Rose Festival Parade Float, 1923 Bow Yuen & Co. at 69 N. Fourth Ave. Chinese Vendor c. 1888

History: The Chinese in Oregon

Chinese roots run deep in Portland. Gold was discovered in southern Oregon and trade in furs, lumber, and agricultural products began between China and Portland. In 1851, the Tong Sung Restaurant and Boarding House opened its doors in Portland. Recruiters drew Chinese men, most from the Kwangtung Province of Canton in southern China, to work in the United States, where they endured backbreaking labor: building bridges, tunnels, railroad beds and as miners, and on into the 20th century in the salmon canneries, as well as in the iron, paper and textile industries.

Even so, the Chinese community faced discrimination. In 1852 the Oregon constitution barred incoming Chinese from buying or owning property. The federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prevented further immigration to the United States from China. These laws were not repealed until 1943.

From 1880 to 1910 Portland’s Chinatown was second only to San Francisco’s. Chinatown stretched from Taylor to Pine, and from Third Street to the west bank of the Willamette River. Chinese merchants catered to traditional tastes, offering housing, groceries, clothing, medicine, and a variety of services, restaurants and theaters. Vendors lined the streets. During Chinese New Year, Chinatown was aglow with paper lanterns and the staccato of firecrackers filled the air. Forced by a flood in 1894 and pressure from the city, Old Chinatown was vacated. New Chinatown developed in its current location. As for Old Chinatown, nothing remains today.

back