Preliminary Overview
Oregon Chinese
Diaspora Project
Malheur National Forest
Southern Oregon University
Laboratory of Anthropology
July 16-23, 2018
Figure 1. Fresh and eager to start: our crew on the first day!
Preamble
The discovery of gold in 1862 brought miners and entrepreneurs from around the world to the upper
John Day River in the southern Blue Mountains. As the decades passed new and more intensive mining
technologies were introduced in order to extract the dwindling gold deposits. The last extensive
commercial placer mining enterprises were large dredges which operated on several stretches of the
river as late as the 1950s. Today on the Malheur National Forest, primarily on the upper drainages of the
Middle Fork John Day River, extensive remnants of this complex mining legacy can be found. These
include ditches, holding ponds, tailings, waste rock piles, trails, roads, shafts, adits, test pits, penstock
(water pipe), stamp mills, cabins, tent platforms, dumps and mining equipment. Making sense of this
complex mining legacy has been both a challenge and an opportunity for the Heritage Program, who
have been busy sorting out the overlapping evidence from various time periods and technological
processes represented in the archaeological record.
Chinese Migrant Gold Miners
We do not know when the first Chinese miners arrived, but it was very likely soon after the discovery of
gold in the early 1860s. By 1867 Grant County records document the sale of placer gold claims to
Chinese owned and operated mining companies. Federal mining reports show that in 1870 82% of the
placer gold claims in Grant County were owned by Chinese mining companies: “…Sixty-four placer claims
in Grant County, eleven of which are worked by white men with paid labor, and the remainder by
Chinese owners.” This figure is supported by the 1870 census which puts the Grant County population at
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2251, of which 940 (42%) were Chinese. Of the 1241 miners documented in the census, 69% were
Chinese. These figures were similar in the early 1880s but by 1890 the total Chinese population in Grant
County had dropped to 326, only 6% of the total population of 5080.
Figure 2. Sheet from 1870 census (left), Chinese placer miners along the Snake River (right).
Although some Chinese miners in the Blue Mountains worked for non-Chinese mining companies, most
appear to have been part of Chinese run mining companies referred to in contemporary legal
documents as corporations or co-partnerships. These companies may have been similar to kongsi
business partnerships long used by Chinese mining companies operating in Southeast Asia. In kongsi
partnerships individuals were not paid a wage but earned a share of the total profits based on the level
of their contribution to the enterprise. Chinese merchants, doctors, cooks and others arrived with the
miners to provide for, and profit from, the growing community.
Figure 3. Linear tailings piles (at right) generated by Chinese immigrant miners using ground sluicing techniques near North
Bend, Washington around 1890 (City of Vancouver Archives Item: CVA 1376-375.24).
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The Kam Wah Chung
Business partners Long On and Ing “Doc” Hay purchased the existing Kam Wah Chung mercantile
building in the John Day Chinatown in the mid-1880s. Their business prospered due to Long On’s
business savvy and Doc Hay’s skill and reputation as an herbalist and physician. As the gold deposits
were played out in the 1890s most Chinese immigrants left for the larger Chinatowns where there were
more economic opportunities and strength in numbers to resist rampant racism and Exclusion-era
discrimination. Long On and Doc Hay chose to stay in John Day and were successful in adapting their
business to serve the non-Chinese residents of the area. They lived out their lives here and are buried in
the cemetery overlooking the town. Their business, the Kam Wah Chung, is a treasure trove of artifacts
and documents relating to the Chinese diaspora in Oregon. It is a National Historic Landmark and
managed by the State of Oregon as a State Heritage Site. Mining is the reason the John Day Chinatown
and the Kam Wah Chung were created but most of the mining sites around the towns of John Day and
Canyon City have been destroyed by the expansion of the towns and their associated industries.
Figure 4. The Kam Wah Chung building in the early 20th century and today.
Figure 5. A view inside the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site museum.
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The Oregon Chinese Mining Diaspora Partnership
In 2016 the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA), the Kam Wah Chung State
Heritage Site, the Malheur National Forest, and the Grant County Historical Museum entered into a
formal partnership to promote the study and public interpretation of the history of immigrant Chinese
gold miners in Oregon. To date, we have started an online group of historians, archaeologists, other
academics and the interested public to exchange ideas and expertise. We have also given presentations
in a variety of academic and public forums, with more in the works. In 2017 SOULA archaeologists
conducted limited test excavation at a suspected Chinese miners’ habitation site on the Malheur
National Forest (06040302388- Happy Camp 2). The results of the test excavation confirmed the Chinese
occupation of the cabin and demonstrated the good potential for intact buried archaeological deposits
for these types of sites.
Figure 6. Tailings at the Loy Fat and Company placer mine (left) and Chinese brown-glazed stoneware liquor bottle found in the
mine tailings.
Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project
Buoyed by the success of the 2017 test excavations, SOULA and the Malheur National Forest have
embarked on a multi-year site testing project to gather additional baseline information about the
condition and nature of immigrant Chinese mining sites in the southern Blue Mountains. Chelsea Rose
from SOULA and Don Hann from the Malheur National Forest are co-directing the project. Over the
extended week of July 16-23, 2018 nineteen volunteers donated 660 hours assisting Forest Service and
SOULA archaeologists on the first phase of the project. We conducted site clearing, surface artifact
identification, metal detector survey, feature mapping, and test excavation work at four sites with
known or suspected association with immigrant Chinese placer miners. The results from this work are
summarized below by site.
06040302388- Happy Camp 2
This site consists of the remains of a single structure located on a sloping ridge near the head of two
large placer cuts and associated head races and lateral ditch. The mining features are documented
separately as site 06040301206- the Happy Camp Placer Mine. No organic remains of the structure were
identified on the site surface but the outline of a rectangular structure is visible as shallow linear
depressions which likely once held sill logs from a cabin. When first identified the site was in a dense
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pine and larch forest with thick ground cover. A small scatter of metal cans, miscellaneous metal
fragments, a cast iron pan fragment, a shovel head, bottle glass and ceramics were all that were visible
on the site surface. The ceramics included one sherd each of Chinese brown-glazed stoneware (CBGS)
and a Winter Green cup rim. In 2017 SOULA archaeologists placed a single 1x1 meter test unit within,
and a second just outside, the linear depressions which outline the feature. The test unit outside the
feature produced limited material but the unit within the feature produced over 200 CBGS fragments
representing a minimum of four liquor bottles. Artifacts date to around the turn of the 20th century.
Figure 7. Setting up for test excavation at Happy Camp 2.
In 2018 we placed three additional 1x1 meter test units within the footprint of the feature in an effort to
better understand the function and layout of the structure. We recovered numerous additional artifacts
of Chinese origin including CBGS, Winter Green, and Four Seasons ceramics fragments and opium
container fragments. Overall the collection of artifacts indicate a short term occupation of the structure
in the very early 20th century making this one of the latest Chinese immigrant mining habitations located
so far. This corresponds well with a 1901 Federal mining report that notes there were still a few Chinese
miners working the “old placers of the Happy Camp mining district.”
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Figure 8. Four Season Flower and Winter Green Chinese porcelain bowl fragments from Happy Camp 1 and 2.
06040300322- Happy Camp 3
This site consists of the remains of one relatively substantial structure and likely included 2-3 additional
ephemeral structures which did not leave an identifiable footprint (their presumed presence is based on
the artifact scatter). The site is located near the outlet of the tail races from several large placer cuts.
The mining features are documented separately as site 06040301206- the Happy Camp Placer Mine. The
main structure was originally documented in the 1980s when two courses of logs were still visible and
several artifacts of Chinese origin were described. Significant impacts from looting were noted at that
time.
Figure 9. Metal detector survey around the dry stacked stone feature that forms one wall of the main structure at Happy Camp
3.
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At one wall of the main structure is a large pile of stones that appears to be the remains of a dry stacked
stone fireplace or similar feature. Several large slabs of flat basalt are incorporated into the feature. This
is the largest of the dry stacked stone features we have found at any of the Chinese sites in the Malheur
National Forest to date. Although the site as a whole has been heavily damaged by looting the stacked
stone feature appears to be untouched.
The 2018 fieldwork included clearing the main structure area and the stacked stone feature of brush and
small trees. We conducted a metal detector survey to pinpoint subsurface concentrations of metal and
completed a surface survey to identify and map diagnostic artifacts. We numbered and removed stones
that had clearly collapsed in front of the stone feature and began removing forest litter and soil from
between two large basalt slabs that were set upright in the feature. We encountered metal, ceramic and
bone fragments while clearing the feature and decided to place a formal 1x1 test excavation unit in this
location.
Figure 10. Test excavations at stacked rock feature, center photo shows a medium sized mammal mandible (likely sheep).
Preliminary analysis on the faunal material recovered indicates that chicken and medium mammals
were present, along with eggshell. Samples from within the hearth feature were taken, and will undergo
botanical analysis in order to identify any seeds or plant remains that might be present.
Figure 11. Burnt earth and charcoal were found in back half of test unit, and the front was a different soil type.
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Figure 12. Hundreds of surface artifacts were documented and mapped in order to better understand the surface expressions of
the sites, and to assess the levels of disturbance by looting and other activities on the site.
06040301333- Ah Yee
The Ah Yee site is located a few miles away from the Happy Camp sites and is associated with another
large placer mining complex (site 06040301837). It is situated at the head of two placer cuts and the
associated ditch network. This site is the earliest Chinese mining site documented on the Malheur
National Forest (to date) with a mine claim sales agreement dating to 1867. When first recorded in the
early 1990s there were still some sill logs from a cabin structure present but these are now entirely
deteriorated. At this time the site is visible through a light scatter of surface artifacts and two rock
features. One feature is similar in shape to the rock hearth encountered at the Happy Camp 3 site.
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Figure 13. The crew conducted site testing by excavating a grid of 50cmX50cm test units across the Ah Yee site.
As less was known about the condition and extent of the site, an archaeological testing strategy was
used in order to identify key areas of subsurface deposits across the site that may aid in the
interpretation of the two rock features. A grid of 50cm by 50cm units was excavated across the core of
the site at 5m intervals, which led to the recovery of several interesting artifacts and some information
about the activities occurring within the site area.
Figure 14. Artifacts recovered from Ah Yee site include (left) trigger mechanism from a percussion cap rifle and (right) hand
perforated metal sheet likely used to patch a grizzly (part of a sluice box).
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06040300020- Ah Heng 1
The Ah Heng site is located several miles downstream from the Happy Camp and Ah Yee sites. It is
situated along one edge of an extensive placer cut. Historic documentation for this site includes a lease
agreement, now located at the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site, and some newspaper accounts from
the late 1880s. In the site record from the early 1990s the remains of four structures were measured
and described based on heavily deteriorated logs and a light scatter of artifacts. Evidence of significant
looting was noted in the report.
Figure 15. Test excavations within and adjacent to the footprint of a probable house feature at Ah Heng 1.
At this time none of the sill logs described in the 1990s site record are identifiable. Due to the excellent
site mapping completed for the 1990s site record, we could easily relocate the area where the structural
features were found. Most of the area was obscured by a thick stand of young spruce and lodgepole
pine. In an open part of the site we located several ceramics sherds of Chinese origin. Some intriguing
level areas were visible within the spruce/pine thickets near the artifacts. We removed the smaller trees
and brush from these areas and conducted a metal detector survey which confirmed the presence of a
significant subsurface deposit of metal—presumably artifacts. Once the site was cleared of dense
vegetation, it was a confusing matrix of undulating terraces scattered with artifacts and small rock piles.
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Figure 16. Test unit at Ah Heng 1 and a close up of fragments from a CBGS liquor bottle (right image).
Due to uncertainty about the extent and layout of the site, a testing grid was again used and units were
excavated at 5m intervals. A single 1m by 1m unit was excavated in an area that appeared to be within a
house feature. These excavations indicated that a rich and complex archaeological deposit is present
across the Ah Heng site. The metal detection survey also identified a dense cache of ferrous artifacts to
the east of the habitation areas, which appears to represent an area where broken tools and scrap metal
was being stored and repurposed for other uses.
Figure 17. Some masters of the fine art of shading a test unit for photographs!
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From Bartlet, Wallace A. 1893, Digest of
Trade Marks (registered in the United States
for Machines, Metals, Jewelry, and the
Hardware and Allied Trades: N. E. (and
crossed arrows) 4722. June 12, 1877. Shovels,
etc. Oliver Ames and Sons Corporation, North
Easton, Mass.
From The Official Gazette of the United
States Patent Office, Vol. 19, No. 14, Tuesday,
April 5, 1881: 8,339- Shovels, Spades and
Scoops, Oliver Ames and Sons Corporation,
North Easton, Mass. Application filed May 10,
1881, “The crossed arrows and letters ‘N. E.’”
Figure 18. One of the several shovels found in a metal cache area had a maker’s mark stamp on the handle.
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The names and stamped seals of Hong Kong
opium producers were among the first
internationally recognized brand names in the
上環 history of Asia. From the 1870s onward (until
opium was outlawed in the United States in
1909) they were recognized in North America as
well. This was one of the two most popular, and
most expensive, brands available, both
produced by the same manufacturer. These
福 same two brands comprise the entire collection
at Kam Wah Chung. Sheung Wan was a well-
known part of Hong Kong.
http://www.cinarc.org/Opium.html#anchor_89
隆
06040300020 Ah Heng 1, Sheung Wan Fook Lung brand 上環福隆
Figure 19. One of many five part gold pans found during the project.
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Summary
Over the course of the 2018 project, the team worked on four sites from three discrete placer mining
districts associated with Chinese miners in the southern Blue Mountains. Each site led to the recovery of
hundreds of artifacts associated with the former Chinese occupants. We confirmed the presence and
overall good integrity of the subsurface archaeological deposits at all of these sites. We created maps
and illustrations which will help us to better understand what the modest cabins were like more than a
century ago. Over the next year SOULA will be busy sorting, analyzing, and reporting on our finds, and
we already have lots of research questions in place for next summer!
From the public land management perspective the information gathered during this project helps us
better understand the nature and significance of the sites. Historic sites such as these are very
vulnerable to the effects of wildfire and land management activities. This project has confirmed the
presence of organic and other fire sensitive artifacts. In the current climate regime wildfires are growing
in severity and scale. It is impossible to eliminate the risk of wildfire so we need to balance the risk
associated with removing fuels (trees and brush) on the sites to reduce the severity of the fire with the
risk of allowing wildfire to burn through the site at the current fuel load. The information our volunteers
are gathering helps us to find the proper balance to preserve these sites for future generations.
Figure 20. The crew at the end of the final day of the project… looking fresher, and cleaner, than we felt!
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Thank You Volunteers and Partners!
Volunteers: Lukas Aberle, Scott Bowen, Diane Browning, Jacque Chung, Beverley Clement, George
Collier, Jane Collier, Kyle Crebbin, Jim Fitzgerald, Kimberli Fitzgerald, Eric Gleason, Eric Hanson, Katie
Karman, Al Newnam, Doug Reynolds, David Root, Erin Ross, Bob Shive, and Emily Williamson
Partners: Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site, Grant County Historical Museum, Grant County Chamber
of Commerce, 1188 Brewing Company, Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology, and the
Malheur National Forest
Blue Mountain Ranger District Heritage Program support: Jenna Jones, Barb MillerSohr, Emily Modelski,
Bobby Saunters, Shahaylie Smarr, and Katee Withee
SOULA staff: Tyler Davis, Katie Johnson, and Madison Noggle
We hope we see you in the mines next year!
Don Hann and Chelsea Rose
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Chelsea Rose
