Uncovering the story of The Dalles Chinatown

Meet the exhibit curators, Kelly Molina, Eric Gleason, Jacqueline Cheung, Rick McClure and Marilyn Urness, who will be on hand with exhibit designers Chris Bolton and Kathy Purcell.

The evening’s speaker will be Priscilla Wegars, PhD, on “Chinese Tunnels: Myth or Reality?”

Wegars is an affiliate assistant professor and volunteer curator of the Asian American Comparative Collection (AACC) at the University of Idaho.

Today, many communities in the American West, where Chinese people once lived, are rumored to have so-called “Chinese tunnels” under downtown buildings and streets. Do these tunnels really exist and if so, what is the proof? Are these tunnels myths with some basis in fact, or simply stereotypes attributed to a mysterious community? Wegar’s presentation investigates these questions.

Cost for the dinner and program is $25, program only is $5. Tickets must be purchased by Jan. 25. Reservations are required and seating is limited.

About the exhibit:

The exhibit “A Community Forgotten: Uncovering the Story of The Dalles Chinatown,” tells the tale of the largely forgotten community of overseas Chinese immigrants who once populated First (Main) Street in The Dalles.

The exhibit features artifacts from the time, and shines a light on the discriminatory laws once used for racial exclusion.

The Chinese came to The Dalles, beginning in the 1850s on the heels of the gold rush and the overseas Chinese community grew with the 1860s railroad expansion. Companies wanted to hire Chinese workers because they were well known for having an excellent work ethic. In the 1890’s the Chinese laborers were hired to work in canneries and mills, including Seufert’s Cannery.

By the 1880s, The Dalles was a community dominated by Chinese merchandise stores that served a multitude of functions beyond just selling goods: they served as home to both transient and established residents, engaged in labor contracting and laundry work, and provided social diversions including gambling, and opium consumption.

This exhibit strives to breathe new life into the rich and largely forgotten history of a small Chinatown in The Dalles, by bringing together stories found tucked away in archives, basements, and back rooms, and artifacts from under a layer of pavement at the site of old Chinatown on First Street.

By combining the history and archaeology of Chinatown, we can now start telling the story of a people who made a new home in a place and country very distant and very different from their homeland; a people who experienced systemic and institutional racism, separation, and exclusion, but also found some degree of acceptance.

For tickets to the opening exhibit or information, call 541-296-8600.