Chinese History and Culture

Chinese History and Culture in Boise

Louie Quong and family, circa 1927. Boise City Archives, MS100, Image 4827f

Boise’s Chinatowns, 1870 to 1971

Boise has been home to a large and vibrant Chinese community since the city was first established in 1863. Although initially drawn to Idaho during the 1860s gold rushes, many Chinese immigrants chose to settle here permanently. They opened businesses, developed industries, and built community and culture that continues to this day. Not one but two Chinatowns were built during Boise’s history, each with restaurants, pharmacies, grocery stores and other businesses. Generations of immigrants and their families settled in Boise, and at one time the city hosted one of the largest Lunar New Year celebrations in the Northwest. For over 150 years, the Chinese community has shaped Boise’s history and culture.

Early Immigration to Idaho, 1860-1870

When gold was first discovered in 1860, thousands of people from around the world rushed to remote mining towns in Idaho, hoping to strike it rich. Many of these immigrants were from the Guangdong Province of southern China, where after years of social and economic upheaval, people left their homes seeking new opportunities. When Boise City was founded in 1863, it served as a supply base for prospectors and entrepreneurs on their way to nearby mining towns, such as Idaho City and Placerville. In September 1865, The Idaho Statesman newspaper reported a group of Chinese miners traveling through Boise were “…on the move in single file, supporting the middle of their long handled shovels or a bamboo stick with pendant sacks of rice, chop sticks, rockers, and gum boots...” By 1870, census reports showed that Chinese people made up 28.5% of Idaho’s population.

Boise’s First Chinatown, 1870 to 1901

When gold mines ran dry, many Chinese moved to Boise and settled into the city’s first Chinatown, built near Idaho Street and Capitol Boulevard. Chinatown was an important place for new immigrants to find support and where generational businesses got their start. This first Chinatown included laundries, grocery stores, pharmacies, a temple, and several “tongs”, or community meeting halls. A tong was where a newly arrived immigrant could find information about where to live and work, or services like medical care and legal help. Boise’s Hip Sing Tong and Hop Sing Tong were the two most prominent in the city and included small temples and gathering spaces for celebrations and meetings. In larger US cities, tongs were often associated with crime and violent rivalries. Although rivalries existed between Boise’s tongs during the late 1800s and early 1900s, they never escalated to the levels seen in San Francisco, Seattle, or Los Angeles.

“My dad and my grandfather were pretty active in the tong. You know, everyone says it was a secret society and stuff like that, but I think it was just more or less to help the Chinese people in the area. It was just a place for them to meet and to get together and try to figure out how to help different families and such.” — Mr. William Ah Fong, great-grandson of Dr. C.K. Ah Fong, City of Boise oral history project

Chinese Exclusion Laws, 1882-1902

The rise of Chinatown and the Chinese population in Boise increased efforts to oust residents from the city and shut down businesses. Claims that Chinese laborers were outcompeting white workers for jobs fueled local ordinances targeting businesses and even led to violence against Chinese people. In 1881, a story in the Idaho Statesman called for a white laundry to open in the city because the “Chinese are taking too much money back to ‘the Flowery Kingdom.’” Idaho passed laws prohibiting foreign-born Chinese people from purchasing real estate. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act brought a halt to Chinese immigration for 10 years and required any Chinese person already in the United States to carry proof of their residency. This law was renewed in 1892, and again in 1902, making it even more difficult for wives, children, or other family members to emigrate and join husbands, fathers or brothers already in the United States. By 1920, census records reported only 585 Chinese people living in Idaho, and numbers continued to decline as Boise’s Chinese residents moved to different cities, returned to China, or passed away.

“there’d be these big banquets that would be kind of a pot-lucky kind of thing where a lot of the Chinese guys – who would not bring their wives because of the immigration laws – they weren’t merchants, they were laborers, so they didn’t have the paperwork to support being able to get a wife. We knew all the intact families, the few families that were there, we knew them all because there were so few of us.” — Katheryn Fong, on community gatherings and Chinese families in Boise, City of Boise oral history project

Boise's Second Chinatown, 1901 to 1971

Many buildings in Boise’s early Chinatown were wooden structures, and after complaints of unsafe conditions and risks of fire, the Boise City Council officially condemned a number of these structures on Idaho Street and ordered them torn down. “The action of the city authorities with respect to what is called ‘Chinatown’ is timely. The nest there in the heart of the city is an eyesore, a disgrace, and a menace to public health. The buildings are mere shacks, and their surroundings are filthy beyond belief,” reported the Idaho Statesman, and within days, several Chinese businesses relocated to Front Street. Construction began on new brick structures, and within a few short years, a second Chinatown was established.

Throughout downtown Boise, iconic Chinese restaurants operated for decades: Fong’s Tea Garden, Shanghai Low, and Twin Dragon to name a few. Dr. C.K. Ah Fong and his family provided medical care and herbal medicines for over one hundred years, and the ornate Hip Sing and Hop Sing buildings hosted generations of celebrations, meetings, and banquets for many Boiseans to enjoy.

Urban Renewal in Boise, 1965-1990

In 1949, Congress passed the American Housing Act, which provided funds for cities to demolish “slums” in favor of new development. This sparked a frenzy of urban renewal across the country, where cities purchased buildings and neighborhoods, bulldozed buildings, and made property available for redevelopment. In Boise, urban renewal began in earnest in the late 1960s, when historic buildings were demolished to make way for a proposed downtown mall. In the early 1970s, much of Boise’s second Chinatown was torn down. Most remaining Chinese-owned businesses relocated out of the downtown core, and today, only a few buildings remain standing, the most prominent of which is located on Front Street.

“In 1971 the Boise Chinatown was destroyed to make way for urban renewal, and at that time there were still people living in the Hip Sing Tong building… I remember one Chinese man living there almost until the wrecking ball struck.” — Richard Ah Fong, referring to Billy Fong, who was evicted from the Hop Sing Tong building, City of Boise oral history project

Although these Chinatowns no longer stand, Boise has been home to generations of Chinese residents who shaped this city from its earliest days to the present. The City of Boise is continually working to preserve those memories of Chinese businesses and cultural institutions. To learn more, visit our Chinese History in the Boise City Archives Digital Collection.

References

For a complete list of references, please contact artsandhistory@cityofboise.org and mention "Chinese History and Culture".