “They had work really hard and barely made enough money to raise a family.”
Despite their hardships, the Chinese held a firm position on the Central Coast. They brought dried sea food to California, which soon became its largest export; they were responsible for the popularity of rice, tea and opium, which were its largest imports; and labor workers were still needed in public works projects.
Cantonese immigrant Wong On, more commonly known as Ah Louis, recognized the need for a labor force that would assist immigrants in finding work here. “Ah Louis would pay their passage from China to America. They’d repay him during their months of work through a labor arrangement,” Parker said.
In addition to his labor force, Louis opened a general store, the first Chinese store in the county, in 1874. The store is still located on the corner of Chorro and Palm, and is the only original Chinatown building remaining today and is a California State Historical Landmark.
The small, two-story, rectangular building was the first brick building in San Luis Obispo.
“A lot of people don’t realize that Ah Louis set up the first kiln for making bricks in San Luis Obispo. Louis’ bricks were used for the old courthouse and for parts of the mission,” Parker said.
The Ah Louis Store, which sold herbs and general merchandise, also served as a bank, supply center and employment office. It was Louis’ temple and home as well. Louis set aside a small area upstairs for a temple to practice the Taoist faith and the remaining upstairs section was designated as living quarters for Louis, his wife and their eight children.
“Ah Louis was really a Chinese pioneer here. His family was one of three who stayed in and remain in the area,” Parker said.
Ah Louis’ only living son, Howard, 98, still lives in Atascadero. Howard ran the Ah Louis store into his 90s, but has since retired. Today, the store is owned by a great-grandson of Louis who lives in San Luis Obispo.
The store was recently leased out in December 2006 for the first time, and is now occupied by a vintage home antique store, The Nest.
The owners of The Nest, Pam McKiernan and Judy Mora, said they get several visitors coming in just to check out the building, which still has all of its original shelving. They made a pamphlet explaining the story of Louis to hand out to the curious costumers who visit the historical landmark.
The area surrounding the Ah Louis Store might soon be under construction, as the city of San Luis Obispo is in its planning stages of a proposed Chinatown that would be on Chorro, Palm, Monterey and Morro streets. The project will include retail offices, restaurants, residential units and a hotel.
“The project is still in its early stages. The next step will be an environmental report and public hearings,” said Pam Ricci, San Luis Obispo City planner.
An environmental report is important since the location of the construction, much like the location of the Palm Street parking garage, is located where Chinese immigrants settled nearly 200 years ago, and is likely to uncover artifacts.
“A big part of this project is the (Environmental Impact Report). It will look at historic buildings and how they will be affected and the impact of excavation,” Ricci said.
So far the project has received mostly positive feedback from all parties involved, including the Cultural Heritage Committee, Ricci said. “They’re mostly concerned about small details,” she said.
The predicted timeline for the Chinatown project calls for construction to begin within a year and a half.
Parker said that, unfortunately, artifacts in the area may be destroyed. Even by doing archeological excavations, they are destroying the sites.
“I would rather see sites preserved until we have technology to do excavations with a lot less destruction. 100 years from now we’ll be able to do that,” he said.
Artifacts from the 1987 excavation project, along with photographs and other Chinese pieces, are currently on display at the San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum, located at 696 Monterey St.