Some of the displaced workers left for jobs in the Central Valley while others stayed to work the hand laundries , restaurants , saloons , gambling houses , brothels and drug retreats that were typical of Chinatowns then . Gilroy Chinatown continued to thrive till a mysterious fire destroyed the neighborhood in 1930 .
Some Chinese had a different attitude — they were immigrants not sojourners . A local example was Fook Lee Young who came to Gilroy from Canton , China via Canada . He worked his way down California and eventually became a sharecrop farmer in the Bolsa area . As a foreign born Chinese he could not own property but by 1932 his US-born son could and purchased property near their leased home on the Bolsa . Fook Lee Young was the grandfather of Richard Young , owner of Young Signs . Richard and his family have a long pleasant history in Gilroy . As a young boy , from an established local family , Richard did not experience discrimination until he went off to college as an art student . Gilroy had been good to him and his family . His father opened Young Signs in 1934 .
As a foreign born national , Richard ’ s grandfather had to secure special papers to return to the US . His standing as an exemplary citizen who should be allowed to return to Gilroy was witnessed by several prominent local business personalities including Howard Willey , as in the historic Willey House on 5 th Street , and H . Chesbro , as in the reservoir .
Another family with a history in Gilroy is the Low
Cemeteries often tell interesting tales . The Gilroy cemetery on First Street today contains numerous Chinese graves but it was not always so . Kai Lai , of Chinese decent but fairly new to Gilroy , making Gilroy his home in the 1970 ’ s visits a marker placed by the Gilroy Historical Society ( Marker One ) near the 7th hole on the Gilroy Golf Course that tells a story .
family . Low Dan came to Gilroy around 1890 . Working the fields and orchards he saved enough money to open a prosperous Chinese grocery . As was typical at that time a tong , or gang , specifically the Bing Kong Tong , controlled the Gilroy Chinatown . After the death of the tong leader Quong Kee , Low Dan became the leader and a target of other tong ’ s take over schemes . The Gilroy Advocate , the precursor of the Dispatch , reports several incidents of tong violence . In September 1926 two black cars pulled up in front of Low Dan ’ s store and spayed it with bullets . Several people were killed including You Low , the grandson of Low Dan . You Low , whose family had taken the English tradition of putting the surname last , was a Boy Scout and well known in Gilroy . His funeral was attended by over 100 local Boy Scouts and received special mention in the Advocate .
Even after the fire in 1930 , Gilroy ’ s Chinatown continued till 1945 when Low Dan died . His funeral was a big affair with a brass band marching though town . After Low Dan passed away many Chinese move to San Francisco or San Jose . However , some of Low Dan ’ s descendents still live in town .
Before Gilroy ’ s designation as the Garlic Capital of the World , it was known as the “ Home of the World ’ s Largest Cigar Factory .”
Old Chinese Cemetery Site In this area a Chinese cemetery existed prior to 1900 . Due to exclusion laws of the time Chinese were buried in a separate area outside the city limits . The cemetery was abandoned in 1928 . In keeping with Chinese customs most bodies were removed , cremated and sent to San Francisco for shipment back to China . The others were moved to the Masons and Oddfellows Cemetery , now Gavilan Hills Memorial Park .
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