Art Chowder May | June 2022 Issue No. 39 | Page 58

With more than 2,500 original artifacts , the Wah Chong Tai Mercantile is one of the most complete period Chinese stores from the early 20th century in the United States , and the only one that is in its original setting . Research opportunities abound . For visitors , seeing firsthand the vast range of goods that could be purchased in a Chinese store in remote Butte , Montana , will give you a sense of both the importance of Butte and its incredible , multi-ethnic cosmopolitan nature .

Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site interior , c . 2019

Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site , c . 1930

Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site

John Day , OR www . friendsofkamwahchung . com

John Day , Oregon 97845 ( 541 ) 575-2800

Built in 1865 as a trading post , this unique time capsule , unique in the world , became home to two Chinese immigrants , Ing “ Doc ” Hay and Lung On in 1888 . Lung On was the general store proprietor and a businessperson , while “ Doc ” Hay was a practitioner of herbal medicine . For over 60 years the building was a social , medical , and religious center for Oregon ’ s Chinese community . Located in the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day , Oregon , and originally constructed as a trading post in the 1860s , this building was purchased in 1887 by the two Chinese businessmen and served as a “ commercial , social , and cultural center for the Chinese community in eastern Oregon ” until the 1940s . It housed an informal medical treatment room and pharmacy , a general store , a library , and a post office .

According to the National Park Service , “ The collection of artifacts found in [ this building ] is considered one of the most complete records of Chinese herbal medicine and the pioneer life and culture of Chinese immigrants in the U . S .”

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